radiant heating in ceiling?

i have a customer that says she has radiant heating in a bedroom ceiling, is this possible? (the ceiling is leaking water coming from roof) the entire ceiling has to be ripped down and new blue board and all that stuff but how can new blue board be put in if theres radiant heating im kinda confused help please?

 

This all I found. I have never seen it.

Explain Radiant Ceiling Cable Heat | eHow.com

Mike NJ

 

I've never run into it as a contractor, but many years ago it was common to have electric radiant heat. In a ceiling, that is what I would expect. If you have an attic where you can get to the ceiling below, you should be able to see what is there and possible remove it and re-install later. If the insulation is wet it needs to be replaced anyway.

Is the water coming in from condensation, ice dams, or a leaky roof? There may be other work necessary to resolve the cause of this problem, like sealed cans, air sealing, and better ventilation.

Bud

 

More than likely the cables are embedded in the ceiling by either being sandwich between sheet rock or inside plaster. In either case it is going to be literally impossible for you to take down this ceiling without damaging the cables. First and foremost you have to make sure the electricity is turned off to this system before even touching the ceiling.

You are not going to know what you're up against until you take down the ceiling. You have to make sure the homeowner is made aware of this because depending on what you're up against determines time and materials on your part and costs to the homeowner.

Most people opt for a different heating system, not just because of costs but for comfort. They have a lot of options today, electric baseboard is the least expensive option.