kbsparky said:
Didn't Virginia recently adopt the 2002 NEC? Last fall?
Can you tell me why there are so many (building) inspectors in Virginia who are hell-bent on having smoke detectors installed in unfinished attics? They turn a deaf ear to 110.3 and the manufacturer's instructions, etc.
Quite possibly because they are doing their job and enforcng the Uniform Statewide Building Code:
R317.1 Single-and multiple-station smoke alarms. Single-and multiple-station smoke alarms shall be installed in the following locations:
- In each sleeping room.
- Outside of each separate sleeping area in the immediate vicinity of the bedrooms.
- On each additional story of the dwelling, including basements and cellars but not including crawl spaces and uninhabitable attics. In dwellings or dwelling units with split levels and without an intervening door between the adjacent levels, a smoke alarm installed on the upper level shall suffice for the adjacent lower level provided that the lower level is less than one full story below the upper level.
When more than one smoke alarm is required to be installed within and individual dwelling unit the alarm devices shall be interconnected in such a manner that the actuation of one alarm will activate all of the alarms in the individual unit. The alarm shall be clearly audible in all bedrooms over background noise levels with all intervening doors closed.
All smoke alarms shall be listed and installed in accordance with the provisions of this code and the household fire warning provisions of NFPA 72.
R317.1.1 Alterations, repairs and additions. When interior alterations, repairs or additions requiring a permit occur, or when one or more sleeping rooms are added or created in existing dwellings, the individual dwelling unit shall be provided with smoke alarms located as required for new dwellings;the smoke alarms shall be interconnected and hard wired.
Exceptions:
- Smoke alarms in existing areas shall not be required to interconnected and hard wired where the alterations or repairs do not result in the removal of interior wall or ceiling finishes exposing the structure, unless there is an attic, crawl space, or basement available which could provide access for hard wiring and interconnection without the removal of interior finishes.
- Repairs to the exterior surfaces of dwellings are exempt from the requirement of the section.
When my daughter got the permits for renovations on her house the requirement to upgrade the smokes was stamped in red on both the building and electrical permits. Clearly they want it done.
Your real question was specific to the attic. In my daughter's case, she added a set of fold-up stairs, which seems to remove some wiggle-room over how inhabitable it may be. For any given house, I guess it comes down to the definition of
uninhabitable versus
unfinished.
As an interesting aside, I met with the inspector for the electrical inspection (the electrician is presently in jail, which is another whole story by itself.) He asked if the bedrooms were on AFCI protected circuits, and I replied affirmatively. Then he pointed at the smoke in the bedroom and asked if it was. I said that since it, and the others bedroom smokes, were bedroom outlets, and since all the smokes were interconnected, that every smoke in the house was on an AFCI protected circuit. He hemmed and hawed a bit and then said that he and the other inspectors didn't agree that smoke detectors should be on an AFCI circuit and encouraged us to feel free to change the breaker.
I happen to agree, but I really didn't like that answer very much. At this point, everything is inspected. I can't imagine a licensed electrician will come behind the inspection and change something to intentionally violate the code. If I change it I would be putting my daughter at risk, since we would be knowingly violating the law - so any future problem even after she sells the house could come back to her. We aren't going to change it ourselves, or ask an electrician to break the law. But I am interested in hearing other opinions on the inspector's comment.
