Radiant heat installed in ceiling.

[fold_em83]

I have a radiant heating system in my home that is installed in the ceiling. I have noticed that in the kitchen, the plaster on the ceiling is cracked and sagging a bit. What can I do to repair this before it falls? It isn't sagging bad but I don't want it to fall. I know that you have to be careful when working on a radiant heat system because if you damage the heating wire, it won't work anymore. This is my first experience with this type of heat and I'm not sure how to fix this problem. Thanks in advance for your help.

[mike n]

First you need to determine where the ceiling joists are located then you need to cut the sheetrock on top of the joists you can figure out where they are at with a high quality stud finder. Then you can cut across the run of the joists to join the two cuts, remove the damaged sheetrock and repair with new you may want to check if you have a water damage problem in the area

[fold_em83]

I don't have water damage. I can't cut into the ceiling either because the heating system is wires embedded directly into the plaster. These wires are then controlled by a thermostat and they get hot thus heating the room.

[HayZee518]

because your situation is unique (IE electric radiant heat), there isn't much you can do but chip out the bad spots and re-plaster. then apply a skim coat of drywall compound all over the patch and re-paint. the radiant wires are stapled into the sub ceiling. most normally there is a backer board, then a wire mesh screen then the wires then the plaster. if the plaster isn't pressed firmly into the mesh so it "keys" itself when it dries, it will crack.

[mike n]

The reason I told you to find the joists and cut on top of them is that will guaratee you don't cut the heaters how do you think we fix them when they are broken and if you don't have water damage why is your plaster sagging and cracking, it is possible that a part of the heater is laying directly on the sheetrock and causing it