Smoke & CO Alarm Checks on San Juan Island

The chirping alarm on a twelve-foot ceiling is the call I get most in November.

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Every house should have working smoke alarms and, if there's any fuel-burning appliance or an attached garage, carbon monoxide alarms. Washington requires smoke alarms in rental housing. And every one of them eventually starts chirping at 3 a.m., usually the one on the highest ceiling.

I test every alarm in the house, replace batteries, and check the date on the back. Alarms expire, typically after about ten years, and an expired alarm can stop sensing properly even with a fresh battery. Those get replaced.

To be clear about the line: I replace batteries and install or replace battery-powered and sealed ten-year-battery alarms. Hardwired alarms, the kind wired into the house, need an electrician to replace, because that's electrical work. I'll change their backup battery and test them, and if they need replacing I'll tell you and coordinate an electrician.

For empty second homes and rentals, this fits naturally into property care or a fall winterizing visit. Once a year, every alarm.

What’s included

Testing every smoke and CO alarm
Battery replacement, including backup batteries in hardwired units
Checking manufacture dates and flagging expired alarms
Installing battery-powered and sealed 10-year alarms
Ladder work on high ceilings, within safe reach
A note on where alarms are missing

What it costs

Usually inside the standard $250 minimum visit, which covers up to two hours, then $85/hour in quarter-hour increments. Materials at cost plus pickup. Washington sales tax applies to the total. Full rate card. Batteries and alarms at cost.

Full rate card