You are supposed to screw shelves to studs so that if shelves collapse the intire wall fall's with them. NOT! Studs are stronger than drywall. Only drill piolit holes for screws,about 25% diameter of screw. Aside from being much stronger,if shelves are later removed the holes are easier to repair than drywall anchors.

Hi Klem1.

Thank you for answering. Yours is the standard answer, but my confusion goes beyond this.

If studs are the screws holding the infrastructure of the wall up, why am I drilling holes into the studs, and weakening them?

Is the problem that I am not understanding the definition of what everyone is calling a stud?

I know my question must be pathetically elementary, but I can't seem to get the answer. I always thought I would drilling the holes into the wood bracing itself that is held together by the studs.

J.

" I always thought I would drilling the holes into the wood bracing itself that is held together by the studs."

If my answer is the standard answer it must be correct so why worry about it? Studs are the main structural support members running floor to ceiling that drywall is fastened to. Nails (occasionally screws) are what hold's it all togeather.

If it just will not let you sleep nights why don't you either (A) watch a house as it is built (B) look up pictures of standard residential frameing (C) post a picture of "wood braceing" that you think you are supposed to drill into.

Jesse-

Do you have your terminology wrong? It sounds like you think studs are some kind of metal fastener. As described above, studs, whether they are wood or metal, are the vertical members that the sheetrock is attached to (usually 2X4's or 2X6's). Sheetrock itself cannot support any significant weight of shelving: if you put your support screws into the sheetrock and don't also penetrate the edge of the stud, the screws that hold the shelving supports will just pull out. For that reason, one needs to locate the studs so the screws can be installed into them and the supports remain firmly attached to the wall. Is that clear, or are you still confused?

Ok. That makes sense now. I'll be drilling into the vertical members that the sheetrock is attached to. I have simply been confused by the definition of stud.

Thank you Kudzu and Klem. : )

And here I thought you just wanted some good looking guys to help with the project. ;-)

Confusion perhaps exacerbated by the fact that a magnetic 'stud finder' actually finds the nails and screws that are sunk into the wood studs to hold up the drywall. I can see how that may get confusing.

To make matters worse, there are actually metal studs available. But they are usually seen in commercial buildings.

Those magnetic devices were replaced many years ago by "dowsing rods". (:. Now they have a gizmo that detect's changes in density as it is swept accross the wall. Unlike magnetic finders and dowsing rods,the new tool also find's non-magnetic items like water lines and electrical wires. Course the homeowner doesn't realize what he found until he drive's a srew through it and notice's the lights flicker or water running from beneath the wall. ):