How much does it cost to fit smoke alarms in Gloucester?
Fitting smoke or heat alarms? Post the job for free and it goes to local electricians who cover your area. Only the electrician who takes it on gets your contact details.
Free to post, and only the tradesperson who takes your job on gets your details. Read our privacy notice.
Smoke and heat alarms
Mains-wired alarms with a battery backup can be interlinked, so that when one sounds they all do. That matters most in houses with more than one floor, where you might not hear an alarm going off downstairs. Interlinking can be done with cables between the alarms or with wireless links, depending on the model.
Where they go makes a difference. The usual pattern is a smoke alarm in the hallway and landing on each floor and a heat alarm in the kitchen, as a smoke alarm there will go off every time you make toast. Some people add alarms to the living room and bedrooms too.
Private and social landlords in England must fit a smoke alarm on each storey that has a room used as living accommodation. They must also fit a carbon monoxide alarm in any room used as living accommodation that has a fixed combustion appliance, such as a boiler, gas fire or wood burner. Gas cookers are excluded. Landlords must check the alarms work at the start of each new tenancy and repair or replace them as soon as reasonably practicable once told of a fault. The rules don’t say whether alarms have to be mains-wired or battery-powered.
If you’re rewiring or doing major building work, ask what the Building Regulations call for, as alarms are often part of the sign-off.
What to include when you post
A short description of the house lets the electrician plan how many alarms and where.
- How many floors, and roughly how many rooms.
- Whether you want mains-wired interlinked alarms or battery ones.
- Whether there are existing alarms to replace, with a photo of one.
- Any fuel-burning appliances, such as a gas boiler, gas fire, wood burner or oil boiler, and where they are.
- Whether there is a loft you can get into.
- Whether it’s a rented property, and if so, whether a tenancy is about to start.
- Any building work going on, such as a loft conversion or extension.
What to ask
Ask which type of alarms they’re fitting and how they’re interlinked. Wired interlinking needs cables between alarms, and wireless interlinking avoids that, but each alarm still needs power.
A written quote should say:
- how many smoke, heat and carbon monoxide alarms, and where each one goes
- whether new cabling is needed and how it will be run
- whether filling and making good around old alarms is included
- that old alarms will be taken away
- what certificate you’ll get for the electrical work
Ask how long the alarms last before they need replacing, as they have a limited life, and how to test them. If you’re a landlord, ask the electrician for a record of what was fitted and where, which helps you show you’ve met the rules.
Not quite the right job?
See every job on our Electrician page, or post it anyway and describe it in your own words.
Before a tradesperson starts work
Registrations
Some work must be done by a registered professional. Work on a gas boiler, cooker or fire must be done by a Gas Safe registered engineer, which you can check on the Gas Safe Register.
Our business check
Limited companies are checked with Companies House and sole traders upload their insurance certificate. Trade registrations are confirmed by the tradesperson when they sign up.
Get the price in writing
Ask for a written quote that sets out the work and the price before anything starts. Your contract for the work is with the tradesperson.
Questions
What people tend to ask before booking this job. For anything specific to your home, ask the tradesperson who takes it on when they get in touch.
Mains-wired interlinked alarms are common in rewires and new builds. Battery alarms are quicker to fit. The electrician can advise on what suits your home.
In England you must have a smoke alarm on each storey with a room used as living accommodation, and a carbon monoxide alarm in any such room with a fixed combustion appliance, other than a gas cooker. You must check they work at the start of each tenancy and repair or replace them once told they're faulty. Tell the electrician what you need to meet.
Yes. If you have a boiler, gas fire, wood burner or other fuel-burning appliance, it's worth fitting a carbon monoxide alarm in the same visit. Some can be interlinked with the smoke alarms.
Usually a low backup battery or an alarm that has reached the end of its life. Check the date on the back. If it's mains-wired and chirps after a new battery, get an electrician to look at it.
Kitchens are the usual place, as cooking sets off smoke alarms. Some people also use them in garages. The electrician can advise on the layout for your house.