Metal studs.

Armed with a shiny new (magnetic!) level and a stud finder, I began the quest to hang my floating shelf.

I tested out all the stud finders and came to conclusion they were all the same (or so I thought) so naturally I bought the cheapest one because I don't plan on using it often. This is the current state of my stud finder.

Yup. A cotton ball holding the battery in. POS 

It still worked, not ideal, but I found my studs 24" apart, marked the wall and started to drill my pilot holes. I hit, what I assumed to be wood, and could not get through.

Assuming like any normal person, I can't push any harder, must be metal. Metal studs. Thanks a lot Florida. Now what.

Apparently my drill bit sucked so I switched to a new one, and hit metal (and also completely ruined the drill bit, so much for "these work on metal too") and Eureka it worked!

I was able to secure the support beam/rack stupid thing and slide the shelf over it. But I will probably never buy one of these again...or buy a better stud finder...or a better drill bit...or have someone else do it for me.

Not sure what else to put on it, and need to actually print out a family picture...but a completed project that actually turned out ok

$15 from IKEA and a huge headache...not sure it was worth it.

xo A

Thanks to anyone who helped or listened to me complain about this stupid shelf all week :)