I'd like to install an over-the-range microwave with through-the-wall venting. I'm going to have to have the hole for the vent cut (by a professional), but I expect I can handle the rest of the install myself.

All the microwaves I've seen require a space inside the wall 12" wide, with no studs (6" from center on either side) for the vent.

My stud-finder tells me that there is a stud just on the hairy edge of 6"-from-center. I'm afraid I'll cut into the wall and find the stud is a half-inch too close or some such.

Am I hosed? How much leeway is there in that 6" requirement?