Residential Fire Sprinklers: What You Need to Know in 5 or 6 Steps | House Flipping in Los Angeles

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It’s time for Sam’s favorite topic, residential fire sprinklers. In this video we discuss when you need fire sprinklers and the 6(5) steps we are taking to having fire sprinklers installed. We also give you an estimate of how much we are spending to getting fire sprinklers. We won’t have the absolute final cost until the city gets back to us, so stick around to hear about that.
Infinity Fire Protection Inc
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[@dozer101308]

I've been a sprinkler fitter for 22 years and I have many years in the fire service as a volunteer firefighter. I have replaced the sprinkler head after a fire and I am always impressed with how little damage there is. The residents are often complaining about the water damage, but I know that is because they don't understand how much fire and smoke damage there would have been without them. Plus the fire department would have to use far more water to put out the fire if there are not sprinklers so you have the water damage either way. The tenants are usually back in the other units by the time I get there. I have witnessed the lives and property saved many times. I have also witnessed the water damage from accidental discharge due to human error (people like to hang clothes hangers on them in hotels). With everything I know about them, I retrofitted them into my 100 year old house. However, I do not agree with codes that force you to install them into a single family residence. I think there should be information given to the owner about fire sprinklers and how fast a fire can spread without sprinklers and let them decide. Do I want to cut 6K from the landscaping or flooring budget for now and install fire sprinklers. Or roll the dice that a fire won't happen to me. I get that it is different since you are flipping the house and may not have a buyer who can make this choice. My opinion is always less government. I feel your pain being forced to do this. P.S. I did a water tank and pump for my house because it was cheaper than bringing in a bigger water service. The downside is they take up space and you have more that could fail.

[@SEFSU]

Chiming in here (a few months late) I definitely do see the benefit in fire sprinklers as an over all. I think I was being a facetious that may not have came across as intended. But I will always agree with less government overreach.

[@charlespaine987]

The problem I have is I am in the country . My system MUST #1 have a storage tank and aux pump. #2 i will be using PEXA , integrated into domestic cold water system. #3 the system will be post initial build in a MODULAR HOME. Finding people qualified to design domestic water integrated fire sprinkler system in North Carolina is near imposable , finding one who will work with a home owner is more difficult

[@sammydingdong4540]

This system saved my two young daughters lives yes there was water damage but the insurance paid for that and my daughters lived not sure why this guy feels they are a waste of time.

[@wdwtx2.0]

One flooded room will cost you thousands. A pain. One destroyed house could cost you everything. Life changing.

[@SEFSU]

valid point

[@ironmatic1]

@@SEFSU lol you don't understand it because you're a low iq house flipper

[@plumberson98]

if you have children, they are priceless. i would be very happy and not even complain if my house was flooded during a fire but my kids were safe because of the sprinkler system.

[@SEFSU]

I could definitely agree with this!

[@rainierfireprotection2993]

So, you don't want a flood if there is a fire? Then you CERTAINLY want sprinklers. You generally only have 1 sprinkler head deploy to contain the fire, maybe 2. Each head puts out 13 GPM worth of water (typically) compared to the 300+ GPM a fire hose would use from a truck/hydrant. In a 13D (one or two family dwelling unit) sprinkler application like this, the job of the sprinklers is to give the occupants a chance to get out. Average fire department response time with a water truck (not aid car) is about 4-6 minutes. With new, lightweight construction materials and furnishings the time for a residential home to reach flashover (the absolute point where survivability is zero) is under 2 minutes. With sprinklers, 85% of the time a residential system will contain and EXTINGUISH the fire. Thus keeping that pesky fire hose from REALLY flooding your home. You are also more likely to be able to stay in your home or return to it within 48 hours if sprinklers are used to contain or extinguish the fire as it contains it to that single room source. You also get an insurance discount which over the life of a 30 year mortgage will easily pay off your $6k cost on the system in this instance. I could go on and on, but it would be worth your while to reconsider your viewpoint/attitude to this "useless" system. I hope they never ever have to be used, but if they do it is the best shot most folks have for getting out of their homes in time.

[@joeberg5248]

Can confirm. Had a friend who had a small kitchen fire that would have been put out by a fire sprinkler system. Instead, the fire Dept. dumped hundreds of gallons of water that ruined the entire kitchen and basement with water damage.

