Heat/Smoke alarms (rant)

[Dave]

Been renovating a house that we intend to let out. Got a sparks in to do the rewire (because of time constraints) and also asked him to install mains (with battery backup) interlinked smoke/heat alarms.

Because the alarms themselves can be damaged by dust and even paint fumes the sparkie fitted the service patresses and terminated the cables in chocolate blocks about 4 months ago but said that the alarm units should be fitted as the last job at the very end of the renovations.

I've just been fitting the actual alarm units myself today and discovered that the heat alarm in the kitchen has no mains voltage and is not interlinked to the others. I suspect that the dozy b*****d has left the

3-core & E cable coiled up under the floorboards somewhere and forgotten to connect it. He obviously never tested the alarm circuit or he would have found the problem, the friggin numpty!!!

The house is now beautifully decorated and brand new carpets have been fitted throughout and I'm torn as to what I should do about it - I could get him back to sort out his mistake and pass on the costs of professional carpet re-fitting etc., etc., to him but I don't really want to do that as IME, carpets just never go back the same as the original fit.

Or, I could just leave the heat alarm as an independent, stand-alone battery operated unit. There are 6 other mains-operated, battery-backup, interlinked smoke alarms throughout the house, so I reckon it should be OK for the unit in the kitchen to be independent.

What would you do?

Oh, and just to clarify - according to the Landlord's Information Pack that I got from the local council, and also to the letting agency who will be handling the property for us, there is *NO* actual legal requirement to fit heat/smoke alarms at all unless it is to be a "house in multiple occupancy", which ours isn't. We just had them fitted because we thought it was the right thing to do.

Cheers,

Dave.

[Lobster]

I sympathise! Almost the same thing happened to me when I was renovating a property; all the wiring was complete, the plastering done etc, and I got the BCO round for a final look to sign me off. Although she'd been round umpteen times in the past, she chose that visit to point out that the smoke alarms were wrong (this was a 'Material Change of Use' therefore I had to comply with modern regs) - either they weren't interlinked or I was missing an alarm - but whatever, I had to add a new cable linking the alarms on the ground and first floor. At least I didn't have carpets in though!

How big is the hole in the ceiling behind the alarm? Mine are pretty big, by necessity: is it possible the sparks has left a cable accessible there?

If not, I think I'd probably do as you suggest and leave the kitchen alarm independent, and remember to sort it out next time you renew the carpets - which probably won't be all that long! Some would argue that it is churlish to prioritise a possibly poorly refitted carpet above the safety of your tenants(!) but it sounds like the property is positively bristling with alarms and it shouldn't be a problem. (6 alarms does sound an awful lot for a house which isn't an HMO by the way!)

David

[Dave]

Tried the hole behind the alarm but without success, so the heat alarm in the kitchen is, indeed, going to remain an independent entity. There are three rooms downstairs (kitchen at the back, living room in the middle and front room) so I feel sure that the smoke alarms in the living room, front room and hallway will give adequate warning of problems - add to that the smoke alarms on the landing and each of the two bedrooms and I reckon the place is fairly well covered - especially as we weren't required to fit

*any* at all.

We're "first-time" landlords (and only because my mam died and we inherited the house) so it's a "belt-and-braces" thing that we have 6 other alarms :o)

Dave.

[Andrew Gabriel]

Get the electrician back -- he may remember what he's done. Good electricians have a knack of being able to route cables through buildings invisibly and with minimal or no damage to decorations, should that turn out to be necessary.