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Yes they do - normal studfinders don't work on lath & plaster walls, so magnetic's about the only option. They can be tricky, though, as the lath isn't necessarily only nailed together over studs, or like jooes mentioned, some walls use wire mesh.

Sounds like it could be that the ballast was going bad. Plug and play LED replacements still need a good ballast to work and will not work by bypassing, you need the direct wire type for that.

So your options are to replace the ballast and keep the plug and play LEDs or get new LEDs designed for ballast bypass.

I've got drywall over lath & plaster, so I knew to get a magnetic studfinder. But whoever did the drywall apparently felt it was fine to just go into the lath with the screws, rather than concern themselves with finding studs. I still have no idea where the studs are in most of my walls.

24 can be load bearing too if you do stacked framing. In regions w low live loads it’s common and more than adequate.

I do the same. Have a fancy Bosch Pro stud finder. But a handfull of small (10x10x3mm) neodymium magnets works better.

The stud finder is very useful for finding pipes and electrical cables though.

The first time I did hit a stud, I was a taken back. I'd never found any in rentals

19.2 is a metric layout. Some tape measures have little black diamonds on this layout.

I use a neodymium magnet from a hard drive to find the drywall screws if you have drywall. You can buy them at the hardware store also or use any powerful magnet.

The magnetic or metal detecting stud finders actually work great for lath & plaster because it picks up the rows of nails where the lath is attached to the studs. At least that was my experience.

My first apartment I spent a week looking delicately for a stud in this wall … only to realize it was hollow (all the interior walls in the apartment were just attached to these metal strips. There’s a name for them but totally weirdest thing.

Goes without saying the actual structure was concrete boxes with huge concrete pillars.

> Stud finder finds nothing

Stud finders, unless you spent some cash, are notoriously unreliable. Your experience is not surprising--unfortunate, but not surprising. Try a magnet to locate the drywall screws, buy a better fineder, or use another method.

> Measured out 16" from the corner and drilled a small hole, went straight through.

Even if your studs are 16" on center, that doesn't mean they are 16" from any point or feature. The wall may start anywhere inside or even beyond the corner, or the studs might have been laid out to make cutting in windows, doorways, or other features easy.

Once you have located a stud, you can usually find other studs this way, but this won't necessarily help you find your first stud.

Your studs might also be 24" on center, depending on the wall specs, or might even shift to make framing easier. The code is a minimum, not a rule.

• Magnets are my go-to, you can even find magnet-based stud finders.

• Most power receptacles and light switches will be installed against a stud, so look to either side (this is very NOT true for phone, cable, or other low-voltage outlets, or anything installed after construction was complete).

• Finally, knocking along the wall will usually let you center in on a stud.

None of these is going to give you a "right there", but you can usually get a 4-6" target and narrow down from there. The nails are a good check.

The way I have found studs in my place is taping a piece of a fridge magnet onto some dental floss.

Then I gently move it over the wall. Eventually it will pass over a hidden screw and kind of hang up for a bit. Then I am sure that the stud is there.

Your wall might not have studs. Seriously. I live in a high-rise condo (originally a rental building) built in the 1960s, and here’s what I found when I replaced the tap for my bathtub:

The “wet wall” was made of expanded metal lath and plaster. At roughly 1 foot intervals, there was a vertical piece of U channel formed from heavy sheet metal, roughly 3/4” wide with 3/8” legs. These channels were the closest thing to studs in that wall.

did you run the stud detector on yourself first to ensure that bad baby knows what's up?

often in the corners there is more than one support beam so the 16" does not start at the corner.

Also, it could have started from the opposite corner. Very commonly the last stud in a wall might only be 8 or 10 inches or whatever from the corner because they started at the opposite wall.

Also, sometimes there's a window or door or something that causes there to be a support beam in a place that throws off the 16" from the wall. So, you just need to find one in the middle of the wall. and then go 16" from there.

Also, older construction sometimes had studs at 24".

If you're going to use nails to find it, then I recommend getting a very thin nail and then trying to locate the stud with as little damage as possible. If the wall is white or off white you can use toothpast to fill in the small holes. However, getting a stud finder is the best way and they are cheap.

Just for your piece of mind, turn off the breakers for that area. Use your stud finder to find the stud. Again, to be sure, tap a very small nail into the wood to be sure. Then drill. As others pointed out, wires are attached to the side of the stud so as long has you're hitting wood, no worries.

You’d be hard pressed to find a brand new house built last year that’s actually square.

Most people would be shocked at just how rough the rough framing gets.

As a GC that likes to do the framing personally, I try to keep it as square as humanly possible… it isn’t fine woodworking. But I think it should be real close. 89° - 91° is typically not going to give you too much sass at finish time.

If nothing else, it keeps my subs from bitching too much.

On a similar note… I’m constantly surprised by how few framing crews I see that don’t use an eight foot level and a power plane to dial in the final framing. Some of these novice and journeymen guys don’t even know what I’m talking about when I bring it up.

It’s sad how we went from an industry largely made up of craftsmen to a bunch of meth heads pretending to be installers. Most guys will talk a big game about being a craftsman, but their idea of level and plumb has you searching for their meth pipe.

There are still a bunch of really solid guys out here getting the good work done. But it’s so hard to find them in the sea of shitbags.

And, in my experience, shitbags do shitty work. And it shows when you see just how far shit is off square, and considered “good work” these days. Scary, if you ask me.

Stick a curved metal coat hanger through the holes you made until you hit a stud. Or just check where an electrical outlet is...

In the future, just get a new built it led fixture. They’re affordable and way less hassle.

There are specific bulbs for universal (runs in fat T12 magnetic OR T8 electronic ballast), and for electronic only. The voltage for florescent bulbs is many times higher than wall power, and also includes a starter circuit.

Direct-wire bulbs will specifically state that they are not for use in existing fixtures. They can be more efficient without ballast, but need re-wiring according to the directions included.

Cries in lath and plaster

LED replacements.

Ballast compatible LED tubes will not work with magnetic ballast, and they can damage the electronics.

Ballast bypass LED tubes can be damaged if you do not remove the ballast, definitely by a magnetic ballast, less likely with electronic ballast but it can still happen. The ballast must be removed for these to function properly.

Also, you can’t expect the studs to be 16 from an inside corner. Layout is mainly for exterior sheathing and starts from an outside corner which outside corner? You can’t tell. Tldr: stud finder.

Ok, first - “we’d have to fiddle with the switch before it would catch” tells me that the switch is at the end of its life. MA single pole switch has 2 positions, open and closed (they should not be held in any other position, or it can cause damage.

Ballast also don’t last forever.

If I have a fluorescent light that isn’t working, I take these steps.

1. Power off, swap the lamps (fluorescent tubes) with a pair that I know for a fact work and inspect the tombstones.

If the lamps still don’t come on…this is telling me it’s more than likely the ballast that needs to be replaced.

2. Power off, remove the lamps, open the guts to expose the ballast, confirm it’s the correct ballast by reading the label (the label will show the line voltage and lamps that it’s compatible with). Disconnect the feed from the ballast, power on and test for voltage. The voltage should be around 110-120v.

(Do not work on live electricity unless you are a trained individual and have the proper PPE)

After confirming I have the correct voltage, working lamps and undamaged tombstone’s, I will replace the ballast.I’m