Is the contractor for the kitchen the same one who gave a high bid for repair of the bathroom?

I think the plumber makes a good point and is trying to save you some $$. Personally, I'd bring in an electrician (or two) and see what they say before tearing out a ceiling for new lights.

No, it's a different contractor. This one is doing some work in my family room and is trying really hard to get the kitchen job. He knows I'm very particular about details in a job so he is trying to tell me that this way there is no patch work and I'll have a new ceiling etc etc. The one who did the bathroom also gave me a bid for the kitchen but he was talking about taking down a part of the ceiling - which if I recall he implied was sheetrock. I don't remember his saying it was a plaster ceiling.

price it both ways and determine if the difference is worth it to you.

"there is no patch work"

Find someone else. Plaster is not all that hard to patch and a superior surface to drywall.
Once it is gone you are unlikely to be able to afford replacing it. The sound qualities alone are worth keeping it for.

Another contractor took a look today and declared that the ceiling is drywall not plaster. He proposed to put up lathe? or something then put up drywall on that. The ceiling would drop by an inch or so which is not bad since it is almost 9ft anyway. They could run the electircal wiring for the lights between the two. It would save me a big mess. Those were his arguments. Also, although homes in our area are expensive, showroom type kitchens are not the norm so no need to spend anymore than really necessary. Does what he is saying make sense? It is very attractive as an option to me to save on the construction mess.

The last suggestion sounds the best to me. It would be a lot less messy than tearing out the ceiling. I don't like the idea of just patching it either. It has been my experience that over time, things happen to patches and they have to be done over. You might be lucky, but I wouldn't bet on it.
Froggy

You have a house built in 1932, and a plumber has told you that there are more problems with the old plumbing. He wants to remove the kitchen ceiling so that he can get access to the plumbing from below. If he is correct, it would be a mistake to repair the ceiling before the plumbing is up-graded. If you doubt his word, you might call in another plumber who is experienced at old house restoration, for a second opinion.
Please post information stating exactly what the plumber wants to replace, and why.

I think my original post may have been confusing. The plumber who was suggesting that we open up the ceiling and remove bathroom floor tiles was a plumber who was brought to the house by the contractor who had done the work that appears to have caused the leak. They claimed that the work was due to a problem with the waste band(sounds like that). When I brought in an independent plumber he said that they were wrong. The problem was related to the work that they did. As it turns out, they had raised the floor too high so the toilet wasn't sitting properly on the pipes coming up from below. The independent plumber fixed the problem. The toilet is working perfectly now and there have been no more leaks. The plumbing is old and it might not be a bad idea to update it when we do the kitchen remodel but at this time there is nothing in the plumbing that is causing a problem.

We have a similar problem in our living room (1940's house). The roof leaked and damaged the ceiling before we bought the house. The roof was replaced, but now the ceilings sag. We've thought about putting up thin sheetrock and contracting out the tape and texturing... any one have any better suggestions? Any ideas what the cost will be to have it taped and textured after we've put up the sheetrock?

For a house built in 1932 you probably have cast iron stacks and galvanized steel for the smaller drain lines.
Sometimes 2 and 3 inch cast iron is used, but it was pretty rare after the galvanized came around.
The supply lines are also likely galvanized, and if they have not already been replaced are on there last legs.
The problem was probably with a closet bend. That is the fitting that turns upwards and the toilet connects to.

Plaster if that age is likely at least 2 coat and may be 3 coat. It and the cast iron DWV are very expensive to replace and have far superior sound properties than plastic DWV and drywall. You may not even be able to hear the water in the DWV lines. All that will go away with drywall and plastic DWV. You will need to add a bunch of insulation to try and get back what you have now.

You could consider removing any badly damaged plaster, inspecting whatever you can see from the holes, and then using drywall as a backer and closing the opening back up. Easysand can be applied to bring the patch flush to the remaining plaster.

Most poeple view remodels by what they see, the cosmetics. A succesful but way more costly form of remodeling on an older home should always include inspecting the existing plumbing/electrical.The old braided wiring has a way of deteriorating, and galvanized water lines have a life span of 50-75 years depending.They corrode from the inside out, so they might appear to be fine on the outside, but gone on the inside. By not considering these inspections, it's generally a case of pay us now or pay us later. Later means tearing out some of the nice work that was done on your remodel.

Let me start by saying I've done exactly what you're considering. I remodelled my kitchen and put in roughly 12 recessed cans. My ultimate decision was to pull down the ceiling and sheetrock.

Pulling down the plaster was a major PITA. It was very messy and dusty. I did both the pull down and re-sheetrock. I figured the dust from the pull-down and cutting out a dozen recessed holes...while not totally even...would still be an equal task to manage and clean. The sheetrocking was simple for me...and would be even easier for a pro.

I also found that positioning my numerous recessed cans was made much easier being able to see the above subfloor joists. You'll probably also save a little $$ on electrical with an open ceiling. Your electrician wouldn't have to fish new wires for every can.

Aesthetically, I don't think any one but you would ever know the ceilings weren't plaster. If the house had historic significance, that's one thing. I can't honestly say I've ever walked into some ones house and looked up at their ceilings. How about you?

I do think there is also value at being able to see what's going on with that bathroom. Avoiding a potential problem will only make a bad situation worse. I do however agree with the other post regarding the cast iron vs PVC. Cast iron has wonderful sound deadening qualities that you'll never replicate with PVC. I would want to check out all supply lines to be safe.

Ultimately it should depend on how much work your talking about. If it's a small plaster repair and a couple of recessed cans, then I'd probably try to save the plaster. If it's major work and numerous cans, I say take the whole thing down and start over. If you go this route, pay special attention to the dust protection and cleanup provisions of the contract. Also pay attention to how they'll protect the existing floor...if it's going to remain. Plaster is very heavy, and will damage the floor if precautions aren't taken. Good luck.

Spanky 67 is very thorough. Dont consider this rocket science......just take the ceiling down and start over.