[@SEFSU]

I think maybe our sarcasm and jokes were taken a bit seriously here. Eddy and I both don’t have much experience with fire sprinklers but we’re just being a bit bratty about having to spend a significant amount of money for fire sprinklers (which ended up being way more than the $6k all things considered).

[@michaelraymond2546]

I would also add there are water mist systems that can be used and they take far less water.

[@SEFSU]

@@michaelraymond2546 I am not sure if city requirements would accept this but we will definitely look into it for our future projects.

[@rainierfireprotection2993]

@@michaelraymond2546 Misting systems are for very specific system requirements. These are not designed or priced for residential systems and cost more to install due to the misting nozzle type and construction. Again, a standard 13D sprinkler system uses no more than 13GPM so it is already far far less than a fire hose or even a garden hose in some instances.

[@marcberm]

I get it... Sprinklers are NOT cheap, and therefore not for everyone or every budget, BUT... For anyone to say they are "useless" or even that they "don't understand them" is baffling to me. The water that puts out a fire can come in the form of thousands of gallons from a fireman's hose, or it can come in a more controlled manner from within the house. You can settle for more fire damage becasue of the time it takes for personnel and aparatus to arrive (and the more invasive nature of those firefighting techniques), or you can minimize that damage with nearly instant response from within the building. Water is damage, but fire is destruction. Sprinklers are absolutely useful, save property, and by extension save money. Where up-front cost/expenditure is not a consideration, they should be a no-brainer, and where cost is a consideration, they should not simply be dismissed out of hand as useless. Everything is a calculated risk assessment. TL;DR: I hear your valid desire to not have to include sprinklers, but the reasoning not to is flawed.

[@SEFSU]

I think, as in my case, a bit of anger with the cost of them on top of lack of understanding and knowledge in their entire use causes people to not understand why we need them. Looking through the comments and also talking to different people through the fire sprinkler process we definitely learned a lot more than what was portrayed in this video.

[@abdulwadoodlone1386]

Kudos to you both

[@SEFSU]

Thank you!

[@62Cristoforo]

I’ve been plumbing for over. 20 years and I’ve never heard of 5/8” copper pipe. Just 1/2” and 3/4”. And I’m puzzled by the potential problems and damage from insulated electrical wires touching the orange CPVC pipes. What special coating is this?

[@alaskamark7080]

If you have a flame that is about 5-6 feet high in your home, you've got about 15 seconds to get out before the oxygen combusts in the whole home. Find out the next time your local fire department is doing a side by side fire demonstration of a room with and without fire sprinklers, then decide if it is useless or not.

[@SEFSU]

I'd probably rather have water damage than combustion haha.

[@zackdreamcast]

Got a quote in VT for my new construction and it was $26k for 1800sqft

[@wthomas5697]

How did you pressurize the lines? I just saw a video by a company that makes sprinklers that said never to pressurize cpvc with air or gas. I'm wondering what's going on in that regard. Thanks.

[@SEFSU]

What our installer did was fill the lines with water from the main water supply line T'd off to a different pressure regulator. Before the fill he adjusted the water pressure regulator to match what pressure he needed in the lines. The lines are now always pressurized always and ready for a fire!

[@jwheelsw9381]

11 months later. Testing with air is more volatile than water. So it’s a safety factor you have unglued fitting blow off or compromised pipe exploding.

[@rdy4trvl]

Great overview on fire sprinklers. Although CPVC is common, PEX pipe is also allowed, correct? Pex seems easier and quicker to install. Why use CPVC?

[@SEFSU]

I believe city code required us to use CPVC and pex is prohibited due to the level of pressure required to be in the fire sprinkler lines at all times. Every municipality is different.

[@ClutchClick]

Pressure and heat resistance are the differences I believe but I’m brand new to this lol.

[@noramatosian3228]

CPVC is required per code. NFPA 13D

[@ambieomystico6124]

