TIL I was drilling sensor holes into studs without checking for electrical lines first

I've been installing alarm systems for about 4 years now and always just drilled into studs assuming they were safe, but last Tuesday on a job in an older house I nicked a wire that was running right through the middle of a 2x4. That could have been a real disaster or even a fire, and it made me wonder - how many of you actually use a stud finder with wire detection before every single mount?

3 comments

3 Comments

price.gavin27d ago

Come at it from the other side - yeah, maybe you've been lucky for hundreds of studs, but it only takes one mistake. I've seen guys hit wires in the middle of studs where nobody would expect them, especially in old houses with shoddy work. Every time you skip checking, you're rolling the dice on a 200 dollar service call or worse, a fire. That few extra seconds with a decent stud finder pays for itself the first time it saves you from drilling into a live 120v line.

the_anthony27d agoMost Upvoted

I mean, how often does that actually happen though? I've drilled into probably hundreds of studs and never hit a wire, so I just don't see the point in slowing down for a stud finder every time.

claire_hart5327d ago

Oh man, @the_anthony, I gotta disagree respectfully here. Just because it hasn't happened to you yet doesn't mean it's not a real risk, you know? One wrong hit and you're dealing with a much bigger headache than a few extra minutes with a stud finder.