How to locate ceiling joists.

[Yorkshire Geek]

So I need to screw a baton to a ceiling and in really don't have any clue on how to find the joists short of making trial holes. Anyone got any tips?

[kerr]

Its either test holes or a stud finder
https://www.screwfix.com/p/zircon-studsensor-edge-stud-finder/2612k

They can be a bit of hit and miss though.
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[tony_d123]

If you lightly tap the ceiling with a hammer you will hear the sound change where the joist is. It sounds more solid. They are normally 400mm or 600mm apart, 16" or 24" in old money.
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[grr666]

Do you know what way they run? I'd start by figuring that out, or you may make a 100 holes and not hit one.

Go upstairs and lift a bit of carpet somewhere and see what way the floorboards run, the joists will run the opposite way.
This way you can at least you drill your holes along the correct wall.

Use Gyproc easi-fill to make good any unnecessary exploratory holes.
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[ScaredyCat]

No more nails...
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[Yorkshire Geek]

Ta for the tips guys, will see if I can do this without breaking anything.

And yes, a batten #shameface

[BTTD]

Whatever the ceiling is, plasterboard or lath, it will have been nailed or screwed to the joists.
Stud detectors are a bit hit and miss, but I've found switching them to metal detection can find the screws / nails. Mark them and you'll find they run in lines = joists. Should even be roughly centre of joists.
Knocking and listening should narrow the search area down.

[chris-red]

[stinkwheel]

Worth mentioning that while convention and common sense dictates wiring and pipework should be either in a notch on top of a joist or running through a hole in the centre of them, it could be a serious error to assume this is definately the case.

Take this from someone who drilled into the rising main while fitting battens for a suspended ceiling. Said rising main turned out to have been shoved up into a notch on the underside of the joist then had the plasterboard for the ceiling fixed below it to stop it dropping out again.

Thankfuly, it's an old house so there is a lot of redundancy in the joist thickness.
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[chris-red]

I've got a few joists that have been significantly drilled through(50%+), to put up spot lights. I'm just trying not to think about it
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[ADSrox0r]

If you can get above then simply poke a bradawl through either side of the joist(s) and then fill afterwards.

Failing that it's tappy-tappy pokey-pokey and pray you don't hit a bodgit-and-scarper wiring job. I usually use a stud sensor to find any live wires/pipes then go from there if I can't get above.
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