Should I Have A Sprinkler System? Vol. 2

In my first blog concerning sprinkler systems I tried to dispel some of the myths that have come to seem like truth. Sprinkler systems have come to be known to save lives and property in businesses all over the country and yet they are frowned upon in residential buildings. Looking at the reasons for this could give us a clue to why most homeowners don’t have fire suppression systems.

Cost. Using the building cost of an average 2,000 SF house (National Average 2007) at $103.00 per SF (this can fluctuate greatly according to area and level of quality/luxury) putting the total cost of the home at approximately $206,000. The cost of this average home’s sprinkler system will be from (using high end averages) $3,100 (again this can fluctuate greatly according to area and level of coverage) to $5,100. A study done by the NFPA gave a national average of $ 1.61 per SF.

How Do They Work. They easiest way to explain how sprinkler heads work is to send you to this link, http://www.homefiresprinkler.org/Consumer/ConsWork.html. Note that each sprinkler head has a sensing bulb. The actual possibility of a malfunction is less than that of a modern plumbing system.

How Do They Look. A recessed plate covers most residential sprinkler heads and it looks like this:

Yes this is all you see on the ceiling or wall.

What Do I Need Sprinklers For.

Installing both smoke alarms and a fire sprinkler system reduces the risk of death in a home fire by 82%, relative to having neither (Source, NFPA). Usually a home with a sprinkler system has extinguished the fire before the Fire Department can arrive on the scene. View this telling, eye opening video: http://www.homefiresprinkler.org/Consumer/ConsTimeline.html

If you have any questions concerning home fire sprinklers you can call your local fire department and ask for an educational kit or a list of approved vendors. Home Inspection Services Clayton is not a vendor and has no connection to any vendors of home fire sprinklers. If you already have a system in the Clayton/Englewood/Dayton area we can answer questions about them or lead you to someone whose expertise exceeds ours (Like the Fire Marshall).

Jack Gilleland

Home Inspection Services Clayton

Clayton, Ohio

Sources: USFA (United States Fire Administration), FEMA, NFPA