i hooked up my surround sound system yesterday and ran all the wiring in the walls using old work low voltage boxes. i found the studs easily enough, one was right beside the ac return, another about 2 ft away. Some areas of my house seem to have 24" centers, why i do not know. Anyway this wall is panelling so you can easily find the studs by look for the nails. When i was cutting out the spot for the box, i hit a stud. since the hole was already there, i decided to notch the stud a little to allow the box to fit. anyway i cut thru it partially and then used a hammer and screwdriver to break off the are i cut. i must have cut too deep with the sawzall, as the entire approx 3" section broke out! i checked the rest of the wall with the stud finder( i should have used it in the first place) and the studs are all 12" on center in this wall.

will one broken stud matter? this wall is partially an extior wall and partially the interior wall of the kitchen. the point where the stud broke is in the interior section, but close to the outside corner framing so there is extra support there. niether part of the broke stud moves at all, even when i was whacking away with a hammer.

the house is single story brick on a slab.