Anyone know what reg??

[magnoliafan89]

hi guys

Did an EICR and put it through as satisfactory but one of the gas team has come back and told me that whoever had changed the smoke alarms before I had gone to test had put them up wrong and why didn't I notice as it was against regs.

I dunno if im being stupid. The electrician who did the change said he put it on the old square base as the tenant didn't want there to be any patches left on the ceiling as they had it recently decorated (being elderly couldnt do it themselves).

Is there a reg and i missed it?? Apparently the round base should have been fitted straight to the ceiling. Other than it being rough I couldn't think of any reason it would go against regs....again unless I'm being thick

 

[Dartlec]

Well the first response to a statement like that is always to get out the book and ask them to find the reg in question.

Smoke alarms are outside of the scope of the Wiring regs, though the wiring to them isn't of course.

If absence of a smoke alarm is not a C2 (it isn't, just worthy of a comment or notification), then it's hard to see how this could be.

Only thing I could think of would be maintaining the fire resistance of a ceiling, though that's building regulations, not 7671 and not an EICR issue.

Could there be live parts accessible if you poked a screwdriver through between old and new pattresses? Can't tell if there is a gap there or not. IP rating of an enclosure is the only regs related thing I could see.

The manufacturers instructions may specifically state that it has to be mounted to the ceiling, in which case the general reg on good workmanship might cover it, but that's reaching a bit I'd say.

Whether it complies with the smoke alarm specification or Building Regs or landlord's legal requirements is a different matter, and not relevant to your EICR.

 

[richy3333]

I disagree. BS5839 should be commented upon in during and EICR - see 110.1.3

The fitting of that alarm is a disgrace and just lazy

 

[pc1966]

Maybe it is to do with the location of the alarm?

It is not my area but I remember reading guidance on where they should and should not be placed to avoid dead areas of poor circulation, etc.

 

[loz2754]

Why are the gas people commenting on an EICR?

The only thing that I would say is wrong with this alarm, from the picture, is it looks pretty shoddy with it being fitted below the old box. In other words poor workmanship.

On the point of whether we should be including smoke alarms in an EICR, this is from the Electrical Safety First people:

From electrical safety first best practice guide 4 issue 5:
"Items worthy of note that do not
warrant a classification code (These
comments should be recorded on the
EICR in the observations section)
• The absence of a fire detection
and alarm system (smoke/heat/
carbon monoxide detectors etc)"

 

[Zerax]

Nothing to do with BS7671... but ISTR some guidance of smoke alarm positioning... it allows for a certain distance from the ceiling... it's like 12" or so ? So that one looks fine. I'm sure google will find it.

 

[loz2754]

Nothing to do with BS7671... but ISTR some guidance of smoke alarm positioning... it allows for a certain distance from the ceiling... it's like 12" or so ? So that one looks fine. I'm sure google will find it.

Aico say 300mm away from any object (light, wall, helicopter, etc...)

 

[Des 56]

Maybe it is to do with the location of the alarm?

It is not my area but I remember reading guidance on where they should and should not be placed to avoid dead areas of poor circulation, etc.

There should be a 300mm distance from a wall ,light fitting etc
There was a fire video I saw of smoke billowing up a wall, the top bit where the 300mm comes in was clear of smoke, not cited there for that reason

 

[magnoliafan89]

Sorry for the late reply guys.
Although I did an eicr at the property the comments had nothing to do with the eicr. The gas man came after did a gas check noticed they were done like that noticed i had been but hadn't corrected the work so made a comment about it.
Just one of those things. Was aware of the 300mm bit but couldn't see why other than it being rough why they were saying it wasn't allowed so wasn't sure if it was a gas reg or something i wasnt familiar with.