# nail bounces when hammered in wall. How do I hang shelf



## oh'mike (Sep 18, 2009)

Two possibilities---I suggest using a screw---that will penetrate the metal.

You will want to check and see if the 'stud' you found is a stud--not an air duct--electrical conduit or water pipe.



You should not have to much trouble finding real studs if you try this.

Use some painters tape or post-it notes to mark your locations---studs are typically 16" apart.

Start at one side of the wall and start marking the stud locations with your stud finder--you will find that the real studs are 16" apart--the pipes,ducts and other false readings will not be.

Most pullout rulers have red marks every 16"--I hope this helps.

Worst case--poke a small hole in the wall and stick an L shaped length of wire through the hole and feel around inside the wall.----Mike---


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## DangerMouse (Jul 17, 2008)

-=chuckle=- or just poke a really BIG hole in the wall and take a look!
It might be bouncing off a plumbing pipe....?

DM


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## tpolk (Nov 7, 2009)

metal plate to protect wires


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## johnrem (Feb 7, 2008)

yea..lol run a screw into a pipe


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## kwikfishron (Mar 11, 2010)

It has been my experience when nailing a board to a wall and all you get is a bounce, it’s because “You’re Hitting Nothing”.

If you hit steel (a steel stud, plate, another nail) you get no bounce, you get a brick wall.

If you hit a pipe, a hissss is what you get.

If you hit a wire, the toaster stops working.

So back to OP. Are you sure you found a stud?


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## johnrem (Feb 7, 2008)

You are hitting a PVC vent pipe !


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## DangerMouse (Jul 17, 2008)

johnrem said:


> You are hitting a PVC vent pipe !


I think we have the winner folks! "Bounce" being the big clue.

DM


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## peteralfredbird (Jan 10, 2022)

kwikfishron said:


> It has been my experience when nailing a board to a wall and all you get is a bounce, it’s because “You’re Hitting Nothing”.
> 
> If you hit steel (a steel stud, plate, another nail) you get no bounce, you get a brick wall.
> 
> ...



What do you mean "hitting nothing"? Why would it bounce back rather than just sliding in easily, if there is nothing there?


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## rjniles (Feb 5, 2007)

peteralfredbird said:


> What do you mean "hitting nothing"? Why would it bounce back rather than just sliding in easily, if there is nothing there?


You are responding to a 11 year old thread. Check dates when responding.

Sent from my moto g power using Tapatalk


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## kwikfishron (Mar 11, 2010)

peteralfredbird said:


> What do you mean "hitting nothing"? Why would it bounce back rather than just sliding in easily, if there is nothing there?


Take a 3/4" thick board and set it on two saw horses and try to drive a nail through the board in-between the two sawhorses and then try to drive a nail where the board is sitting directly on top of one of the sawhorses.

You will see that driving the nail when the board has full and solid contact over the sawhorse is easy to do whereas trying to drive the nail in-between the two horses will just want to bounce back and not penetrate the board easily.

The same thing happens when instead of nailing the board to a stud you're trying to nail it in-between the studs on a sheetrock covered wall.

This only applies to hand nailing, a nail gun wont have the bounce affect or at least not to the point that you'd notice.

I have no idea if this was the case with the OP but you asked about "bounce" and I gave you the example that I was referring to.


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## CaptTom (Dec 31, 2017)

rjniles said:


> You are responding to a 11 year old thread. Check dates when responding.


Darn! Check dates before _reading_, too.

Now I'll never find out what the OP hit!


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