I live in a 1960s house where I need to mount certain items in the ceiling of the upper floor. The ceiling (see picture) consists of thin panels in some type of synthetic material and when you knock on it, it sounds slightly hollow. Above the ceiling is an unheated attic.
My problem is that I cannot find the joists behind the ceiling and I need to find joists to attach heavy things to the ceiling, including Roman rings for the kids to hang on.
I have tried a couple of different stud finders, without good results. Sometimes I get a signal as if there were a joist, but on the next pass I get no signal. The "best" finder I've tested is this one: https://www.bauhaus.se/multidetekto...02Wrwl1FM5cQw00OaOUFESVtybs1M0CgaAvGTEALw_wcB
How do I find the joists? Is it worth trying a really advanced stud finder, and if so, which one? I suspect the joists are so far in that I'm not getting good signals because of that.
I've tried tapping with a hammer to hear where the joists are, without result. It can also be mentioned that the ceiling cannot be partially dismantled to see the joists—it is seamless with no joints to remove. It can also be mentioned that I have tried to find joists by going up into the attic, but there is thick insulation there that prevents me from seeing the joists from there.
My problem is that I cannot find the joists behind the ceiling and I need to find joists to attach heavy things to the ceiling, including Roman rings for the kids to hang on.
I have tried a couple of different stud finders, without good results. Sometimes I get a signal as if there were a joist, but on the next pass I get no signal. The "best" finder I've tested is this one: https://www.bauhaus.se/multidetekto...02Wrwl1FM5cQw00OaOUFESVtybs1M0CgaAvGTEALw_wcB
How do I find the joists? Is it worth trying a really advanced stud finder, and if so, which one? I suspect the joists are so far in that I'm not getting good signals because of that.
I've tried tapping with a hammer to hear where the joists are, without result. It can also be mentioned that the ceiling cannot be partially dismantled to see the joists—it is seamless with no joints to remove. It can also be mentioned that I have tried to find joists by going up into the attic, but there is thick insulation there that prevents me from seeing the joists from there.
Mats-S
Construction veteran
· Sollentuna
· 3 609 posts
Mats-S
Construction veteran
- Sollentuna
- 3,609 posts
Very strange that you cannot hear any "sound difference" when you knock on the ceiling ...
If you can get up into the attic above, maybe you can find the joists from that direction instead? They should be across the rafters.
If you can get up into the attic above, maybe you can find the joists from that direction instead? They should be across the rafters.
It should be quite easy to find the studs from above.
And then with a long, narrow drill bit, drill one or a few holes downwards that can be seen from below.
And then with a long, narrow drill bit, drill one or a few holes downwards that can be seen from below.
Regarding drilling from above, there is a lot of old insulation that is difficult to tear up. Additionally, it doesn't solve everything even if I manage to find them because I need to find certain beams directly above the windows where I will hang curtain ceiling tracks - and the ceiling slopes in such a way in the attic that it's not possible to drill into the beams from above if it concerns beams above the windows.
Push down a thin straight steel wire/knitting needle/welding rod or similar through the insulation to see how deep it goes before it stops? Then maybe you can determine the spacing of the studs so you can investigate more thoroughly where they should be to find the edges.