Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie

Dot and Dab or Studs

Options
  • 18-09-2014 9:51am
    #1
    1978BF
    Registered Users Posts: 7 ✭


    Hi - I am trying to figure out if the plasterboard is attached to the masonry wall with dot and dab or if there are studs...the sounds seem to be hollow/solid at very irregular places...so I am thinking that means dot and dab...but if I bought a stud finder it probably won't help because it will probably pick up the solid glue as stud will it?

    Thanks for any help!


Comments

  • Options
    #2
    Jimmy_M
    Closed Accounts Posts: 205 ✭✭Jimmy_M


    I think you mean the wall is definitely concrete and you're trying to find out if its battoned.


    Sounds like dot and dab to me.

    Are you going to be taking any skirting off? Or is it easy to get off and replace.
    If so, take it off and see can you see any battons at the bottom..


  • Options
    #3
    1978BF
    Registered Users Posts: 7 ✭1978BF


    Thanks Jimmy - yes the wall is definitely concrete ... it is a 2004 build house...and this wall divided my house from a house on the other side (terrace of 4 houses).

    I was not going to take any skirting off...looking to fix some floating units.

    I actually think there are battons at the bottom...there is like a very regular line of solid just above the skirting...but everywhere else the solid is very irregular so I thought that would not be normal if there were battons, or am I wrong?


  • Options
    #4
    Jimmy_M
    Closed Accounts Posts: 205 ✭✭Jimmy_M


    If the line you're talking about is horizontal across the bottom - it probably is where they stuck a blob of plaster all the time, if you get me - youd always put blobs near bottom blobs near the top and then the middle would be more random.
    It wouldnt be normal practise to batton horizontally though.

    If its going to be covered, you could take out a line of plaster and fix battons to the concrete your self which in turn you would fix your units to.... Messy though if you might plan on taking the units down in future. And if the depth of the plasterboard is smaller than your battons it will look crap. So id scratch that.

    If you knew for sure it was battoned it would be better to go into them.

    Other thing to do is drill small holes all the way accrooss where you're going to fix your units see can you find a batton. If its not battonned just go straight in with concrete wall plugs.


  • Options
    #5
    1978BF
    Registered Users Posts: 7 ✭1978BF


    Thanks again Jimmy...yes I was thinking of a horizontal line at the bottom so from what you are saying that is probably just a glue line for the dot and dab.

    In that case I am pretty sure that the wall is not battoned, because there is no evidence of battons going vertically, I was thinking maybe horizontally but as you said that is very unlikely.

    Would a stud finder on this wall work...like would it show me that there are no battons by giving a false reading, or would it pick up the glue as solid??


  • Options
    #6
    Jimmy_M
    Closed Accounts Posts: 205 ✭✭Jimmy_M


    Sounds like its blobbed on to me... not sure about the stud finder, ive only ever used one on what i knew to be a stud wall - to find where exactly the stud was. It probably would find the blobs though (and a batton if there was one there) - Havent used one in a while but isnt the idea that you kind of put it somewhere yoou know to be no batton, kind of to calibrate it, then it senses bigger densities.


  • Advertisement
  • Options
    #7
    1978BF
    Registered Users Posts: 7 ✭1978BF


    Yes agree about the stud finder...I presume it is not clever enough to know the difference between stud and blob...so it will give a positive reading even though there is no stud, because it is dense!

    One other question if somebody might be able to help pls!

    Seems like in US the stud walls have a very regular spacing of 16" OC ... would it be fair to assume a similar spacing applies here or does it very much depend on the job, there is no guaranteed spacing that would have been used by the builders at the time?


  • Options
    #8
    Carpenter
    Registered Users Posts: 2,683 ✭✭✭Carpenter


    It will be 600mm or 400mm for stud's


  • Options
    #9
    1978BF
    Registered Users Posts: 7 ✭1978BF


    Thanks Carpenter...


  • Options
    #10
    Carpenter
    Registered Users Posts: 2,683 ✭✭✭Carpenter


    Any time just pm me any questions chap


  • Options
    #11
    DublinDilbert
    Registered Users Posts: 5,367 ✭✭✭DublinDilbert


    1978BF wrote: »
    Yes agree about the stud finder...I presume it is not clever enough to know the difference between stud and blob...so it will give a positive reading even though there is no stud, because it is dense!

    One other question if somebody might be able to help pls!

    Seems like in US the stud walls have a very regular spacing of 16" OC ... would it be fair to assume a similar spacing applies here or does it very much depend on the job, there is no guaranteed spacing that would have been used by the builders at the time?

    Get a strong magnet (preferably rare earth) on a piece of string, much better than a stud finder.

    If there's studs there's metal scews/nails holding the plaster board and holding it to the wall. Tried this at home works a charm at finding studs.


  • Advertisement
  • Options
    #12
    1978BF
    Registered Users Posts: 7 ✭1978BF


    I will try this method if I can find a rare earth magnet...thanks again.


Advertisement