Line size does not matter with pressure only volume increases

[@richardmoye2569]

for the Meter situation... was a pump and tank not an option? cheaper than a new tap from the city... unless your local fire marshal wont allow it... for aesthetics, there's flat plate concealers. Also as for "flooding". Most fires are controlled with 1 or 2 sprinklers. If a head goes off, depending on the pressure at your house it will be discharging between 20-40 gallons per minute. Typical fire department response times in a suburban area is around 10 minutes once the call is received, so lets say 15 total (if you have a water flow alarm on your system then your alarm monitoring company will make the call). At the most, 40gpm x 15 minutes = 600 gallons.... When they do get there, the fire will most likely be extinguished. The system will be shut down, head changed and now you have a mess to clean up in one room. Without sprinklers.... a fire in a room grows exponentially without anything stopping it so that a situation called "flashover" can occur in as little as 1 1/2 minutes. This is when the fire erupts out of that room and spreads rapidly throughout the structure. So in the 15 minute response time for the fire department the fire has now spread to 1/4 to 1/2 of the house (15 minutes is generous too because unless you're there to call, no one else will call untill someone sees smoke or flames from the outside). When they arrive, theres another 2-5 minutes of setting up the hoses, hooking up to hydrants, and getting into position for the attack... if they think the roof is involved, they get up there and tear holes in the roof for venting and then they start spraying water from the hoses, at 250 gallons a minute per hose, for however long it takes to put it out. in the end they could end up using 20-30 THOUSAND gallons of water... vs under 1000 for a sprinklered home. Plus your house is burned down vs. having to fix a room. Sure, if you're there and awake with a fire extinguisher handy you could catch a fire and put it out.... what about when you're asleep, or not home or in another part of the house and something starts? If they accidentally go off, as with everything with your house, know how it works... know where the control valve is and shut it, then open the drain. This will stop the head from discharging almost immediately. One big tip for everyone is have the installing contractor include a spare head cabinet AND wrench. This should have spare sprinklers of the ones installed on your system. Its required by code on commercial installations but not on single family homes... they'll charge you for it but its worth the $200 or so. Each sprinkler has a specific wrench that goes with it that you have to use (or else you'll damage the head) and if you have one break you can change it out quickly.

[@SEFSU]

Unfortunately city requirements for a new tap from the city. Thanks for all the info!

[@pharohramseythegreat]

May I move a sprinkle 1 feet or so ? is that difficult or expensive?

[@SEFSU]

You would have to drain the entire system in order to do this. Sprinkler lines are usually pressurized. The last of moving the line is very similar to moving a lawn sprinkler line, aside from the high pressure aspect of it. I would not recommend doing this yourself if you have no experience with fire sprinkler lines.

[@1970waya]

Also that sprinkler head may already be max distance off the wall,or that one foot might also put it too close to another head or a heat source.check your codes.

[@Cosas-del-pasado19]

If you break that red capsule on accident will it go off? Even there’s no fire?

[@williamsullivan4877]

Yes, the glass bulb can be broken mechanically. Concealed sprinklers are less susceptible to mechanical damage.

[@Cosas-del-pasado19]

@@williamsullivan4877 so will the sprinklers in the house go off I break them mechanically?

[@ceezee138]

Yes, only the sprinkler head that has been broken will activate.

[@SEFSU]

Consensus is YES it will go off.

[@1970waya]

That glass bulb is whats holding back the water.

[@raymcclellan4587]

They make sprinklers / systems that only deploy unique to the room that has the fire

[@SEFSU]

These were in fact sprinklers that deploy only in the area the fire would potentially be in. We were just very ignorant on the topic when discussing it at the time.

[@brianthomson139]

Why not use a mistype system

[@rockys7726]

I wish I could pay 2 $/sq ft! I just got a quote for double that in Texas.

[@SEFSU]

Always get multiple quotes, sometimes some guys are really busy and overbid a project. Sometimes a crew needs to fill in a dry period and you can get a good deal. Always shop quotes around!

[@rockys7726]

@@SEFSU I completely agree. However in my area there is more business than they can handle and it just keeps pushing up prices.

[@user-is3lf1rk5y]

I actually have a phobia of sprinklers

[@anthonydiaz4582]

I’m 19. I want to apply, I know a little about this job but I feel I’m too young to apply.

[@anthonydiaz4582]

What should I know before i apply?

[@SEFSU]

Not sure what you are looking to apply for specifically. But with anything in life I always say JUMP IN and you'll figure it out!

[@goldencollar3043]

Do i need tittle 24 R u give us the tittle 24 too Thanks

[@SEFSU]

Depending on the municipality and scope of work title 24 may be required. This is usually sourced through a 3rd party company for a few hundred bucks.

[@62Cristoforo]

Typically, only one sprinkler will go off in the event of a small fire. Not all sprinklers go off at once, like in the movies. That’s Hollywood. The only time this happens in reality is if there’s a massive uncontrollable fire from some explosion or Molotov cocktail. The other scenario is in an airplane hangar, a special type of system, where all sprinkler heads are controlled by one valve.

