Where do wiring & reinforcements reside in walls? General problems, solutions, information and advice on fixing to walls of all kinds

[diynewbie]

I'm about to put up some shelving onto an internal wall. I believe the wall is mostly brick but it's a late 60's building so is it likely to have steel/concrete reinforcements in places? Also, I am not sure exactly where the lighting circuit runs. Would it be at the same height as the light switches or could it be at any height? And do the wires just run through the walls or would they run through a pipe of some sort? Is there a detection device available to work out where the wires are, so that I can avoid drilling through them?

Any advice much appreciated. Thanks.

[moger4]

most internal walls made of block and dont contain rods , the wires for lighting SHOULD run down the wall vertically but as you have said getting s tud detector is a great and very safe idea , who knows how some one could have bodged the wiring ?? so do that and you should be ok