All Forum Posts by: Dave Martel

All your estimating costs should be built in to your overhead. That way you get paid for your time and expenses without having to charge for estimates or getting frustrated with the tire kickers.

This isn't a sales pitch BTW. I was discussing these with a client yesterday and thought I'd share.

As an electrical contractor I sell Lutron products all day long but I'm not affiliated with them in any way.

You're better off pulling permits IMO. If you get caught its going to cost you and if you do a lot of business in the same jurisdiction they will make your life miserable.

Check out Lutron's Maestro Wireless dimmers and switches with Pico wireless control. They're great if you want to add a switch or if you have an existing switch in a inconvenient location without having to fish wires and repair drywall etc.

The switches and dimmers are ~$60-$100 depending on the load and the Pico wireless control is ~$45-$60 including wall mount, plus installation.

Thanks Dawn!

@Joshua Dorkin

Stupid question...How do I do the originally posted by when commenting/responding to a topic.

Also when using the search function, if there are multiple pages and I use the back button when done reading a thread it always sends me back to the first page. What an I missing?

Thanks

@jon Holdman

Yes Colorado is more specific. I also didn't mean to imply that you need one for each bedroom, if one is installed in the vicinity of multiple bedrooms it should be code compliant.

Is the hard wire requirement a local code? The Colorado law specifies below:

According to this law, carbon monoxide alarms must be installed in one of the following ways:
o
Wired directly into the home’s electrical system
o
Directly plugged into an electrical outlet (does not require a switch other than a circuit breaker)
o
Any battery powered alarm can be attached to the wall or ceiling of the home.
????
Alarms installed in this manner must comply with the National Fire Protection Association standard 720, or any successor standard for the operation and installation of carbon monoxide alarms.

Up here in the sticks we can use the battery/plug in detectors even when doing renovations.

As Kyle stated it varies by state and local jurisdictions but here is what the 2012 international residential code says(1 & 2 family dwellings)

Article R315.1 Carbon Monoxide alarms. For new construction, an approved carbon monoxide alarm shall be installed outside each separate sleeping area in the immediate vicinity of the bedrooms in dwelling units within which fuel fired appliances are installed and in dwelling units that have attached garages.

Article R315.3 Where required in existing dwellings. Where work requiring a permit occurs in existing dwellings that have attached garages or in existing dwellings within which fuel fired appliances exist, carbon monoxide alarms shall be provided in accordance with Section R315.1

So in a nutshell, outside every bedroom. And the gas furnace is considered an appliance.

Do you really think you will be able to find a buyer who is willing to pay for cable/phone as an extra? You might as well pay for it now than put in later because you know every other house is most likely going to have it included. Check with your electrician if the extra license is just for the alarm or for the phone and cable as well.(That's kind of ridiculous)

You're also probably better off waiting until you're complete until you sell so you don't get bogged down with home owners picking out finishes, making changes, etc. You can always refer them to your contractor for any extras while you move on to the next one.

They're not supposed to make sense yet. Most of the big developments are owned by pension funds, insurance companies, etc. They have a ton of money they have to put to work and are willing to take the loss for a number of years to offset their gains. They will either sell them for a profit down the road or hold on to them long enough for them to turn into cash cows when inflation catches up.