[@eddiepadilla1078]

I'm putting a system in my house without any requirements because I'd rather wake up to cleaning up some water then never waking up because the smoke killed me and my wife in our sleep--damn California and all their hippy rules

[@amberengel5558]

I’m a fitter I’m pretty sure the pipe can handle like 1500° and pressure is 250 psi

[@SEFSU]

Cannot confirm or deny this! So we'll take your word for it!

[@dozer101308]

I assume you are referring to blazemaster CPVC pipe, it will melt like any plastic. It is designed to handle heat a little different than other CPVC pipe, but will melt. The drywall is protecting the CPVC from the heat and the sprinkler head is controlling the fire so it doesn't reach high temps that would get past the drywall and to the pipe. CPVC can be exposed, but with restrictions including the temperature of the head.

[@amberengel5558]

@@dozer101308 Check your facts on the melting point of fire pipe come on now get a stick of schedule 40 Blazemaster and torch it it will only char k

[@neo1010k]

Correct, cpvc forms a char that actually becomes a protective layer in a sense. The drywall is fire rated but is not there to “ protect “ the pipe. It can handle extremely high temps thus it’s UL listing. Also, sprinkler pipe needs to be hydrostatically tested at a minimum of 200 psi or 50 psi above maximum working pressure.

[@snugglylovemuffin]

Life safety is a "waste of money" sure guy

[@SEFSU]

We all make rash statements sometimes, maybe I do a bit more than others haha.

[@phredbookley183]

Wait wait. Did this cost $300,000+? Sorry I'm just trying to make sure about the number that was on screen

[@williamsullivan4877]

No, the sprinkler was $6000 plus $4500 for the new water service for a total project cost of $300k

[@SEFSU]

William is spot on.

[@danielmankinde1706]

@@williamsullivan4877 what’s the project size in sqft..

[@claudetterichardson2772]

I need to put this in my home.How can ?or who can do it for me.

[@SEFSU]

Hey Claudette, sorry for the late response but we have the information to the company we used in our description!

[@arbim558]

Call ifire protection inc.

[@arbim558]

They are the best in. The business as well as on Yelp… I would know because I’m the owner of the company :-) lol

[@arbim558]

@@SEFSU hey buddy, Ifire protection inc., please look into my company.. and let us know how we may help you in the future if infinity is to get too busy or something one day… Thanks.

[@bluelude2001]

That plastic cpvc sprinkler pipe is crap. Gets so brittle after awhile.

[@SEFSU]

These are the pipes required by code, not sure about the lifespan but I know commercial buildings use steel piping.

[@ClutchClick]

Maybe if you leave it in the sun before installation lol

[@johnwilliams-ni8cn]

wow what happened to creative thinking, its very easy to put a drain in every room for the sprinkler, they can be hidden and they can have their own drain pipe connecting all of them to one drip s pipe. so only one room gets some fire damage and free from any water damage, even flooding.

[@SEFSU]

I believe our municipalities do not allow PEX for fire sprinklers because of the pressure required in the fire sprinkler lines at all times.

[@johnwilliams-ni8cn]

@@SEFSU how do they keep pressure in apartment building?

[@SEFSU]

@@johnwilliams-ni8cn Pressure comes from the city line and is regulated down using a pressure regulator valve at the home. I honestly would not know the answer for an apartment building.

[@johnwilliams-ni8cn]

@@SEFSU apartments buildings have their own water pressure creators, more pressure or less

[@schawn4925]

I wouldn’t use the words very easy to install drains over a house. To maintain pitch with existing obstacles is quite challenging. Not only that you would have to waterproof everything for drains to work. Carpet areas as well would be a change for a floor drain.

[@jayjay-pl1xc]

To say the sprinkler is useless is the dumbest thing I have ever heard. I bet if a fire burns your house down with someone inside then you would never say something so stupid.

[@techno4evaa]

these guys are saying all the codes and requirements for sprinkler system. for the most part they are the same but they don’t realize that these codes change from state to state, even city to city

[@techno4evaa]

buddy you know nothing a sprinkler system and if there’s a fire in the house guess what you’ll be getting flood damage from fire department and their not shy with spraying water.

[@techno4evaa]

waste of money. when it saves someone’s life it isn’t