Drilling through walls

[p8ntblr]

What do you guys do to ensure you don't go through an electrical, plumbing, etc line when drilling through walls. I have a non-contact tester I use for electrical but sometimes the plaster is too thick and it doesn't quite detect it.

[Uncle Cracker]

I have a slick little sneeker-peeker (kind of like an endoscope) that will let me peek inside a wall (only straight ahead, darn it), so all I do is try to find a stud space and drill a hole midway between the studs (or wherever I need it, really) just through the drywall. In my house, anyway, the wiring is tight to the studs, although the plumbing ain't. Then I use the peeker to look inside to see what's ahead.

[MikeMcCoy]

If I ever have any doubt, I just remove some drywall since it's a lot easier to patch than a pipe. I'm fairly lucky in the house I just bought since the builder took pictures during every phase so I have a CD to refer to.

[cabinetman]

There are some very elaborate "wall sensors" like this stud/metal finder.
.

[Tom Slick]

drill a small hole just deep enough to go through the plaster/drywall, then poke a wire or long screwdriver though the hole and see if it goes deep enough to correspond to the wall thickness. if it does then you know that at least you aren't drilling directly into a wire or pipe. it's a blind man's sneeker-peeker

[LCHIEN]

drill a small hole just deep enough to go through the plaster/drywall, then poke a wire or long screwdriver though the hole and see if it goes deep enough to correspond to the wall thickness. if it does then you know that at least you aren't drilling directly into a wire or pipe. it's a blind man's sneeker-peeker

that's what I would do ... use a metal rod once you drill threough the near wall, the rod you poke by hand to see if its medium soft (like wire insulation) or metallic (like a pipe). or sounding board-like (more plaster wall) Then drill if its clear to the other plaster. The electrical sensing detectors can be useful before drilling to determine if there's any power wires in there. Obviously checking around the area for outlets, switches, water outlets etc. will help, too.

[RayintheUK]

There are some very elaborate "wall sensors" ......

There sure are - my Bosch D-Tect 100 is quite "elaborate" but never misses.

Ray.

[LinuxRandal]

Why my xray vision, of course!

[chopnhack]

Most wiring and plumbing follow a logical routing, if you have access to your attic area a quick crawl can orient you to what's behind your walls. Luckily, I too took many photos when I remodeled. Hope you find what your looking for!

[p8ntblr]

drill a small hole just deep enough to go through the plaster/drywall, then poke a wire or long screwdriver though the hole and see if it goes deep enough to correspond to the wall thickness. if it does then you know that at least you aren't drilling directly into a wire or pipe. it's a blind man's sneeker-peeker

That's what I do right now but I have to be extra careful because it's an old house with lath and plaster walls. So I have to put alot more pressure on the drill to go through the lath (as opposed to just drilling through drywall) but not enough so I go any farther. I'm probably paranoid but I keep imagining going through some romex and lighting myself up like a xmas tree. My stud finder also doesn't seem to work so well with this type of wall.

There sure are - my Bosch D-Tect 100 is quite "elaborate" but never misses.

Ray.

That's a cool looking tool there Ray. Do you know if it works through lath and plaster walls as well? How much does it run for and where did you get it.

[Ed62]

I did a search for Ray's toy. I don't think it's available in the U.S., but I could be wrong. I found a bunch of places where you could buy it in Europe.

Ed

[RayintheUK]

That's a cool looking tool there Ray. Do you know if it works through lath and plaster walls as well? How much does it run for and where did you get it.

I've found a .pdf file which gives comprehensive info on the scanner. I've uploaded it to my site, so you can get it here if it's of interest. I've used it successfully on lath and plaster walls and ceilings. It wasn't cheap, around £500 as I recall.

I've no knowledge of any US outlets - sorry - but at least you've got more info to consider now.

Ray.

[Tequila]

Along with all the other advice, I usually mark my drill bit with tape at about 3/4" from the point. That lets me know when it's time to stop drilling and start poking around to look for pipes & wires.