That would be the best thing to do.

According to his post, he checked for leaks and bug damage.

Maybe he has access to the attic.

If he has access to the attic, than he could have insulation blown in; if not than roll insulation.

Maybe he has pics.

Off Topic: smiller4597, you finally getting some snow over there?

 

I used to install radiant heat ceilings like yours "back in the olden days". The common practice was a single layer of 1/2" or 5/8" followed by the electrician applying his wires, then we would nail on a 1/2"x2" wide strip on the joists and hang another layer of 1/2" and that layer could be finished smooth or textured. First thing is if there are no water spots anywhere most likely the nails just pulled loose. I doubt if yours was screwed on from the type of installation you have. Nowadays, radiant heat is made right into the Sheetrock at the factory and it is hung like regular board and plugged in later.
If you really have plaster as you stated, I doubt if you can just push it up and re screw it as plaster will fracture all over the place when you push on it. If your finish layer is actually Sheetrock, I would push it back up with tee bars. Then, screw it down with screws that bite at least 3/4" or better. Once set you can refinish the surface. If your careful, the ceiling heat should still be workable.
My .02

 

sierraben, we had about 3 inches last night then it rained all day today. No skiing yet. On topic: it is hard and sometimes impossible to see damage caused by water, rot or even bugs unless you are able to inspect all aspects of the affected area.

 

smiller4597, 3" of snow + rain = slush. Can't ski on that.

True on the rock-rot-bugs, etc.

Should be an easy fix, unless.........................there is rot-bugs.

 

Wait a minute - there is ceiling heat - wires in the plaster? If so, you will wind up with no heat by pushing up the existing sheet rock & screwing it up "with lots of screws". Those screws will be hitting the wiring, guaranteed. As I said earlier, take it all down. Shop vacs handle blown insulation quite nicely.

 

In this area (Atlanta) there are many homes with ceilings falling down because they used (smooth) nails to attach the sheet rock instead of the ones with rings that have the deformable head (parkerized?).

If you want to reattach yourself, here is what to do.

Get what they call a "3rd" hand, basically a big long board that attaches to a pole that you jack up into place to hold sheet rock against a wall. You can use it against a ceiling too.

Then go to Home DEpot, they sell long sheets of metal with holes in them meant to patch ceilings. Once you have the ceiling screwed back into place, then just apply mud and tape over the strips.

I agree with everyone on the not needing or wanting a second layer of sheetrock. I think a second layer at the very least is asking for mold between the two layers.

 

Yeah I can see in the attic, the garage butts up against this room. Again yes it's blown in insulation. Earlier sombody asked what size the room is. Measured out to be 10' x 16'.

Just got the quote from the contractor, $1,800.00++ Screw that. I'm going to do this myself.

 

As stated earlier I'm going to disconnect the ceiling heat and install a wall heater.

 

[QUOTE=rebocardo]In this area (Atlanta) there are many homes with ceilings falling down because they used (smooth) nails to attach the sheet rock instead of the ones with rings that have the deformable head (parkerized?).

If you want to reattach yourself, here is what to do.

Get what they call a "3rd" hand, basically a big long board that attaches to a pole that you jack up into place to hold sheet rock against a wall. You can use it against a ceiling too.
QUOTE]

I'm going use the 3rd hand idea. Already have the wood for that. I'm going to prop it up, go crazy with the screw gun and then repair the cracks. I figure this will cost very little for the screws, mud, and tape. If it holds up 10 years I'll be happy.

I would post some pics for you folks but I don't know how to get them to show up in the thread, any tips?


Oh yeah a guy at work gave me a idea. He said to turn the heat up in that room, then lightly moisten the sheetrock in the area where the joist's are with a squirt bottle. He said the water will evaporate where the wires are and I could place screws in the other area. Hope I explained that right. Of course I would use a pen at first then shut off the power before actually installing the screws. I don't think the water will hurt anything since the ceiling has a layer of paint.

 

vancouverpower, I wouldn't go over board on the amount of drywall screws you use.

I think a rule of thumb is every 6 inches on the perimeter and 10 inches in the field. If I wrong, someone correct me.

$1800.00? "ouch". Down here it would probably be much more.

Lettuce know how it comes out.

As for posting pics; I'm curious also on how to post them.

 

"Back in the day" before screws became the recommended method of fastening, nails were doubled on ceiling installations, or at least should have been. Two nails were used approx. 2" apart where you would expect to see one (like on a wall installation) and one nail assisted the other to hold the drywall up. I'll bet the original installer didn't know this trick, but at least now, we all do.

I don't know much about ceiling heat, but spraying water to locate the cables sounds like a good tip.