Where to buy the smoke alarms we meed to get

[ssd]

I looked on the b and q website but am confused so was wondering if anyone here has found a good place to buy them. We need 3 alarms for the house, a heat alarm for the kitchen and a carbon monoxide alarm for the boiler.

Any advice would be appreciated

@Aurea

I contacted my insurance company and they stated that it was not a requirement to have them installed in their Ts and Cs.

They are however required for your home report when you sell.

Thats interesting. Must check with my insurance company.

Thanks for the link Mantlemoose. I noticed the batteries in the base last for 7 years not 10, I would feel robbed of those three years!
These need to be ceiling mounted do they? Any I've put up where wall mounted I think I'd need to pay someone to attach them to the ceiling cant just knock some nails in.

@Farfalle88

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Are these the right ones and how do you link them?

I don’t think it is, as it can’t be linked.

@ElephantOfRisk

This is yet another thing pissing me off. I appreciate there needs to be a standard given and applied for rental property. However, i own my own home, if i want to take the risk of it burning to the ground and/or I'm happy with my existing alarm arrangements, what the fuck has it got to do with the SG?

If you want to make it compulsory for new build, again deal with builders and crack on. Or provide funding for it for people in poverty or just make it a recommendation to go above one smoke on each floor or whatever.

The problems with your right to burn down your own home are

1. Most of us don’t live in a large detached house so therefore risk the fire spreading to our neighbour’s property

1. The fire service have to attend and potentially put their lives at risk trying to rescue you.

1. Most people who have a house fire then claim on their insurance, which puts up premiums for everyone else.

1. People injured in fires tend to use the NHS.

So having fewer house fires and fewer fatalities is generally seen as a good thing for society and not just the individual.

I'm worried about disrupting the ceilings. As I understand it they will effectively have to be completely replaced every 7 years and sent to landfill and I don’t want a row of bases on the ceiling if we are lucky enough to be here that long. Will wait until selling to put ours up, and hopefully the price will have settled - captive market at the moment. We do have working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms already, just not linked, but can be heard all over the house. Its complete overkill and if all alarms go off at once, how do you know where the fire is?

You can get magnetic sticky pad things to fix the alarms to your ceiling.

Disclaimer - I’ve not tried these myself.

Oooeeh

It was very, very noisy linking the alarms as each time you link one they all go off (with the exception of the CO detector). I'm glad DH did it the day before next door's new baby came home from hospital. If possible, I'd wait until pets and small children were out of the house before installing them.

There was another thread in this where someone recommended a charity that does it. They were supposed to fit some for my mother and took the money then said the ceilings were too high! Can anyone remember the link as I didn’t write down their number!

A local fireman to us has supplied and fitted ours. We did it in November, just to get them done.

I've not fitted these yet as I'm skint. Anyone else not done this either?

I already have interlinked mains smoke alarms but only one on each landing and not one in the room we use most so they won't comply

I have the same and have no intention of changing them until we have to, e.g. Selling house. DH thinks scotgov will send round inspectors to check. 🤔

Who's going to check though?
Mine are fine, (HA), and have been signed off, but surely no one will be able to check an owned home?
Nonsense if you ask me.

Yeah, he's a bit paranoid but also has a terrible memory so he's probably forgotten again. Our alarms work, can be heard throughout the house, so it's nonsense to change them.

It should be the case that rental properties and new builds have to fulfil the new standard and any renovation type work should trigger a new standard but private owners with existing systems should not be forced to rip them out and replace for no reason.

My electrician tells me there are supply issues with the smoke alarms at the moment & it's difficult to access them, even for electricians using merchants as there is such a shortage.

Yeh my alarms work and can be heard everywhere in my property so i don't understand why I should now need to pay over £200 to please the Scottish government.

Local electrician sourced and fitted them for me..£300 in total. Sorted.

@applesandpears33

It was very, very noisy linking the alarms as each time you link one they all go off (with the exception of the CO detector). I'm glad DH did it the day before next door's new baby came home from hospital. If possible, I'd wait until pets and small children were out of the house before installing them.

I hadn't even considered this. My poor cats will be terrified.

Andy Wightman posted a really informative thread about this on Twitter. Short answer - it's not illegal not to have them. I have plenty of working smoke alarms so will wait til there's reasonable stock before buying the interlinked ones.

I've had mines a day and am demented already. Just got dd to bed, and the heat alarm in the kitchen went off sending them all off 🙈
My only logical thought is the tumble drier is on and the window is shut. They are LOUD!

www.safelincs.co.uk/firehawk-w-series-sealed-battery-wireless-2-smoke-1-heat-alarm-kit

These cost about £100 & they're the ones SFRS to anyone who qualifies for a free system

We're not going to change ours till we move house either.