Wire. Plaster. Beam. Air. Drilling into a wall doesn't have to be a guessing game. There are easy and effective ways to know what's hiding in your home. The DIY experts at Stack Exchange provide tips.
Illustration by Sean Gallagher.
Question:
I'm getting ready to mount a flatscreen TV on our living room wall and would like to route various cables through it (e.g. surround sound speakers, HDMI, etc). I appreciate the AWESOME tips here, but I think I'm missing something important: How can I find out what's in the wall without causing damage or creating too much of a mess?
My concern is that there may be electrical wiring, plumbing, insulation, or dead rodents (kidding) in there.
Our house is about 50 years old and the wall is shared with the kitchen on the other side but there's no sink attached to that wall. Wall material is drywall.
? Originally asked by Mike B
Answer: Inspection Camera
There are some electronic inspection cameras on the market (pictured to the right). Might be an excuse to buy one.
You would have to make one or more small holes to insert the camera.
? Answered by BrianK
Answer: Stud Finder
A stud finder is completely non-intrusive and will give you a good idea of how the wall is built. Run it horizontally back and forth at several different heights to map where the studs are, then run it vertically within your newly-found stud cavities to see if there's any lumber going between the studs.
You can guess at where the wiring might be by looking at electrical fixtures on either side of the wall. If you can, look at the base of the wall from your basement or crawlspace, and at the top from the attic, which might give you some more information. If the builder installed protective plates where the wires feed through the studs, a magnet will let you know. Some stud finders also include a detector for AC that will help you trace any electric wiring in the wall, or you can get a standalone detector.
In my experience, plumbing is usually run directly to where it's needed, so if there are no pipes in the basement/crawlspace, or vents going up to the attic and out your roof, there are probably no pipes in the wall either.
Once you've found a safe spot to open the wall, a boroscope or inspection mirror will let you look inside the cavity. A boroscope will be less intrusive, but an inspection mirror is a lot cheaper.
? Answered by Niall C.
Answer: Adjust your Perspective
If you have an attic or a basement get over/under the wall and look. The sill plate and the cap may hide some things, but there will inevitably be something poking through nearby.
? Answered by Freiheit
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