Chat with a fire alarm tech about panel placement... gave me a lot to think about

Ran into a guy at the supply house who does fire alarms for hospitals. He said he always puts his panels where maintenance guys can actually reach them without moving a ladder. I never thought about that... I just put them wherever the print says. He told me about a job where the panel was behind a server rack and the fire marshal made them move it. Cost them like $3k. Now I'm second guessing half my installs from the last 2 years. Any of you guys check for that stuff before you mount?

3 comments

3 Comments

kevin_murray885d ago

Buddy of mine had to rerun conduit because of a sprinkler head he missed.

garcia.miles5d ago

That 18 inch wall story reminded me of when I bought a used fridge off Craigslist once. Guy swore up and down it would fit in my kitchen opening, but I never actually measured until I got it home. Had to take the front door off its hinges to squeeze it in. Same thing with these panels I guess - you can't just trust what someone else tells you or what a drawing shows. You have to see it for yourself.

fiona_nelson515d ago

The hospital job I did last year had a panel location that looked perfect on paper, right in the maintenance hallway. But when I showed up the wall was only 18 inches deep because of a structural column. I had to surface mount everything and add a protective cage around it so carts wouldn't smash into it. The fire marshal actually told me he sees that mistake all the time, people just trusting the prints without walking the actual space. Now I always bring a tape measure and do a quick walkthrough before I even unbox anything. It saves a lot of headaches and the GCs actually appreciate it because I catch issues before the drywall goes up.