Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 11

Thread: Smoke alarm placement question

  1. #1
    Senior Member jp1's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    San Francisco
    Posts
    9,802

    Smoke alarm placement question

    When we did the final walkthrough of our house yesterday I noticed that there is a smoke alarm all the way at the top of the vaulted ceiling over the staircase. It will take a handyman with a 25 foot ladder to change the battery. (We’re definitely not going to climb a ladder that tall nor do we have room to store such a big one purpose item. )

    Is it really necessary to be all the way up there? I’m tempted to install one just above the flat hallway ceiling level in the staircase that could be accessed from a normal ladder in the upstairs hallway. We could have the painters unplug and remove the battery of this one this weekend.

  2. #2
    Senior Member JaneV2.0's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Posts
    15,489
    That's where one of mine is, too--along with a couple of can lights. Real practical.
    You might check with your fire department for an alternate location.

  3. #3
    Simpleton Alan's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    Ohio
    Posts
    9,389
    Quote Originally Posted by jp1 View Post
    When we did the final walkthrough of our house yesterday I noticed that there is a smoke alarm all the way at the top of the vaulted ceiling over the staircase. It will take a handyman with a 25 foot ladder to change the battery. (We’re definitely not going to climb a ladder that tall nor do we have room to store such a big one purpose item.
    Are you sure it isn't hard wired with a battery backup? Ours are and we've only had to change the backup batteries once in 25 years, and we only did it then because we were painting and decided to do it while we had it disconnected, they tested fine.
    "Things should be made as simple as possible, but not one bit simpler." ~ Albert Einstein

  4. #4
    Senior Member SteveinMN's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Location
    Saint Paul, Minnesota
    Posts
    6,618
    Quote Originally Posted by Alan View Post
    we've only had to change the backup batteries once in 25 years
    My understanding was that smoke detectors had a useful life of about 10 years, hardwired or battery-powered.

    bae?
    Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome. - Booker T. Washington

  5. #5
    Simpleton Alan's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    Ohio
    Posts
    9,389
    Quote Originally Posted by SteveinMN View Post
    My understanding was that smoke detectors had a useful life of about 10 years, hardwired or battery-powered.

    bae?
    I set one of them off a few months ago during what may be best considered a "cooking misadventure". My understanding was that it worked perfectly.
    "Things should be made as simple as possible, but not one bit simpler." ~ Albert Einstein

  6. #6
    Senior Member jp1's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    San Francisco
    Posts
    9,802
    Just got back from our new home. None of the smoke detectors are hard wired. we will be killing the one up in the stratosphere. We will also be buying 7 ten year units and putting them up over the next few weeks.

  7. #7
    Senior Member jp1's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    San Francisco
    Posts
    9,802
    Quote Originally Posted by Alan View Post
    I set one of them off a few months ago during what may be best considered a "cooking misadventure". My understanding was that it worked perfectly.
    A "dinner's done" alarm?

  8. #8
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2016
    Posts
    7,454
    Make sure to buy a carbon monoxide one, too.

  9. #9
    Simpleton Alan's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    Ohio
    Posts
    9,389
    Quote Originally Posted by jp1 View Post
    A "dinner's done" alarm?
    More of a "It's time for takeout" notification.
    "Things should be made as simple as possible, but not one bit simpler." ~ Albert Einstein

  10. #10
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2015
    Posts
    2,843
    State dependent. Here, code is smoke alarm outside each bedroom. That's it.

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •