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  1. #1
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    Default No hard wired smoke detectors in house built in 1996

    Crawl Space Creeper

  2. #2
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    Default Re: No hard wired smoke detectors in house built in 1996

    Quote Originally Posted by Sam Morris View Post
    What year was hard wired smoke detectors required TN. No hard wired smoke detectors in house built in 1996. Acceptable? NO?Jack Martin 036.JPG
    Sam I am not aware of a "Hard Wire Requirement in TN."

    http://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/107/Bill/HB1525.pdf

    http://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/107/Bill/HB1525.pdf

    It Might have Choked Artie But it ain't gone'a choke Stymie! Our Gang " The Pooch " (1932)
    Billy J. Stephens HI Service Memphis TN.

  3. #3
    Ted Menelly's Avatar
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    Default Re: No hard wired smoke detectors in house built in 1996

    Quote Originally Posted by Billy Stephens View Post
    Page 2 section 4 in 2003

    No electric power can be turned on unless blah blah blah

    Of course if there is no power you must at least have battery operated.

    Of course if it has been adopted...........


  4. #4
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    Default Re: No hard wired smoke detectors in house built in 1996

    Quote Originally Posted by Ted Menelly View Post
    Page 2 section 4 in 2003

    No electric power can be turned on unless blah blah blah

    Of course if there is no power you must at least have battery operated.

    Of course if it has been adopted...........
    Thanks Ted see below:

    Thought the following might be helpful ii is copied and pasted from the 2000 IBC:"907.2.10.2 Power source.
    In new construction,
    required smoke alarms shall receive their primary
    power from the building wiring where such wiring is served from a commercial source and shall be equipped with a battery backup. Smoke alarms shall emit a signal when the batteries are low. Wiring shall be permanent
    and without a disconnecting switch other than as required for overcurrent protection.
    Exceptions:
    1. Smoke alarms are not required to be equipped
    with battery backup in Group R-1 where they are connected to an emergency electrical system.
    2. Smoke alarms are permitted to be solely battery operated in existing buildings, buildings not served from a commercial power source and in existing areas where alterations or repairs regulated by Section 907.2.10.1.4 do not result in the removal of interior wall or ceiling finishes exposing the structure, unless there is an attic,
    crawl space or basement available which could
    provide access for building wiring without the removal of interior finishes."
    The following is copied and pasted from the 2000 IRC:
    "R317.2 Power source. In new construction, the required
    smoke alarms shall receive their primary power from the build-ing
    wiring when such wiring is served from a commercial
    source, and when primary power is interrupted, shall receive
    power from a battery. Wiring shall be permanent and without a
    disconnecting switch other than those required for overcurrent
    protection. Smoke alarms shall be permitted to be battery oper-ated
    when installed in buildings without commercial power or
    in buildings that undergo alterations, repairs or additions regu-lated
    by Section R317.1.1."



    It Might have Choked Artie But it ain't gone'a choke Stymie! Our Gang " The Pooch " (1932)
    Billy J. Stephens HI Service Memphis TN.

  5. #5
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    Default Re: No hard wired smoke detectors in house built in 1996

    Quote Originally Posted by Sam Morris View Post
    What year was hard wired smoke detectors required TN. No hard wired smoke detectors in house built in 1996. Acceptable? NO?
    Don't worry about when they were required, just report what you found. Report that the home does not have hardwired detectors but it has battery operated detectors. That is all you really need to say....

    The detector in the picture also looks like it is from 1997!! I would recommend replacement of all detectors in the home making sure that I tell my client to put them in all bedrooms, hallways and other areas as listed by the detector manufacturer(they give all of the locations on the box that you should have them).

    Scott Patterson, ACI
    Spring Hill, TN
    www.traceinspections.com

  6. #6
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    Default Re: No hard wired smoke detectors in house built in 1996

    Quote Originally Posted by Ted Menelly View Post

    Of course if it has been adopted...........
    Adopted July 1 2011.
    * detector type is specific, power source is murky.
    ** Scot nailed it with Just Report What you See.

    It Might have Choked Artie But it ain't gone'a choke Stymie! Our Gang " The Pooch " (1932)
    Billy J. Stephens HI Service Memphis TN.

  7. #7
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    Default Re: No hard wired smoke detectors in house built in 1996

    Quote Originally Posted by Billy Stephens View Post
    Adopted July 1 2011.
    * detector type is specific, power source is murky.
    ** Scot nailed it with Just Report What you See.
    If the above was regarding the links to the bill you posted, the power source is not murky at all ... even says that they may be "battery operated smoke detectors shall be permitted when installed in buildings without commercial power".

    However, "No one-family or two-family dwelling shall be approved for connection of new electric service under § 68-102-143 on or after the effective date of this act, unless the dwelling is equipped with at least one (1) photo-electric smoke detector ... "

    The only "murky" part is the inconsistencies in the choice of wording, except that I doubt if most people would not understand what the wording intended - "without commercial power" and "new electric service" ... "commercial power" is referring to that provided by an electric utility, so if you have a place out in the back woods supplied by a generator - or which has *no electric power* - then only a battery operated smoke detector is required to be installed.

    Jerry Peck
    Construction/Litigation/Code Consultant - Retired
    www.AskCodeMan.com

  8. #8
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    Default Re: No hard wired smoke detectors in house built in 1996

    Quote Originally Posted by Jerry Peck View Post
    If the above was regarding the links to the bill you posted, the power source is not murky at all ... even says that they may be "battery operated smoke detectors shall be permitted when installed in buildings without commercial power".

    However, "No one-family or two-family dwelling shall be approved for connection of new electric service under § 68-102-143 on or after the effective date of this act, unless the dwelling is equipped with at least one (1) photo-electric smoke detector ... "

    The only "murky" part is the inconsistencies in the choice of wording, except that I doubt if most people would not understand what the wording intended - "without commercial power" and "new electric service" ... "commercial power" is referring to that provided by an electric utility, so if you have a place out in the back woods supplied by a generator - or which has *no electric power* - then only a battery operated smoke detector is required to be installed.
    The Exceptions were what I was referring as in Renovation & Replacements.

    It Might have Choked Artie But it ain't gone'a choke Stymie! Our Gang " The Pooch " (1932)
    Billy J. Stephens HI Service Memphis TN.

  9. #9
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    Default Re: No hard wired smoke detectors in house built in 1996

    Quote Originally Posted by Billy Stephens View Post
    The Exceptions were what I was referring as in Renovation & Replacements.
    Which part, renovation and replacements are addressed in various sections of it?

    Jerry Peck
    Construction/Litigation/Code Consultant - Retired
    www.AskCodeMan.com

  10. #10
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    Default Re: No hard wired smoke detectors in house built in 1996

    Quote Originally Posted by Jerry Peck View Post
    Which part, renovation and replacements are addressed in various sections of it?
    Yes, Yes they are.

    It Might have Choked Artie But it ain't gone'a choke Stymie! Our Gang " The Pooch " (1932)
    Billy J. Stephens HI Service Memphis TN.

  11. #11
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    British Columbia
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    Default Re: No hard wired smoke detectors in house built in 1996

    Quote Originally Posted by Sam Morris View Post
    What year was hard wired smoke detectors required TN. No hard wired smoke detectors in house built in 1996. Acceptable? NO?Jack Martin 036.JPG
    Private homes(residential) do not require a hard wired smoke detector. Only would be in apartment blocks, hotels, high rises. That is the code


  12. #12
    Ted Menelly's Avatar
    Ted Menelly Guest

    Default Re: No hard wired smoke detectors in house built in 1996

    Quote Originally Posted by Burn Schau View Post
    Private homes(residential) do not require a hard wired smoke detector. Only would be in apartment blocks, hotels, high rises. That is the code
    And that would be in??? British Columbia?


  13. #13
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    Default Re: No hard wired smoke detectors in house built in 1996

    Quote Originally Posted by Burn Schau View Post
    Private homes(residential) do not require a hard wired smoke detector. Only would be in apartment blocks, hotels, high rises. That is the code
    Be careful what you say in public and who you say it to.

    Smoke Alarms - Proposed Code Changes - Building and Safety Standards Branch - Housing and Construction Standards

    The requirement has been on the books in BC for 3 years.

    The poster here and the majority of the responders are in the US of A, which is a different place, eh?

    John Kogel, RHI, BC HI Lic #47455
    www.allsafehome.ca

  14. #14
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    Massachusetts
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    Default Re: No hard wired smoke detectors in house built in 1996

    I don't know what code was in effect in your jurisdiction in 1996, but the 1992 CABO code stated: "R-2IS.1 Smoke detectors required: Smoke detectors shall be installed
    outside of each separate sleeping area in the immediate vicinity of the
    bedrooms and on each additional story of the dwelling, including
    basements and cellars but not including crawl spaces and uninhabitable
    attics. In dwellings or dwelling units with split levels, a smoke detector
    need be installed only on the upper level, provided the lower level is less
    than one full story below the upper level, except that if there is a door
    between levels then a detector is required on each level. All detectors shall
    be interconnected such that the actuation of one alarm will actuate all the
    alarms in the individual unit and shall provide an alarm which will be
    audible in all sleeping areas. All detectors shall be approved and listed and
    shall be installed in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions.



  15. #15
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    Default Re: No hard wired smoke detectors in house built in 1996

    Quote Originally Posted by Steve Frederickson View Post
    All detectors shall be interconnected such that the actuation of one alarm will actuate all the alarms
    That does not require interconnection by wiring, just that the alarms are "interconnected".

    In a remodel/alteration, a new alarm may be added to a desired location by wiring off an available circuit, that is typically not a great problem, the problem to get the new alarm "interconnected" to one or more existing alarm(s) and doing that with wire is sometimes quite difficult. The solution is to install alarms which are wired to the power source with battery backup but are wirelessly interconnected. All that needs to be done now is to replace one of the existing alarms with a matching wirelessly interconnected alarm and that alarm will wirelessly interconnect to each of the newly installed alarms - there is no longer a need to try to run the interconnection wire to the other end of the house or from the first floor to the third floor, etc.

    Jerry Peck
    Construction/Litigation/Code Consultant - Retired
    www.AskCodeMan.com

  16. #16
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    Oregon
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    Default Re: No hard wired smoke detectors in house built in 1996

    Quote Originally Posted by Jerry Peck View Post
    That does not require interconnection by wiring, just that the alarms are "interconnected".

    In a remodel/alteration, a new alarm may be added to a desired location by wiring off an available circuit, that is typically not a great problem, the problem to get the new alarm "interconnected" to one or more existing alarm(s) and doing that with wire is sometimes quite difficult. The solution is to install alarms which are wired to the power source with battery backup but are wirelessly interconnected. All that needs to be done now is to replace one of the existing alarms with a matching wirelessly interconnected alarm and that alarm will wirelessly interconnect to each of the newly installed alarms - there is no longer a need to try to run the interconnection wire to the other end of the house or from the first floor to the third floor, etc.
    fwiw - the wireless inconnected systems are nice. I put one in my place when we did an addition about 4 years ago and it's worked pretty much flawlessly. No fires but they go off when the kids burn toast like any detectors and there has only been one false alarm and I had been doing some minor sheetrock sanding so I'm thinking that was it.

    They are a bit spendy - $40 & $50 each I think for hard wired and battery backup (can't remember which is which). So, it cost about $400 to do my whole place but it's cheap peace of mind. I mention this to buyers often and their eyes light up. Most people don't know these systems are available and how relatively easy/cheap to install they are. At least cheap compared to stringing wires as JP talks about.


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