Cracks in ceiling with radiant heat coil
Ok, another newby situation for me.
Customer has ceilings in his home composed of plaster board. HO tells me that his ceilings have a radiant heating system (water) coils IN his ceiling. I dont know if IN means somehow embedded in the plasterboard or if IN simply means there are coils laying on top of the ceiling between the plasterboard and insulation. I don’t know anything about ceiling radiant heating systems or how they’re installed.
Anyways, the issue is, some of the ceiling joints in the plaster board have cracked, long cracks, some wavy in an S pattern but mostly straight line cracks. HO wants the cracks repaired. Do I do something different in repairing these cracks since there is a radiant heating system “in” the ceiling? Or just do the normal tape/mud of the crack as if it were a DW crack? I should add also that in a few places the plasterboard is bowing, as in the nails holding it on the edges have come undone and the board needs to be renailed back to the rafter, which I’m hesitant on doing due to this heating system I don’t know anything about.
Edited 9/13/2005 1:45 am ET by WillieWonka
Replies
bump
sleeps till noon but before it's dark...
Rez, not sure why you saw fit to BUMP my post, but glad you did. When I got no reply at all to it I had wondered if it actually posted. I did a search for it and didn't find it and reasoned it never got posted. Was gonna repost later when I saw your bump. Somehow you must've seen it, and for some reason saw a "bump" needed to be done. So....THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!If at first you don't succeed, try using a hammer next time...everything needs some extra persuasion from time to time. -ME
Saw in your profile where you were a long time member so figured you didn't need the explanatory response.
No post should ever go unaddressed in some fashion.
be sos inviting help from any quarter
sleeps till noon but before it's dark...
which I'm hesitant on doing due to this heating system I don't know anything about.
That would be my concern. Wonder why the ceiling is sagging? maybe a small water leak? Might be a good job to pass on.
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
Does the HO mean that radient was retro fit from below...fastened to the underside of the floor above? I thought radient heat tubes (water) were for floors and occaisionally walls in special apps.
Maybe the heat is building up in the joist space and causing a great amount of expansion.
If you haven't drawn blood today, you haven't done anything.
I dunno. HO says the house has had it all the time (radient heat in ceiling). Says he only uses one zone, though as it's not very warming to his home overall, only the rooms in the zone he uses actually heat well he said. He called me over to do an insulation job for him, with the "oh by the way" about the ceiling cracks. It appears to be plasterboard. The cracks appear to be the same ole cracks yo normally see in plasterboard.If at first you don't succeed, try using a hammer next time...everything needs some extra persuasion from time to time. -ME
The heating dries out the framing lumber and drywall (which, despite it's name, is pretty wet). These all shrink at different rates, resulting in cracks. The drying of the framing also causes nail/screw pops that will result in bowing/sagging.
Also, when heating, the hot spots will expand more than the cool spots, creating stresses.
That's the cause. Don't know the solution.
But when re-fastening the DW, beware of hitting a heating element with a screw. Dunno how to avoid this without some guidance.
You really need to figure out if it is hot water radiant in the ceiling or electric radiant heat.
I have installed one and seen several electric radiant drywall heat systems. The panels are 4x8' sheets. Is there a pattern to the cracks that would indicate this is a drywall radiant heat ?
What is the heating system in the house? Hot water radiant would require a boiler, distribution manifold and a significant amount of piping/tubing somewhere. If you can't find the supply end of the hot water heat, chances are the HO may be mistaken about what he thinks he has.
Another thing common to radiant ceiling heat is ghosting of joist and the radiant elements through the drywall or plaster. I have seen in a couple of homes with radiant ceiling heat. Without air circulation from a forced air system, any soot collects on the colder joist. Really common if the owners smoke or burn candles.
Another place to look for evidence of what type system he really has is in the electric panel. An electric radiant ceiling heat should have the breakers labeled as such.
To trace the tubing, purchases an IR heat thermometer and scan the ceiling with the zine in question turned on. I believe Tool Crib now carries the IR heat scanners now for less than $100.00. It wont be provide a real precise map of the grid, but you should be able to avoid placing a screw in the tubing or elements.
As far as repairing the cracks in a skim coat plaster, use a setting type compound like Durabond. Regular drywall compound will not do the job here.
Dave
I have dealt with a 10,000 sq. ft. house with radiant heat but it was electric not water had wire stapled in loops to the ceiling then another layer of sheetrock.Used a thermometer that you aimed a laser and it read the temp this helped find issues in the grid but a thermal camera would have been the ticket .
So my question is he sure its water system?
As far as cracks we smooth coated the whole houses ceilings and it will crack but we have reapplied and its holding up well.
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