time/cost to install hard-wired smoke detectors (floors, dining room, kitchen)

[karen_in_nh_2012]

OK, I think I have decided on hard-wired smoke detectors for the house I'll be moving into. An electrician came by the house today and said I would likely need this:

- 5 units for the bedrooms
- 1 for upper hallway (u-shaped hallway surrounding bedrooms)
- 1-2 for downstairs (downstairs = living room, family room, dining room, kitchen, bathroom, hall)
- 1 for basement

So that's 8-9 units to be installed. I absolutely understand that that's a lot of work. The electrician estimated 2 days (16 hours) to install. Does that sound reasonable? It seems OK to me (he said it could take less, but he will pencil me in for 2 days just in case). I really have no clue. Thanks in advance!

[Pink Jazz]

Just a little recommendation:

• Get at least one photoelectric or dual sensor (photoelectric and ionization) unit. This seems to be overlooked by many, as having only ionization detectors is insufficient for detecting slow smoldering fires. Our house came with Kidde/FireX i4618 ionization units, and we upgraded the one in the main hallway with a Kidde/FireX PI2010 dual sensor unit.
• Unless you already have a plug-in carbon monoxide detector, also consider a smoke/carbon monoxide combo detector as well.

[karen_in_nh_2012]

Andros, thanks for the advice! And I have several plug-in carbon monoxide detectors that I will be taking to the new house so I am all set there.

[Bydand]

2 days seems about right. Been an Electrician for almost 30 years now and that is about the average for adding that many smokes to an existing house. Some are nightmares and it takes a LOT longer, others are a breeze and you are out in 6 or 7 hours.

[MrRational]

this is another example of a job that if/when done as part of a larger plan...
will generally cost less and reduce the incidence of mess and dust.

[karen_in_nh_2012]

It's definitely part of a larger plan! But it's the top priority because the house is much larger than the one I have now. If there were a fire in the basement and I were sleeping in the master bedroom 2 floors up, it's highly unlikely that I would hear the basement detector going off. Hence the desire for hardwired, interconnected detectors.

And I'm having the work done before I really start living there, so I hope that will cut down a bit on the mess. I wish he could do it before movers come, but alas, his wife is due to give birth that week!

Bydand, thanks for your comment too! It actually sounded reasonable to me given that there is so much wiring to be done. I had thought about getting battery-powered interconnected detectors, but reviews for those are mixed at best.

Thanks, I will rep you all!