Smoke Detectors

Wylie I was just questioning the "requirement " bit however do agree for a few extra $$$ for peice of mind small outlay.

When I advise people how many alarms are required I say what is the minimum requirement by law. I then explain why others should be installed and where. I find majority of people install the extra.

As I said earlier my IP has 5. My PPOR has the same however I plan to install at least 2 more. Gotta love peice of mind.

Brian
 
I,m going to ring up the insurance company and ask about the laundry if required by law to be installed ,but i do know a few high sets that have them installed in the laundry,the dryer may burn out if your not home but with fire safety it's better to go the 200%,rather then just a few 10 buck cheap failsafes..
 
Wylie I was just questioning the "requirement " bit however do agree for a few extra $$$ for peice of mind small outlay.

Hi Brian. I wasn't questioning your post, but rather the one right after mine. I was quite concerned when I found out that whilst we are super careful, even scratching the date onto the batteries to prove they went in at the start of a tenancy, that in one of my late father's houses, both smoke alarms had expired a few years ago. It made me wonder what would have happened had there been a fire. I guess we would have possibly been sued. I don't know, but I'm not wanting to risk losing all we have.

I don't like paying a company money to do what we have always done, and something that takes us five minutes, but because this risk of being sued is very real, I have handed it all to the professionals.

I have to say, truly, that not having to cart a ladder, buy batteries and remember to do this each renewal is nice, and not having to go back if there is a faulty smoke alarm is even better. But I still must diarise every lease renewal and ensure the company does its check within 30 days prior to new lease or lease renewal. So, I still have to keep on my toes.

I'm curious to know who does yours for $49 per year. I'm paying $69 per property for two years, and then it reverts to $79 per property per annum.
 
I was wondering if RCD's are required to be tested on a regular basis also?

Say 6/12 monthly

And whilst not a legal requirement, to maintain your hot water system and increase it's lifespan a plumber mentioned that we (DIY) should regularly test our hot water system pressure relief valve
 
I was wondering if RCD's are required to be tested on a regular basis also?

Say 6/12 monthly

And whilst not a legal requirement, to maintain your hot water system and increase it's lifespan a plumber mentioned that we (DIY) should regularly test our hot water system pressure relief valve

Thanks for reminding me. I'll follow up that one too because we can't just be told to test it. That's not how it works. Are there user instructions? Can the test be performed by a user? Is that enough? Is there a lifespan? Where does it say that? Consumer Protection will eat that stuff up you would think.

The procedure for testing your RCDs and Smoke Alarms are in the instructions. As far as professional installation or verification is concerned that is one thing that I agree with. But once installed and verified we need to be reasonable.

e.g. An RCD needs to be tested once a month with the test button according to the instructions. I have four routine inspections per year so I can't do it. We can't send a sparky in a dozen times a year to press a button, the tenant will spit it. Well there's only one person left really. The tenant has to do it and it has to be part of your lease.

An owner cannot be reasonably expected to know or do any more than that which is in the instructions one would think. If the instructions are lacking, if an RCD or smoke alarm really needs ongoing tests that a user cannot perform then fair trading needs to be brought in to this. I will be writing formally to 2 manufacturers next week with that very question.

"Does your device need any further testing or maintenance other than that specified in it's instructions for a user to be assured that the device is going to function correctly during its lifetime?"

If the answer is no then that's fine. If the answer is yes, then we have to start asking some serious questions because the documentation that accompanies the device is incomplete and that can result in people having devices that they think should be working but apparently may not be. That negates the whole point of safety devices.
 
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