We live in a 1930 kit house. Roughly 18 years ago, our dining room ceiling spontaneously collapsed. This past Wednesday, our living room ceiling collapsed spontaneously. Water damage was not the cause. In both cases, we had no warning or signs. We are lucky that no-one was hurt or killed in both cases.

The ceilings are a plaster board that was finished with layers of plaster applied by hand. They are thick (2 1/8") and heavy. My question is: should we replace all the ceilings in the original part of the house with drywall? Our children's bedrooms are the same ceiling construction as the living and dining rooms. We love the plaster ceilings - they have character and diminish noise. Replacing all the ceilings is not something we even thought about prior to Wednesday evening, when the living room ceiling collapsed.

Does anyone have experience with a similar issue or can anyone advise on what would be the best course of action?

Many thanks!