ceiling repair w/ electric heat

Paul B._3

I'll step into the way back machine for a moment here.

In a past life I did a maintenance gig for a few years at an apartment complex that had electric radiant in the ceilings.

Most likely there are two layers of sheet rock, a base layer, which has the electric cables stapled to it, a layer of thinset mortar (or something similar) to fill the space between the cable mats, and then the finished layer of sheet rock.

We used to actually use paint to find the layout. a good coat of ceiling paint, and then turn the heat up. The paint will dry first where the cable mats are installed. I know, seems like a waste of paint, but get one of the cable mats, and it's a waste of a ceiling.

You'll want to determine the direction of the joists, or rafters beforehand, and mark the spacing on the walls. It's too late once the ceiling is wet.

All this assumes the ceiling is working in the first place. If it isn't you'll have to find someone that still has a line break locator on order to find the break and repair it.

That exercise would be a whole 'nother thread

Paul B.

kristine

electric heat in ceilings

HELP!!
my husband and i are trying to figure out how to fix a bedroom ceiling which is falling down at the seams. it has electric heat in the ceiling, which no one seems to have any knowledge on. can we screw the ceiling up to the rafters and hide the screws? or tear them down, eliminating our only heat source and install baseboard heaters? any advise or knowledge would be greatly appreciated, we have baby number 2 on the way, and no nursery until we solve this mystery!! thanks, kristine

Ray Landry_2

Here's a helpful link, courtesy of google- http://www.clarkpublicutilities.com/Residential/TheEnergyAdviser/Archives2005/05_02_20

"Twist the thermostat for the ceiling heat in a room all the way to the right. This will bring the ceiling heat on. Take a spray bottle filled with water and mist an 18-inch square patch of the ceiling. After a period of time, sometimes up to 30 minutes, the pattern of the wires in the drywall will emerge as dry spots,"

That little bit of information should help you immensly to know where not to screw the drywall into. The question I have, is WHY is the ceiling falling? Is there a conditioned space above this ceiling? Could there be a humidity issue? or maybe a roof or plumbing leaking? Have you checked the cost of your electricity per therm in your area? If it's anything like here in the New England your return on investment will be huge if you convert to a water based system.