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i have seen a company on the net that has them. ther not the same that is put in Commercial buildings. They dont look bad at all, almost blend into the celing.
how much a square foot does this cost??? and how much did it save on your insurance.
i am sure its mainly put on very high end homes, but u could put it on any kind of home.
i am interested in these because of the location of my future home and for insurance reasons.
thanks
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Dad had sprinklers in the coal bin and corncob bin when I was a kid (2 whole basement rooms). Insurance was Mom's peace of mind as that is where my brother got put when he was a bad boy. Took them out when nat. gas put in in 50's.
Where I am now, believe anything over 25,000 sq feet is required to have sprinklers.
*b WBA At Your Sevicejonspolaris,You a sled lover ?Anyway, let's just start this with:Will your new home have (A)city water or (B)well water ?
*Tim yes i like sleds but dont own one because i cant justtify the cost for such a short season. I do have a Polaris quad though.the house will be in a area with city water.thanksjon
*When I built my house I thought I,d at least rough it in for sprinklers but my plumber had these thoughts first you can't just put pipe in the ceiling .it has to be graded certified coded in other words their stuff which means big money. The other point he raised was, in the event of a fire what do you want, the insurance company to pay off no questions asked or a big arguement over the relative worth of a bunch of soggy possessions. My advice: a fireproof safe for documents and photos and more insurance
*the system i say used a flexible "plastic" type tubing. it did NOT use Black Pipe.fire sprinkler put out a fire before it gets big and then shuts off. in the event of a fire and u have to replace everything, do u think u could replace everything?? even personal things?? i would rather have to clean up one room then re-start my life.most plumbers know little or nothing about residential sprinklers so then dont recomend them. if they knew about them it would be different.
*Around here plumbers can not put in sprinker systems unless they are also state certified sprinkler fitters.Are you wanting to sprinkle the whole house or just your high risk areas; mechanical room, kitchen,shop area, etc.?Metropolitan home and auto insurance offered a 10% discount for alarms and/or sprinklers. Caught my eye because the state I live in does not require discounts for either from insurance companies, while a neighboring state does.There are state codes for different types of residential systems. Both wet and dry systems are covered as well as plastic and black iron pipes. Most of the systems I have heard about start with a minimum service size of 1 inch and the requirements increase with coverage area and pressure decreases. I also found out that any system has to have a engineers/designer certification stamp before it will even be looked at for permit approval.I am putting a wet system in my new shop. It will be exposed below the ceiling, and if I remember correctly my spinkler fitter buddy said between 6 and 8 heads to cover a 30X42 building. My property is in a volunteer district and there are no fire mains at all. I am like you, soggy and wet is better than GONE.
*Thanks dave, can u recall how much it will cost u for this job?? is there a per sq/ft.cost??are your sprinkler heads the same kind that are used in commercial buildings or are they the "residential" style.the residential style that i saw are smaller, flatter and blend right into the celing. they dont stick out like a sore thumb.
*All of my material is commercial stuff from excess job inventories or is recycled. My sprinkler fitter friend is half owner of a sprinkler installation and maintenance company. Another friend that works for him is going to let me help him with my installation. I guess the construction and remodeling favors I have done over the years for these two guys is paying off more than I expected.Function and reliabilty are more important than looks in my work shop. The exposed system will be of black iron with those big old ugly heads. Everything will be hanging about 10 to 12 inches below the ceiling with the heads mounted on the top side of the pipe, to keep me from knocking them off with a pieces of lumber. The main pressure in this rural county runs about 90 to 110 psi durring the day, and spike to 140 at night (last flush phenomena), so I have to put in seperate regulators for the sprinkler system and the domestic water sytsem. I am also using seperate isolation valve on each system with the sprinkler valve being a lock out type. Total system cost; valves, regulator,pressure gauges, pipe,heads,hangers, plans certifcation stamp, etc. roughly $550, but don't use my numbers. A lot of the stuff is free or below cost for me.I'll ask if my friend if he can locate some residential information for me. I'll e-mail you in a couple of days if he comes through with it. His buiseness is commercial/industrial, so the job for me is just to return favors.Dave
*Residential systems are pretty common here and cost is about $1.00 - $1.25 per Sq. ft.
