“Hi this is Eric with the Zircon Tip Minute.
Zircon Technical Support gets a lot of phone calls from folks that want to know if they can use their stud finder on exterior walls.
Unfortunately, probably not and here’s why:
For instance exterior walls are thicker than interior walls making it harder for the tool to scan through.
Also, exterior walls have extra layers such as stucco, vinyl siding, brick and other dense materials that the tools sensors can’t scan through.
Finally, metallic layers like wire mesh, lead paint and foil wrapped insulation will interfere with the electrical fields that the tool uses to find studs.
You’ll have the same problem scanning for joists through roofs, too many dense materials pile too thick for the stud finder to scan.
Contractors sometimes get around these problems by using x-ray or radar machines to scan through the wall but this can be really expensive.
Your best bet for finding studs on exterior walls is to actually find them from the inside; taking careful measurements and then plot their locations on the outside.
Please watch our other tip minutes on how to Scan and Map your Interior Wall and stay tuned for more tips and tricks.”
