[diydesmoines]

In my garage I installed some shelving on an exterior facing wall, using a stud finder I was able to easily find the studs. I would like to do the same on a shared wall between the house and the garage but the same stud finder is showing AC throughout the entire wall. Would there be a lining that could be causing false positives? If so how can i safely locate the studs and avoid electrical?

Home and garage is less than 6 years old.

 

[kwikfishron]

Welcome to the forums diydesmoines.

Stud finder aside are there any electrical outlets on that wall? If so there should be a stud just to the left of it that the box is attached to. Find that and you should be able to pull a 16" (sometimes 24") layout from there to find the rest of the studs in the wall.

 

[diydesmoines]

There are two outlets, one in a far corner where the central vac is powered and another outlet in the center of the wall. Biggest concern is actually hitting electrical when screwing into the studs.

 

[Oso954]

When you are looking for electrical, you need to check both sides of a wall.

 

[cleveman]

A 2x4 stud is 3 1/2" thick, so it is 1 3/4" to the center. The holes for the electrical wiring are most likely less than 1" holes and in the center of the stud. You need to go 1" into the stud with a screw, and you have 1/2" sheetrock. So get yourself some 1 1/2" long screws (plus any additional length to make up for your shelf brackets).

This will keep you plenty far from any electrical lines.