*thanks Frank,where are u at??do u have any names of companys that sell them??thanks
*If you are near a fairly large metropolitan fire bureau, or a fire station with an active fire prevention program, you may want to ask them about home fire sprinklers in your area. They may well know plumbers who can install a proper system.If I remember correctly, there are two different styles of home sprinkler systems generally approved. The one that ties into the regular water system can be plumbed with copper or plastic pipe as well as the industrial standard black pipe. Of course, such a system needs to be protected from freezing. The installation of fire sprinklers is generally governed by the National Fire Protection Association NFPA 13. NFPA has a booklet ($25.25 for non-members) NFPA 13D: Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems in One- And Two- Family Dwellings and Manufactured Homes, 1999 Edition available at NFPA Booklet Sales Web Page .Amazon.com also lists some books on fire sprinkler systems that are a bit more pricey. There have also been some other discussions on Breaktime, but not for some time, if I remember correctly. A search might give you some additional ideas (or perhaps way too much to wade through to find what you want.)
*I was required to put sprinklers in a 2600 sq ft custom home because it was set back too far from the street on a steep hillside and 250 + feet from the closest hydrant. California costs in 1994 estimated to be about $1.50 per sq ft, complete job.Used orange plastic piping; 140 degree heads with 180 d. heads in furnace room. Design ran about $700; permits another $300; materials about $1100.Thought I'd save a few $, so I drilled all the 2" dia holes myself. Not worth it; bruised knuckles and more.The town I built in has since passed a requirement that new residential construction and all additions over 500 sq, ft have to be sprinkled.Wasn't required when I pulled the permit; Sr. Building Official came in after the fact. Said if I didn't like it to appeal to S.B, the fire marshall. My response was that I thought the Sr. B.O. was S.B. I am, came the Sr.B.O.s reply; I'm also the fire marshall.2 hats = Catch 22; I installed the sprinklers without any further discussion.The plastic pipe design is good for one thing only; it buys the occupants time to get out of the house once the alarm has sounded. Not meant to protect or save the structure; just the people.
*The reason localities require them is to save fireman's lives and neighboring structures by slowing flame spread it is a more controlable fire. If you are voluntarily doing it your self, consider massive amounts of contents insurance. That will be the first thing damaged by the sprinklers and it takes a lot of documentation to satisfy them on a contents claim.
*When I sold alarm systems, fire protection was also an option. I can't remember anyone adding it to an existing home, but say several installations in homes still under construction. It's been way too long to remember prices. This was for Rollins Protective Services....they are in the book under alarm companies. I'm sure other security firms would offer this as well. All the systems I saw were tied into the alarm system, and monitered. Jeff
*The only flaw in your logic is that they don't shut off on their own. You have to turn off the main valve and replace the head. Not really a problem, all things considered. With any amount of luck you will never have to find out.I'm a firefighter for a living, and we see a lot of fires that could have been contained to a small portion of one room by sprinklers. Stuff like mattresses, trash cans. The idea is to keep a small fire small, or even extinguish it. If there had been an easy way to do them in my home I would have done it in a heartbeat. It just wasn't feasable with my well water situation. Still may do a retrofit as time and $$$$ permit. If you're on city water though, especially in an area without a metropolitan fire dept., it's a no-brainer to me.
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i have seen a company on the net that has them. ther not the same that is put in Commercial buildings. They dont look bad at all, almost blend into the celing.
how much a square foot does this cost??? and how much did it save on your insurance.
i am sure its mainly put on very high end homes, but u could put it on any kind of home.
i am interested in these because of the location of my future home and for insurance reasons.
thanks