Sprinkler System Maintenance or Concerns?

[Christopher DeFronzo]

Hi everyone,  I am pretty new to the forums & investing.  I am looking for my first deal after reading several of the BP books & J. Scott's estimating rehab costs book.  My question is regarding a 3 family (former nursing home) that I am looking at that has a sprinkler system already installed with  heads all over the property and a large fire suppression system in the basement.  There's also a red fire bell on the front of the property.  Is there any maintenance concerns or things to watch for in general with one of these systems since I have never run into something like this before and I didn't see any info in any of the books I have read.  It appears that the system was inspected yearly in the early 2000's and then again Jan 2016 with pressure & flow recordings.  It also appears to be "weeping" a small amount of water from somewhere, is this a concern?  Any general advice on what to watch out for?  Thanks in advance for any of your input/advice, I am really finding great value in the forums.

[Paul M.]

Christopher,

My first experience with sprinklers was in an apt/condo conversion project I was running. A laborer brushed the wax plug in a sprinkler head with a broom breaking it. The unit was flooded with four inches of water in about five minutes! 

The smell was of old rags and mildew because the lines held stagnant water for ages. There are devices resembling pliars which should be kept on-hand by maintenance or management to stop the water flow in an inadvertent activation or emergency event. Finding one shut-off valve for over fifty townhouses hampered our swift reduction of water intrusion. Better we could've grabbed the pliars and plugged the sprinkler. It's simple and doing so won't take down the water supply to the rest of your building.

While on the subject you mentioned - water "weeping from somewhere." Water is one of the most destructive agents around. The moment it finds it's way into a structure and if allowed to stay, the dwelling becomes compromised and will continue to degrade. Unless you find it's exact origin, stop it's progress, remediate and repair it's damage you permit mechanical compromise to exist. Water cannot fix it's own damage - it will never get better on it's own. 

Hire a good Certified Home Inspector and place your vetted Licensed Bonded framing contractor on standby should you need a second opinion. Ask a fire sprinkler specialist to walk the property with your inspector and framer simultaneously so they can interact and provide you the most comprehensive assessment to you. Your prudent buying decision must include your competent professionals' advice.

Exposing all inhabitants and visitors to mold and other Indoor Air Quality risks is unacceptable. Perhaps even more ominous due to the presence of water is the likelihood that at least mold already exists. Your complete understanding of the extent of any damage is absolutely critical.

I'm an Assistant Construction Manager for a national developer builder of new $1MM+ homes here in Southern California - not a fire sprinkler professional. I do know that whatever we construction specialists (builders or investors/flippers/remodelers) can do to reduce the risk of a fire starting is of paramount importance. 

Further if there is an event, the quicker lives are evacuated to safety and the fire is out the better - period. It's our job to maintain overall site safety for people and property beginning at ground breaking. This extends from our construction personnel to the buyer and should continue throughout the useful lifespan of our products.

The benefits of sprinklers across the U.S.A. are immediate and comprehensive...

"Over the 2002 to 2005 study period, houses equipped with smoke alarms and a fire sprinkler system experienced 100 % fewer civilian fatalities, 57 % fewer civilian injuries, and 32 % less direct property losses and indirect costs resulting from fire than houses equipped only with smoke alarms. In addition, homeowners of dwellings with fire sprinkler systems received an added bonus of an 8 % reduction in their homeowner insurance premium per year, according ISO." 

"This report finds the monetized value of a residential fire sprinkler system,

over a 30-year analysis period, to yield homeowners $4994 in present value benefits.

Costs,                                         Colonial    Townhouse    Ranch

Installation (50 % Markup)         $ 2075.08   $ 1895.17      $ 828.66

...advancements in newer fire sprinkler technologies, of lower cost and improved performance, might be significant enough to improve the cost-effectiveness of these systems."

National Fire Statistics 

"Sprinkler systems have been designed to reduce the numbers of fatalities, injuries, and property damage resulting from structure fires. Thus residents of single-family dwellings (the focus of this study) benefit from the risk reduction of fire induced civilian fatalities, civilian injuries, and property damages (structure and content loss).

On average, over the 2002 to 2005 study period, 36 out of 10 000 single-family houses caught fire each year in the U.S. (Table 3-5). This translates into 296 500 house fires each year, resulting in 2566 civilian fatalities and 10 188 civilian injuries (NFPA 2006). Direct property loss, due to property and content destruction, averaged $5346 million each year, which amounted to $18 052 per fire. So for every 10 000 single-family house fires that occurred, 87 civilians died, another 344 were injured, and $180.5 million in property losses was sustained."

Brown (2005) researched the expected life of each sprinkler systemsí components. Replacement costs would only be incurred when major system components wear out. The entire system will generally last the life of the plumbing system, estimated to be in excess of 30 years, the length of the study period for this analysis. Therefore, no system replacement costs are included.

Fire sprinklers can be supplied by a separate water connection, with a toilet connected to the end of sprinkler piping to ensure that the piping is occasionally purged by flushing the toilet to prevent stagnant water. This arrangement is referred to as “passive purge.”

The bell you mentioned sounds when water supplying the sprinklers flows rapidly. The flapper inside the pipe is deflected sending current to the bell. That's about all I know about the systems. Your sprinkler contractor should include recurring inspections in their bid to maintain your system for you per your local codes.

I hope this helps, please let me know if there is anything I can do to help you.

Paul

Sources:

*© 2013 State of California OSFM California Building Code Development
U.S. Fire Administration - Fire prevention and public education

IRC Fire Sprinkler Coalition