Smoke detector - on my 20 foot living room ceiling (Carbon: 2013, rentals)

[steve807]

Needs a battery to stop the beep, or even better, remove the battery and cut the A/C power to it.

Were these required by SA code when my house was built 15 years ago ?

They are in most of the rooms, have a 10 year ionization element lifetime, and a requirement for a new battery every year. They are all probably not operational for their main mission of smoke detection any longer. Their secondary mission of annoying the owner about the battery backup is working good. Interesting that they are all wired together with a red wire so if any one of them detects smoke they all squeal their alarm.

Knowing they are past end of life, I do have my own battery only units installed by me in easy to reach areas.

Anyway, the number one question I have is what local service company / person will bring and climb an extension ladder to work on the 20 ft ceiling smoke alarm ? I expect an electrician will want $150+ to do the job but this little chore does not take that much expertise.

[TexasRedneck]

I doubt that any of 'em will remove them, since they're required by code, and if they remove them and something happens, THEY are gonna be liable.

[Hedgehog_Mom]

The reason it's all the way up there is that smoke rises, so if it's at the highest part of the ceiling, that should give you the earliest detection of a fire.

If you want to take it down, you could rent a ladder from Home Depot for $20 for 4 hours. This one: Aluminum Multi Purpose Ladder 26' looks like it would fold up small enough to transport in most vehicles, even a car as long as the back seat folds down. Or you could buy a fresh smoke detector and put it up there while you had your rented ladder.

It sucks when they all go off like that...mine will sometimes do that during a power outage, and the only way to shut them up is to take them all down from the ceiling, pull the batteries out of all of them, let them set about 5 minutes, then put the batteries back in and go room to room putting them back up. It would be nicer if I didn't have 6 of them.

[steve807]

Turns out my neighbor has had the same concern and has a long extension ladder for me to borrow. Only trouble is I, and a couple friends, have had some serious ladder adventures in the past.

Checking a few other of the house's hard wired smoke alarms today and found they were all made in late 2013 so they have already been replaced. I moved in 18 months ago and looks like the previous owner replaced them all with new ones before putting the house on the market. They still have the original battery in them. The low ones, I'll change in a day or two.

So looks like I just need a long ladder for a high altitude battery change. And some nerve to do the job. Or better yet, like the OP asked - a ladder climbing handy man.

Did a little research and found:

Looks like the code changed in the 90's requiring hard wired, linked, smoke alarms on all new house construction.

The 10 year replacement advice is common for most brands but some states put it in the law as a requirement for landlords anyway.

The radioactive element has a 430 year half life so that is not the reason for the 10 year recommendation.

Ionization smoke alarms are not recommended for altitudes above 3000 ft (wonder why)

[TrapperL]

Here is the newest IRC 2012 I could find on the internet. I can only assume you have bedroom(s) that are adjacent to the high ceiling room.

http://www.tomhalleygeneralcontracto...%20Dectors.pdf

[escanlan]

Originally Posted by steve807

Needs a battery to stop the beep, or even better, remove the battery and cut the A/C power to it.

Were these required by SA code when my house was built 15 years ago ?

They are in most of the rooms, have a 10 year ionization element lifetime, and a requirement for a new battery every year. They are all probably not operational for their main mission of smoke detection any longer. Their secondary mission of annoying the owner about the battery backup is working good. Interesting that they are all wired together with a red wire so if any one of them detects smoke they all squeal their alarm.

Knowing they are past end of life, I do have my own battery only units installed by me in easy to reach areas.

Anyway, the number one question I have is what local service company / person will bring and climb an extension ladder to work on the 20 ft ceiling smoke alarm ? I expect an electrician will want $150+ to do the job but this little chore does not take that much expertise.

The International Residential Code (IRC) does not specify a height for the detector. You can view the IRC, and its various older versions, for free here Welcome . The section(s) covering covering smoke and CO alarms is approximately R314 and R315 (based on the 2012 IRC). Oher versions might have these shifted slightly due to changes/revisions.

