Advanced Home Inspections

Most people understand the importance, working smoke and Carbon Monoxide alarms, represent in our homes. As part of a real estate transaction in Nebraska, all homes have minimum standards pertaining to these alarm systems. All homes being sold must have a working smoke alarm on every sleeping level of the home and if certain situations apply such as (attached garages, fuel fired appliances, and/or fireplaces), these homes will also require Carbon Monoxide alarms on every livable level of the home. It is very common for me to find an inadequate number of alarms in a home and what is even a bigger issue is that a large portion of the "working" alarms that are still in use are being used beyond the manufacturers and the National Fire and Signaling code requirement for replacement which is only 10 years. These older alarms can easily have issues with volume and due to exposure to dust can become clogged and may not sound as intended. It is always a good idea, regardless if the alarms worked at the time of inspection, to replace all smoke and Carbon Monoxide alarms if they are any older than about 5 years of age or if there has been recent remodeling done inside the home.