Smoke detector installation - signing off extension

RoseLondon

Our builder estimated £600 excl. vat for installing 6 smoke/heat detectors in our newly extended house. They stressed have to conform to regulation.

Can we purchase and install these ourselves, as previously we always did before extension?

I got a feeling they really want to discourage us reduce scope of work, I.e. make us have to accept all their quoted items/prices. Is there a possibility they would tell us we can't install these on our own due to safety regulation control? (Compliance, so to speak...)

Doozergirl

They need to be hard wired. Do you have the wiring in place already?

RoseLondon

Are those battery powered combination detectors complying to regulations?

Like this one:

First Alert SCO5 Combination Optical Smoke Alarm & Carbon Monoxide Detector, AA Battery Powered https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B002DR4K5O/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_h7CoDbW0ETJ4Q

bris

RoseLondon wrote: »

Are those battery powered combination detectors complying to regulations?

Like this one:

First Alert SCO5 Combination Optical Smoke Alarm & Carbon Monoxide Detector, AA Battery Powered https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B002DR4K5O/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_h7CoDbW0ETJ4Q

No they need to be hard wired and linked, that means one goes off they all go off. They may also need to be linked to the rest of the houses alarms (except the carbon monoxide detector) but you need to check the regs for that.


Give your councils building control a call they will tell you in less than a minute what you need to know.

Davesnave

RoseLondon wrote: »

Are those battery powered combination detectors complying to regulations?

No, as Doozer said, they need to be interconnected and hard wired i.e. to the mains. You need an electrician to install wiring and certify them.

Battery units fail when the batteries give out or get removed for convenience when cooking. Hard wired units are much more likely to be working in 5 years time.

Doozergirl

Davesnave wrote: »

No, as Doozer said, they need to be interconnected and hard wired i.e. to the mains. You need an electrician to install wiring and certify them.

Battery units fail when the batteries give out or get removed for convenience when cooking. Hard wired units are much more likely to be working in 5 years time.

Exactly. It's £600 for a reason, they're not charging you that to screw £20 detectors up with a screwdriver.

I'd go further and put up Nest Protect alarms. Expensive, but 'safety first' and all that - no-one will be batting them off the ceiling with a broom handle. We don't really give clients a choice

I set fire to a tea towel last week and the alarm told me before I saw it - and I was in the room! "There's smoke in the kitchen. The alarm may sound. The alarm is loud." Gave me a chance to put the towel in the sink and stop the alarm sounding (from my phone) before the dogs went bats*** over the noise as well.

Owain_Moneysaver

They need to be hard wired to mains power, but the interlink can be radio.

You can interlink fire and CO detectors provided you have a locator switch that will differentiate between the two.

RoseLondon

Thanks to all! I'd therefore not bother to request removing from quote. Guess it's proper extension project, not like self diy buying off online. I'll shut up.

Risteard

Doozergirl wrote: »

Exactly. It's £600 for a reason, they're not charging you that to screw £20 detectors up with a screwdriver.

I'd go further and put up Nest Protect alarms. Expensive, but 'safety first' and all that - no-one will be batting them off the ceiling with a broom handle. We don't really give clients a choice

I set fire to a tea towel last week and the alarm told me before I saw it - and I was in the room! "There's smoke in the kitchen. The alarm may sound. The alarm is loud." Gave me a chance to put the towel in the sink and stop the alarm sounding (from my phone) before the dogs went bats*** over the noise as well.

I'm sorry but I don't agree with the Nest detectors advice. They don't have a heat detector in their range.

Use Ei Electronics/Aico - they are the market leader and for good reason.

I certainly wouldn't consider £600 dear for 6 detectors. Presumably some of these are being Radio linked.

Also, it's misleading simply to state that they must be mains powered. They must be mains powered with battery back-up to give a Grade D system. Mains powered only would be a Grade E system, which won't be permissible.

Hermione_Granger

Risteard wrote: »

I'm sorry but I don't agree with the Nest detectors advice. They don't have a heat detector in their range.

https://support.google.com/googlenest/answer/9251133?hl=en

The 2nd generation Google Nest Protect features an exclusive Split-Spectrum smoke sensor and a microphone that enables complete Self-Monitoring if you forget to manually test it. It also has other sensors that detect temperature, humidity, occupancy and ambient light.

Heat sensor: enables Nest Protect to detect sudden rises in temperature.

Doozergirl

Risteard wrote: »

I'm sorry but I don't agree with the Nest detectors advice. They don't have a heat detector in their range.

Use Ei Electronics/Aico - they are the market leader and for good reason.

I certainly wouldn't consider £600 dear for 6 detectors. Presumably some of these are being Radio linked.

Also, it's misleading simply to state that they must be mains powered. They must be mains powered with battery back-up to give a Grade D system. Mains powered only would be a Grade E system, which won't be permissible.

Pardon?

I appreciate that you consider yourself the forum pedant on the things that you know about.

I approach this from being a human being with 20 years of experience of entire building projects, (not an electrician) talking in clear English to someone who is back where I was 20 years ago. I can appreciate that. I don't even understand what you've just written, so I'm not sire how the OP is supposed to.

I'm not misleading a person who wants to whack up £20 battery powered alarms by giving a clear and simple message to them that their alarms need be hard-wired, rather than battery powered and screwed to a ceiling. Their builder has already pointed out the need to conform.

I've just googled your market-leading smoke alarms. The Nest does exactly what you say it doesn't, is user-friendly to the point of looking after itself and messaging you if it's broken, even(!), and does far more besides. I have never been more impressed by one product introduced to the building trade. I haven't listed them all, in this thread, but it is a revolution in comparison to the average smoke alarm.

"Market-leading" doesn't mean *best* when it comes to feeling and being safe, I would love to see something that does even more than the Nest does. It's a large cost compared to the cheapest stuff, but it's literally life saving.

Please feel free to show me how the product you use provides the same level of reassurance as the Nest and I'll save my clients some money.