Ceiling electrical radiant heat

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DoubleDan

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I recently moved into a house with electric radiant heat in the ceiling, with heat in the garage. I'd like place 2 large hooks in the ceiling of the garage, in order to hang my bike out of the way. Plan is to screw an appropriate length of 2x4 onto the ceiling, with the hooks screwed into the 2x4. The hooks will not go into the ceiling, but I am concerned that the screws (probably use long drywall screws) I use to attach the stud to the ceiling joists might hit the heating element. I took a look in the attic (very low/small/hard to access) to see if I could tell WHERE the cables run (atop the drywall, on the attic side, or on the ROOM SIDE of the drywall?) but I wasn't able to see any aspect of the wiring. I've done a fair bit of home repair, including a lot of electrical work, but I've never lived with this type of heat before. Can anyone tell me how/where the heating elements in such a setup are usually placed? The building is late 1960's construction. Any thoughts about how to approach this appreciated!

Dan
 
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I'm not familiar with this type of installation but if original to the home , sounds like a fire waiting to happen.
 
This is pulled from the website of one manufacturer:


Designed to provide maximum comfort at the absolute lowest cost, there is no wasted heat using SmartRooms Radiant Ceiling Heat System. Installation is simple: electric gypsum panels fit between the ceiling joists above the finished ceiling. A gentle curtain of warmth is then spread evenly throughout the room, now free from drafts and dust.

Are there other methods? probably. Rent an infrared camera, turn the heat up high and put your screws in the blue areas.
 
If the finish has the texture of spray-on acoustic, the conductor is a continuous loop attached in an "S" pattern, and sprayed over.

Before the sophisticated stud finders of today, we had to, gently, remove a small area with a putty knife to miss the conductors.

There are also wall mount hanging systems.
 
I heard those back in the sixties, there is a reason they did not get used for long. I would find a way to hang the bike from the wall.
 
Thanks for the replies. I live in the PNW, where it doesn't get really cold (at least not usually for long), and the heat actually does work pretty well, counter-intuitive as "Heat from the ceiling" seems. I guess that's where the "radiant" part comes in. Being electric, it's not cheap, though most electric is hydro around here, and cheaper than in some areas. Plus I don't heat the entire living space (or the garage at ALL... ). I had thought about the IR camera, that would be perfect, if I had access to one. Figuring a way to hang from the wall might be good. Also could probably contact cement the stud with the hooks in place to the ceiling, since the bike's not that heavy. If only the cement was as cheap as 4 screws! If anyone else has any other suggestions, please pass them on.
 
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