PL-06Work out what's behind the wall before you drillFor a tall larder unit, tap the wall behind where it stands. A solid brick or block wall sounds dead all over. A plasterboard stud wall sounds hollow between studs and solid on the stud line - run a magnet or stud detector along to find a line of screw heads, usually 400-600mm apart. Drill one small 3mm test hole: timber dust means a timber stud, fine grey swarf means a metal stud, and dust falling through into a gap means dot-and-dab over solid masonry behind. Lath and plaster feels springy and sounds hollow almost everywhere, with narrow timber laths under old, uneven plaster. Cables and pipes can run almost anywhere in a kitchen wall, so use a cable and pipe detector but still treat the wall as live until you prove otherwise - detectors miss deep cables and anything behind metal-backed board, and a metal stud frame confuses cheap detectors further. Find your stopcock now, usually under the kitchen sink, and check it turns. If you have any doubt, isolate the circuit at the consumer unit before drilling, and turn off the water at the stopcock before cutting into anything that could carry water.