Smoke detector placement

[Dave F]

Hello,
I'm adding a bathroom to my house, and the project is almost complete, all inspections have gone well. I'm preparing for the final inspection, and one thing I have to do is add a lot of smoke and CO detectors around the home. I've been told by the inspectors on previous inspections, in what rooms and how many and what types to install. A friend of mine in the same state as me did some renovations at his home, and also needed to add smoke detectors, he said during the inspection that the actual placement of the detector in the room was defined. For example, in a bedroom, the detector had to be a certain distance from the door and the wall, etc. I've looked at the code, and I can't see a description of exactly where to place a detector in a given room, or at least a description of a place that would be unacceptable. I'm almost at the point where I will be installing these devices, and I just wanted to check and see if there was a way to install a smoke detector in a bedroom (or anywhere else) "wrong".

Thanks,

Dave Fenoff

[Jerry Peck - Codeman]

The code tells which rooms and areas require smoke alarms and CO alarms (they are "alarms" because they not only gave "detectors" on them, they also contain "alarms" to warn you what the :detectors" found).

The code also says where not to install them (not inside or outside bathrooms, not in kitchens), but the Fire codes (and many different Fire codes are adopted around the country) will typically state where smoke alarms and CO alarms should and should not be installed - such as on a ceiling within 6" of a wall, not on a wall within 6" of the ceiling, not within 3' of a peaked ceiling, not within 3' of air disturbing sources such as ceiling fan blades ac and heat supplies, etc (those are from memory, but are representative of where "not" to install them).

The best way to get the answer you need is to buy one of the smoke alarms you will be buying, that will contain the manufacturer's installation instructions, and those will tell you where to, and where not to, install the alarms.

Install the alarms where stated, and if there is a question about the location with an inspector, show the inspector the installation instructions and that you followed those.