The standard that covers the placement of smoke/CO detectors is the National Fire Protection Agency NFPA-72. NFPA has finally provided free viewing of their standards which can be found here Free access NFPA codes and standards . What you will see is IMO more building codes where the writers are certainly not thinking, again! Here they seem the forget how dangerous it can be for homeowners, or anyone else, to use such high ladders to access something that could have simply been placed lower, supplemented with additional alarms as needed, so the homeowner can access these safely. If you read the manufacturer's required routine testing most do place a weekly test of these sensors as a requirement to ensure their functionality.

As for having an electrician disconnect the wiring they would risk their license if it was discovered they did this. Also they most likely will not want the liability associated with it.

[TrapperL]

As for having an electrician disconnect the wiring they would risk their license if it was discovered they did this. Also they most likely will not want the liability associated with it.

I'm going to disagree with this statement. IRC allows battery only installations of smoke detectors. There would be no wiring at all. An electrician could disconnect or remove the hard wire without an fear of forfeiture of his license. Around here it's a common practice for older homes, pre IRC, if you will, that are rentals that the landlord installs battery only smoke detectors as required by Federal Law. The landlord is not responsible for replacing any batteries as that is the tenants position to replace batteries as needed. I do have to applaud the industry for the newer units that have battery backup as it's a self contained lithium battery that never needs replacing. Life is generally 10 years. It sure solves the issue with some units that still chirp with new batteries. My favorite smoke detector is still the wind up model. Yeah, it doesn't make noise long but it's as loud as an old school bell and nobody breathing is going to ignore it. I still have several in my tool cabinet.

[Rustybolt]

Rather than removed it should be moved to a location where it still serves the requirement and can be tested and serviced. Having one in an inaccessible location is as bad as not having one at all.

[escanlan]

Originally Posted by TrapperL

I'm going to disagree with this statement. IRC allows battery only installations of smoke detectors. There would be no wiring at all. An electrician could disconnect or remove the hard wire without an fear of forfeiture of his license. Around here it's a common practice for older homes, pre IRC, if you will, that are rentals that the landlord installs battery only smoke detectors as required by Federal Law. The landlord is not responsible for replacing any batteries as that is the tenants position to replace batteries as needed. I do have to applaud the industry for the newer units that have battery backup as it's a self contained lithium battery that never needs replacing. Life is generally 10 years. It sure solves the issue with some units that still chirp with new batteries. My favorite smoke detector is still the wind up model. Yeah, it doesn't make noise long but it's as loud as an old school bell and nobody breathing is going to ignore it. I still have several in my tool cabinet.

The IRC only has two basic exceptions allowing battery powered detectors.

• When the home is not serviced by a commercial power source.
• During alterations, repairs, and additions here installing electrically supplied detectors would require extensive disruption of interior finishes.

As for the Electrician losing their license they are required to follow the latest version of the National Electrical Code for all their electrical work. The NEC does not address removal of electrical power from detectors as it is not expected to be done in the first place. There are no approved methods for creating a potential significant safety hazard to life and home by removing electrical power to detectors. Therefore any Electrician that chooses to take this action for a fee will assume the liability if something does occur as a result in the way of property damage, injury, or death. That same Electrician will be brought up to their licensing board for possible disciplinary actions as well.

[Hedgehog_Mom]

Originally Posted by steve807

Turns out my neighbor has had the same concern and has a long extension ladder for me to borrow. Only trouble is I, and a couple friends, have had some serious ladder adventures in the past.

Checking a few other of the house's hard wired smoke alarms today and found they were all made in late 2013 so they have already been replaced. I moved in 18 months ago and looks like the previous owner replaced them all with new ones before putting the house on the market. They still have the original battery in them. The low ones, I'll change in a day or two.

So looks like I just need a long ladder for a high altitude battery change. And some nerve to do the job. Or better yet, like the OP asked - a ladder climbing handy man.

Did a little research and found:

Looks like the code changed in the 90's requiring hard wired, linked, smoke alarms on all new house construction.

The 10 year replacement advice is common for most brands but some states put it in the law as a requirement for landlords anyway.

The radioactive element has a 430 year half life so that is not the reason for the 10 year recommendation.

Ionization smoke alarms are not recommended for altitudes above 3000 ft (wonder why)

Ask around on Nextdoor for recommendations for a handyman. Probably a lot of houses in your neighborhood have the tall ceilings and other people will have needed a handyman who can climb a ladder.