Replies

1. 
   Guest_ | Feb 06, 1999 06:35pm | #1

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   Hi JPR.

   I would be apprehensive about Home Depot, only because I dont know the quality of their smoke detectors. I would lean toward a reputable electrical supplier for the material needs in this case.

   I am pretty sure that smoke detectors need to be wired on a separate circuit. The National Fire Alarm Code, section 2-3.1.2 states:..."There shall be a primary (main) and a secondary (standby) power source. For electrically powered household fire warning equipment, the primary (main) power source shall be ac; the secondary (standby) power source shall be a battery". See Chaper 2 of the NFPA for further information.

   So, what should we say in your friends case; $100 each for the detectors times seven equals $700. Wire, $50? Some more to install? And substantial profit for a salesman and the company...

   I would encourage your friend to send a thank you note, rather than a check.

   Hope this helps.

1. 
   Guest_ | Feb 06, 1999 08:53pm | #2

   *The hardwire is necessary only for new construction, additions, etc. I've added hardwire/battery detectors ($15 each?) where expedient, like the basement -- a significant advantage is that the alarms are interconnected and all sound at once. If an electrician did the wiring in enclosed ceiling, fishing the wire, it would be much more -- perhaps an extra hundred or so each? Maybe your friend's quote included a central monitoring station that would call the fire dept. Maybe.Tell your friend to get 7 -- or better yet more -- battery smoke detectors, no more than $20 each, and hang them himself. If there are gas appliances, get CO detectors for the bedrooms. Check Consumer Reports, there have been several brands recalled in the last year or two.Finally, consider reporting the contractor to the state attorney general and complaining to the HD management -- I smell consumer deception, and where there's smoke, there's... Really, people like this, profiting by sowing fear and distorting costs, p*** me off.

1. 
   Guest_ | Feb 06, 1999 10:18pm | #3

   *Good points andrew d.That friend could then buy peace of mind for less than $200.Sometimes I over-complicate by thinking only in terms of what the code says today.And I agree with your feelings about this salesman creating fear, for money. There has been lots of television about how many of those central monitoring places really dont exist, or respond, when needed.

1. 
   Guest_ | Feb 07, 1999 07:41pm | #4

   *My smoke detector story -- contractor quoted $80 to add one in the basement. No wiring. That was when I started to wonder.Same contractor quoted $2200 for a window replacement, involving demo or mortar-set glass block. Did it myself recently for about $275.

2. 
   B.R. | Feb 09, 1999 05:36am | #5

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   Tell that salesman to go jump in the lake. He's a rip off. Go buy a couple of smoke detectors and install them yourself. It ain't brain surgery. As long as you test them every month and keep the batteries fresh and IN the unit you'll have no problems. Install one in the hallway by the bedrooms and maybe one in the basement by the furnace. I also have one mounted in each bedroom just above the closet doors.(You'd be surprised how many fires start in closets by kids playing with matches.)

1. 
   George_M._Anderson | Feb 09, 1999 09:54am | #6

   *Now before everybody rises up and ties this salesman to a rail we need to know how much system he's selling and the particulars on the installation. If it is a monitored system it may have integrated burglar detection and the detectors may be heat/smoke/fire sensing (three very seperate functions). The biggest advantage of a monitored system is the protection is there 24 hours, even when nobody is home to hear the local alarm. It is very easy to check the response rating on a monitoring company- the BBB will have records of any consumer complaints and a list of other noncomplaining customers shouldn't be to much to ask of any legitimate company. Also I love the idea about the CO detector!!! By now you probably think I'm a salesman myself. Well I'm not-I'm a firefighter in St. Louis, MO. I've seen residential alarm companies save literally dozens of homes and CO detectors save at least four lives and that is just the calls I have been on personally. The biggest complaint people have about monitored systems is the false alarms. Trust me, it may be a nuissance but at least you know it will work when it really is needed. I have a system in my house but it was installed before we bought so I don't know what it should cost. There are numerous companies in the Yellow Pages- get some other bids if your friend is interested in a system and then he'll know where that first salesman really stands. Good luck George M Anderson St. Louis, MO

3. 
   JPR | Feb 09, 1999 10:18am | #7

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   A friend called me last night and he had a salesman come over from a outfit called Masterguard who was trying to sell him a smoke detector system consisting of 7 detectors for $2,100. Seems to me to be way over priced. Anyone know anything about them? could he do just as well going to HomeDepot/Lowe's and buy 7 detectors? Am I missing something here? Would appreciate any comments. Thanks

4. 
   Guest_ | Feb 09, 1999 10:18am | #8

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   Thanks for chiming in, George. Still don't think I'd spend the $2000 unless the deal included the firefighters.

   I see houses very differently now, thanks in part to this forum. When I visited my aging but robust grandmother for Christmas, I looked around the house. At first everything looked OK, then I realized the smoke detectors didn't work, there were no CO detectors despite the three (3) gas furnaces (no the house isn't a mansion -- it's another contractor ripoff story...), exposed wiring, etc. And this was a house in good shape. So i bought her some weird Christmas presents...