horizontal receptacles and stud orientation

11 years ago

I am trying to avoid drilling into any wiring when I put some anchors in the wall to mount a wall lamp.

Question 1: I live in a NYC apartment built in the 60s. Most of the receptacles are horizontal. Would these still be oriented on the stud the same way a vertically mounted receptacle would, and I can assume a stud would be located adjacent these receptacles on one side?

Question 2: if I am not drilling into studs, how can I be sure there are no horizontal running wires that may be running to the next outlet behind the drywall I am drilling into?

Question 3: What is the typical depth before one would hit wiring behind the wall? I'm not worried about my anchor screws, as they are very short, but my drill bits went into the wall about 2 - 2.5 inches, and I hope I didn't nick any wiring.

Question 4: one screw went in really smooth. The other screw, after the drywall, had slight resistance. I am 99% sure there was no stud there, so what could it have been? Hopefully not wiring!! What you think???

I should have considered all of this prior to drilling, but dumbie me. :(

Are there any decent wiring locators below $100? So many mixed reviews.

Thanks!!

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Comments (6)

Ron Natalie
11 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
1. There may be a stud there or they may be mounted to some other structure (like a sole plate or some other horizontal member) or if the building is old enough, just cut into and mounted to the baseboard itself. Of course, if the box is not original to the building construction, it may be supported by nothing but the drywall itself.

2. By being careful. Use a tool (drillbit, or whatever) and go no deeper than the thickness of the dry wall.

3. Could be right up against the back of the drywall, though typically it's in the middle of the stud depth.

4. Wiring, a box for the other room, some fireblocking (horizontal pieces of stud), ... this is not an electrical question.

My favorite is those self drilling anchors that look like a piece of rigatoni
petey_racer
11 years ago
Ron, Ron, Ron......REALLY???
Rigatoni is like large ziti with ridges. You are thinking is fusilli.
LOL
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Ron Natalie
11 years ago
They're going to revoke my Italian heritage over that mistake! But I'm only half Italian (Half Italian, Half Irish, and Half no good as my great uncle used to say, one of his great pearls of wisdom along with that once a glass has had milk in it, it is no damn good for drinking beer).
User
11 years ago
Take the cover plate off the receptacle and see what type of wiring method was used. It could be metal boxes suspended by conduit on both ends.
axxel
Original Author
11 years ago
Sorry for the loooonnng delay but Ron, you say don't drill deeper than the drywall. How thick is that? How thick are those self drilling anchors you posted? If I remember, drywall is half an inch. Those anchors look at least an inch....

This info will be very useful, and for future reference, how far into plaster walls can I drill?

Thanks
Bruce in Northern Virginia
11 years ago
Most standard drywall is 1/2" thick, except for fire-rated walls between the house and garage, which usually use 5/8" drywall.

If your walls are plaster on top of rock-lathe (not that common by the 60's), it could be as much as 1" thick. Plaster on wood lathe would be even thicker.

Bruce