[blhmabbott]

I have to install 5 of these for the daycare I'm opening and was wondering if any of you can tell me how to install them. Do they plug into the wall? Do you wire them to each other and then into the fuse box? How difficult is this on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being "let an expert do it." Thanks for any help and suggestions!
Heather

 

[mikell]

Well if you have never done electrical and it a daycare I would say hire it done. If you can wire and get to the attic to wire then go for it. You could also run conduit and mount them to the celing. Codes vary if in doubt hire a pro.

mikell

 

[agmantoo]

You certainly need to get a thorough understanding of the installation of the detectors. When I moved the house, I was required to bring the already existing smoke detectors up to date with the current code. Even for a single resident the code here now requires that all the smoke detectors be interconnected so that if one sounds they all sound off. In a daycare I am confident they want everything exactly as the code specifies and you would be liable if there were any violations. I normally am a do- it- yourselfer but in this incident I would hire a licensed electrician and I would keep the receipt. You can write the costs off as an expense.

 

[mistletoad]

The term "hard wired" refers to the fact they do not plug into the wall and yes, they should be interconnected. Make sure they have battery back up and consider getting carbon monoxide detectors too, even if they aren't required. They aren't hard to install, but you may not be allowed to do it yourself. Check with the fire marshall and the daycare licensing board first.

 

[blhmabbott]

Thank you all for your advice and suggestions. The comment about the carbon monoxide detectors is an excellent idea and I do have one. But I think it would be a good idea to have as many carbon monoxide detectors as there are fire detectors, unless someone has any reason as to why one would be sufficient. I live in a one story home that is about 1200 sq ft or so with CHA. I don't see how just one carbon monoxide detector would be enough. What is even stranger, is the state says NOTHING about installing the carbon monoxide detectors...just the fire detectors. Seems to me if you have one, you should have the others. But this is just my opinion, and I don't really think it would cause any harm to install both of them. Better to be safe than sorry .
Heather

 

[Gary in ohio]

How they work will depend on what kind you get. There are two basic types. One is just a 120volt powered alarm, Self contained. Most code requres it to be run on seperate circuit from any other devices. You just wire as many as you need. The second one is similar but you also run a trigger wire along with the power that will allow all alarms to go off when one does.

Its not hard to install but from the questions your asking I would say you need to hire someone who knows how to do it.

 

[Mrs_stuart]

blhmabbott, we had to do the same thing...the firemarshall had to inspect our home because we were getting a license to be a "group home" for foster kids...we checked into the hardwired smoke detectors and we decided to let a pro do it. We checked into several persons and we decided to let ADT alarm system do it...they installed 8 hardwired dectcors, motion sensors, door alarms, wall panel, and 2 alarm boxes all the work and all hardwired with 12 volt battery backup. We kept the ADT service for about 5 months and then we dropped the service and just have the alarm that is no longer hooked into ADT. The total instalation with all of the listed items cost us about $750. We had a lot of extras though...like the motion sensors, and the extra alarm box. They sometimes run specials and it might be worth checking into. Good luck with your daycare.

Belinda

 

[BamaSuzy]

it would be better to get a licensed electrician to install these to make sure they work correctly. Also MAKE CERTAIN that you have a couple of battery-operated smoke detectors just in case the electricity fails....some of the electrical hard-wired ones have batter back ups but I still like to have a couple of cheap battery-powered ones "just in case."

 

[blhmabbott]

Thank you for the additional comments and suggestions. I just made a phone call to schedule the smoke detecors to be professionally installed. Does anyone have any further advice on the carbon monoxide detectors as well? Thanks again!
Heather