Um I bought a house with no smoke detectors!

I went to change the batteries in them last night, and we don't have any! Where should I put them and how many should I have in a house? Its a 4 BR splanch...

And if we have oil do we need carbon monoxide detectors as well?

Sorry if these are stupid questions!

Message edited 11/1/2009 10:40:15 PM.

Re: Um I bought a house with no smoke detectors!

Islip town code on construction or renovations requires a smoke detector in each bedroom and one on each floor. We recently added a central alarm system with smoke detectors and we have one in the basement at the foot of the stairs, one in the hallway of the main floor which is pretty much in the middle of the house, and upstairs where we did renovations we have one in the bedroom. We also left the smoke detectors that the previous homeowners had installed just outside the bedroom. The CO detector is just outside the bedroom at the top of the stairs. It's halfway up the wall. We were told that the CO detector should be lower because the carbon monoxide is heavy and you want it to trip the alarm before it fills the room. We have an oil furnace and were advised to install it.

Re: Um I bought a house with no smoke detectors!

not stupid questions at all.



I have a splanch also and right now I have one detector in my entry hall in front of the basement door (I figured the oil tank/boiler would be a fire hazard) and one in the hallway where the bedrooms are.
I am definitely putting another one in the den (back of the house).

I am debating putting them in every bedroom too. Not sure if it is needed (the recommendation I read was one in the hallway outside the bedrooms).

I guess the more the better, but if you only have a few, put them in strategic places.

Not sure if I confused you more or not, LOL

Message edited 11/1/2009 10:49:51 PM.

Re: Um I bought a house with no smoke detectors!

i can't believe the bank appraisal and home inspection didn't find that!!!

Re: Um I bought a house with no smoke detectors!

I agree about at least one in each bedroom, and at least one on each floor. That's the minimum for most building codes. I would definitely have one in the basement if you have one, and at least one in/near the kitchen.

Since you're buying all new ones, get a combination of smoke and fire detectors, or combo smoke/fire detectors. One detects heat, and the other detects smoke particles in the air.

I've heard different ideas about CO detectors. Some say keep it low, about mattress height, since CO is heavier than air. I've heard other thoughts that say if there is a fire, the heat will cause the CO to rise.

Ours are at mattress height. Not all CO comes from fires.

All of ours are wired together, so if something burns on the stove, the entire house goes off!

We have 10 smoke detectors and one CO detector all wired together right now. We'll have a few more when we do our kitchen project next year.

We also have a few non-wired detectors.

Re: Um I bought a house with no smoke detectors!

Another tidbit I learned about smoke detectors recently is that children respond better to voice alarms instead of the screeching alarms. So if you have kids or thinking about having them, it may be good idea to put a voice alarm in their rooms.

Re: Um I bought a house with no smoke detectors!

Re: Um I bought a house with no smoke detectors!

Re: Um I bought a house with no smoke detectors!