Smoke alarms installed and checked across the North Shore
Photoelectric alarms supplied and fitted, old alarms replaced, and rental properties brought up to the standard the law asks for. Electrical Plus looks after smoke alarms for homeowners, landlords and property managers across Auckland's North Shore.
Overview
What does smoke alarm installation involve?
Smoke alarm installation means fitting working photoelectric alarms in the right places through a house, either long-life battery units or hard-wired alarms wired back to the switchboard. Electrical Plus installs, replaces and checks smoke alarms across Auckland's North Shore, led by an EWRB registered electrician with over 30 years' experience.
- What we fit
- Photoelectric alarms, long-life battery or hard-wired
- Where they go
- Within 3 metres of every bedroom door, and on every level
- Rentals
- Working alarms required at the start of every tenancy
- Hours
- Monday to Friday, 7:30am to 4:30pm
- Warranty
- Lifetime workmanship
Rental properties
What does the law ask of a rental property?
Every residential rental in New Zealand has to have working smoke alarms, and the rules sit under the Residential Tenancies Act rather than under the healthy homes standards. Tenancy Services sets them out plainly: alarms have to be photoelectric with either a long-life battery of at least eight to ten years or a hard-wired supply, they have to be within 3 metres of every bedroom door, and there has to be at least one on every level of the home.
The landlord is the one responsible for having those alarms in place and working at the start of every tenancy, and for replacing any that are missing, damaged or past their expiry date. Tenants are expected to keep them working during the tenancy and to tell the landlord when something is wrong with one.
What we check on a rental property
- Alarm type photoelectric rather than ionisation.
- Expiry date printed on the back of every alarm.
- Placement within 3 metres of each bedroom door.
- Coverage at least one alarm on every level.
- Mounting fixed properly to the ceiling, not hanging off it.
- Operation every alarm tested before we leave.
What's included
What we can do with smoke alarms
New photoelectric alarm installation
Supplied and fitted where the house actually needs them.
Replacing expired alarms
Every alarm has a date on it, and most people have never looked.
Hard-wired alarm installation
Alarms wired back to the switchboard, with battery backup.
Interconnected alarms
One alarm sounds and they all sound, which matters in a two-storey home.
Rental compliance work
A property brought up to the standard before a new tenancy starts.
Alarm testing and reporting
Every alarm tested, with a note of what was found and what was done.
Signs it's time
When should you replace a smoke alarm?
Smoke alarms do not last forever, and an alarm that beeps when you press the button is not automatically an alarm that will work in a real fire.
- The alarm is past the expiry date printed on its back
- It is an older ionisation alarm rather than a photoelectric one
- It chirps intermittently, or has been taken down because it chirped
- There is no alarm within 3 metres of a bedroom door
- There is no alarm at all on one level of a two-storey home
- You cannot remember the last time any of them were tested
The process
How a smoke alarm job runs
- 01
Tell us about the house
How many bedrooms, how many levels, and what is fitted now. A couple of photos of the existing alarms is usually enough for us to quote.
- 02
We work out what is needed
We map the alarms against the bedroom doors and the levels, and tell you how many you need and where they go.
- 03
Install and test
Alarms are mounted, connected where they are hard-wired, and every one of them is tested before we leave.
- 04
Leave you the record
You get a note of what was fitted and where, which is the thing a property manager or an insurer asks for later.
Included at no additional charge
Smoke alarms are part of our 45-point safety check
Every booked residential maintenance or repair visit includes our complimentary 45-point Electrical Safety Check, and smoke alarm inspection is one of the points on it.
That means if we are already at your place changing a power point or chasing a tripping circuit, we will look at your alarms while we are there and tell you if any of them are the wrong type, badly placed or past their date.
Photoelectric alarms are required, with either a long-life battery of at least eight to ten years or a hard-wired supply. Ionisation alarms no longer meet the requirement. Where a rental already has working hard-wired alarms, those can stay and are replaced like for like when their time comes.
Within 3 metres of every bedroom door, and at least one on every level of the home. In a two-storey North Shore house that usually means alarms upstairs by the bedrooms and at least one downstairs. We work it out against your floor plan rather than guessing.
The landlord is responsible for having working smoke alarms in place at the start of every tenancy and for replacing alarms that are missing, damaged or expired. Tenants are expected to keep them working during the tenancy and to report any alarm that is not working.
Most smoke alarms have a ten-year life, and the expiry date is printed on the back of the unit. After that date the sensor is no longer considered reliable, whatever the test button does. Replacing an expired alarm is the single most common smoke alarm job we do.
No. The healthy homes standards cover heating, insulation, ventilation, moisture and draught stopping. Smoke alarms are a separate requirement under the Residential Tenancies Act. Both apply to a rental, and both get checked when we go through a property, but they are different rules.
Not necessarily. Long-life photoelectric alarms meet the requirement in most existing homes and are far less disruptive to fit. Hard-wired interconnected alarms make more sense in a new build, a full rewire or a larger two-storey home, and we will tell you which one your house calls for.
Where we work
Where we do smoke alarms
Based in the East Coast Bays, we work throughout Auckland from Greenlane to Mangawhai.
Where we do this work
- Browns BayBase
- Mairangi Bay
- Rothesay Bay
- Campbells Bay
- Castor Bay
- Long Bay
- Albany
- Takapuna
- Milford
- Devonport
- Coatesville
- Riverhead
- Silverdale
- Orewa
- Warkworth
- Mangawhai
Not on the list? Give us a call, we cover a good deal more of Auckland than we can fit here.
“We employed Andy, to do both electrical and his handy man services in our home. His work was excellent and a lovely person to have in our home. We would have him do any further work needed at any time. He was prompt with his quote and starting the work. Wendy”
“Andy is a great guy who does excellent work across all aspects of home handyman services. Reliable, skilled, and easy to work with. I’d highly recommend this company to anyone needing quality work done around the house.”
“Had a fence repaired recently and Andy did a great job.. can highly recommend him. Prompt, thorough, no mess .. when no one else was interested in the job.”
Get in touch
Not sure where your smoke alarms stand?
Send us a photo of one of your alarms and tell us how many bedrooms and levels the house has, and we will tell you what is needed.
- Free quotes
- Lifetime workmanship warranty
- EWRB registered