I’m about to go crazy. Installing a hanging bike rack. I’ve used every trick to find studs to no avail. Stud finder consistently (>10 tries) tells me studs are in same places, and distance between hits is 16 inches. But drill finds no studs. No electrical boxes on wall. Baseboards are glued not nailed. Using 3/16 bit and drilling to 2.5 inches—no studs, even drilling every 1 inch. Measured both 16 and 24 inches from both corners—no studs. Wall appears to be about 5 inches thick, and other exposed studs in same space are 2x4, so using drill bit length, I should still be hitting a stud even if stud not flush against wall. Knocking produces no discernible sound difference anywhere. And now I have about 12 holes an inch apart along my wall. Short of cutting out a piece of the wall to find it, what the heck is going on? Can it be there are no studs in wall? If not, why can’t I find them? This project is about to be the death of my DIY ego. FWIW, this is an exterior wall of a full bath in a partially finished basement.

 

Undo a wire coat hanger and shove it sideways down the wall through one of your many holes.

 

Try some heavy duty toggle bolts. The first one is guaranteed to hit a stud.

 

Isnt that the truth!

Well, if it's saying it's there then try using a very small nail right above the base board to find the edge, you can then cover up the holes with a little caulk!

 

If you're willing spend a few bucks, consider getting the WALL Scanner WALABOT. You'll find yourself using more often tan you might think.

 

If you were to do the above there would be no question about what is behind your wall.
There would be less aggavation doing so than looking for some other creative solution to your problem.
I do this very often in my workplace where old construction techniques make finding a solid anchor point a problem.
I use a 2 1/2" holesaw on a drill that would give you good visibility or even to be able to stick your hand or phone in there for a pic.
A piece of lath wider than the hole and 4 drywall screws lets you use the piece you cut as a patch.

 

I got one of these for Christmas. Drill a small hole & stick this in there & look around. Its got a LED light built into it.

https://www.harborfreight.com/digita...era-61839.html

 

Wire hanger for the win! I drilled literally on the edge of both sides of the stud. And it’s not a uniform distance from either corner. But I found it!

 

When your dealing with rough construction there are guidelines but a lot of variations so you have to get creative at times!