Carbon Monoxide Alarm Installation in BC

I install hardwired smoke and carbon monoxide combo alarms for a $99.99 service fee per visit, plus $109.99 (BRK / First Alert SC6W10A) or $119.99 (Kidde) per alarm installed. Under the BC Building Code, homes with a fuel-burning appliance or an attached garage generally need a CO alarm in or near every bedroom.

Do I need a carbon monoxide alarm in BC?

Carbon monoxide (CO) comes from burning fuel. Common sources at home:

• a gas furnace, boiler, water heater, range or dryer
• a gas fireplace, or a wood fireplace or stove
• vehicles running in an attached garage

The BC Building Code (Article 9.32.4.2 in the 2018 edition) requires CO alarms in homes with a fuel-burning appliance or an attached storage garage. That covers most houses with gas heat, a gas fireplace or an attached garage.

Those rules apply to new construction and permitted renovations. For an existing home, check with your municipality.

Where should a CO alarm go?

Under the BC Building Code, a CO alarm goes either:

• inside each bedroom, or
• outside each bedroom, within 5 m of the door, measured along the hallway, not through walls.

It must also be installed the way the manufacturer says. The Province's guidance adds:

• One on each level, and near sleeping areas.
• Keep it away from windows, vents, bathrooms and fuel-burning appliances.
• Don't put a standalone CO alarm right beside a smoke alarm. A combo is fine.
• Not at the peak of a vaulted ceiling.

Combo alarm or separate CO alarm?

I install hardwired smoke and CO combo alarms. One device does both jobs on your existing hardwired interconnect. In most homes, swapping the hallway smoke alarms outside the bedrooms for combos covers the bedroom CO requirement in one step.

Hardwired interconnected alarms should be one brand on the same interconnect. We match your home's existing brand, and I test the interconnect after install. Our photoelectric guide covers the smoke side.

How much does CO alarm installation cost?

Example: a townhouse with two hallway smoke alarms swapped for combos comes to $319.97 with BRK or $339.97 with Kidde, before GST. See the full price list or use the quote builder.

What do I get for the $99.99 service fee?

The $99.99 service fee is charged once per visit, not per alarm. What you get:

• I come to you. Travel is included anywhere in our Lower Mainland service area. There's no call-out charge.
• Labour to take down the old alarms and put up the new ones.
• Every alarm tested before I leave. On hardwired systems I test the interconnect too.
• A written record for every alarm: location, type, manufacture date and test result.
• Old units taken away, and a 30-day workmanship warranty.
• Same price 10am to 8pm, every day. No evening or weekend surcharge.

Do basement suites need interconnected CO alarms?

Under the BC Building Code, CO alarms in a house with a secondary suite must be interconnected, so an alarm in the suite sounds upstairs too. Legalizing a basement suite in Burnaby? Your municipality sets what applies to it.

For rentals, the Residential Tenancy Branch expects landlords to keep smoke alarms working and test them each year. It doesn't mention CO alarms, so the practical step is to treat them the same way, especially at tenant turnover. Strata councils and landlords with several units can get volume rates through our strata and landlord service. See also smoke alarm installation in Vancouver.

What if a CO alarm is going off right now?

Get everyone outside into fresh air and call 911. We're not an emergency service. If it's chirping rather than alarming, see beeping smoke alarm repair.

Frequently asked questions

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