Basement/attic sprinklers in single-family home

[sh220]

If you install a fire sprinkler system, does the basement and attic need to be sprinklered in accordance with NFPA 13, 13D or 13R?

The single-family home is in New Jersey. Fire sprinklers are not required but the homeowner wants to install them for additional life & property protection.

The unfinished basement, finished ground floor, finished second floor and unfinished attic are approx. 2800 sq. ft. each, with an additional approx. 900 sq. ft. garage on the ground floor and outdoor patio above. (Total: Approx. 5600 sq. ft. finished, approx. 5600 sq. ft. unfinished, approx. 900 sq. attached garage)

There are no fuel-fired devices in either the attic or basement, though there may be in the basement in the future. There is air handling equipment in both, and both may be used for storage or a future living space. The roof is an 8:12 pitch.

Currently, the sprinkler engineers call for a 13R system everywhere except for a 13 system in the attic, basement and garage. However, with a 250 GPM hose allowance, the calculations for those areas are demanding over 500 GPM at just under 90 PSI. The standby fees from the water company to feed such a large system are making the homeowner reconsider and delete the entire system.

Are there options to consider?

 

[cdafd]

Do a 13D system

Sprinklers would not be required in the attic

Would not be required in certain enclosures

But does not seem to exclude basement, and you do not say what the basement will be used for

Is it future living area, sleeping area, theater room, etc. Should be sprinkled


Contact 2 or 3 sprinkler companies fire advice and bids

And it is rediculous for the city to charge high rates for a stagnet water line that will help cut down on thier fire department costs!!!!

 

[TravisMack]

13D is for 1 and 2 family dwellings. The largest home I have done with a 13D system was about 30k sq ft. Yeah, it seemed crazy to protect that with just a 2 head calc, but that is what the ahj/builder/owner wanted done.

When the home building was going crazy, I used to design about 50 home sprinkler systems / year. 13D gives pretty good direction on what to do with a basement. You can design it for pendents in anticipation of a future ceiling. 13D allows you to omit the garage.

Remember, the purpose of a 13D system is not to protect the property. The purpose is to simply sound an alarm and buy 10 minutes for the people in the house to get out. It just so happens that sprinklers are very effective and often extinguish a residential fire that people forget the intent of the standard. It is life safety only, not property protection.

In my current home, I have a system that I designed in accordance with 13D. The only thing I did extra was to put heads in the garage as it was my choice. I figured that if there was a fire in the garage, I wanted an alarm to wake us up and let us get out of the house.

If there are things like fine art collections or other items like that, the home owner may want to consider a property protection system, not just a life safety system. But, the majority of single family homes do well when protected with a 13D system.

However, a 13 system in the attic seems like overkill for a single family home unless it is very high end and the insurance company / owner want property protection. A 13R system is not even a property protection system; it is only a life safety system as well.

Travis Mack
MFP Design, LLC

http://www.mfpdesign.com

 

[sh220]

cdafd - Basement and attic both have mechanical rooms as well as storage, though the attic storage could be turned into a nice loft space and the basement could have a game room or home theater. (No bedrooms though - wouldn't meet egress requirements.)

Natural gas is piped through the basement but there is nothing fuel-fired there yet (might be in the future). Only electrical air handlers in the attic.

Private water company (government-granted monopoly) wants nearly $1000 a year for standby service. Not to mention the initial tap, etc.


Travis - Some property protection would be nice - it is a nice house and there will be a home office in it too so it would be good to have the homeowner not locked out for months because a minor fire got out of hand.

Since 13 isn't required, and 13D doesn't require these other areas to be covered... if they are installed, do they have to meet 13 standards as far as water flow calculations? After all, the physics and fluid dynamics say the same amount of water will flow through them regardless of what the engineers put on paper. Or could they be designed to a lower standard with the understanding they are optional and designed for life safety (13D/13R) and not property protection (13)?

Side question... they designed most of the system for 13R (attic, garage & basement are the exceptions). Anything that says we couldn't call it a 13D system that exceeds the minimum requirements to save the re-engineering of a 13D system?

 

[TravisMack]

The standards are a minimum. You can always exceed. You just can't do less.

Travis Mack
MFP Design, LLC

http://www.mfpdesign.com

 

[NJ1]

I am in NJ. What jurisdiction is this job being called for?
Has the owner contacted the local fire sub code? Who is the engineer?

Maybe I can help

 

[sh220]

Thank you all. The owner is planning to talk to the code official tomorrow -- they're schedules were not meshing earlier, and he was trying to work it out with the sprinkler designer first -- so we'll see what happens next.

NJ1 - Job is in Springfield, NJ

 

[pipesnpumps]

Re the tap charges. It is the water authority that charges not the city.. I had a DoD customer that owns a dam which was built to supply water to a community and for flood control.

Now the water authority that draws from this lake wanted to charge $230,000 per year to the DoD entity that operates the lake, just for connecting up a 6" tap, to feed sprinklers and a couple of 8 fixture bathroom groups a mile away on a dead end.. I told the contractor to look at a 3" tap immediately increased to 6" and large orifice sprinklers.

The tap fee was much much less. The water authority said they would have had to increase their system capacity if a 6" tap was made, which was why the pricing was ludicrous. I guess they look at it like the worst case is most you could get through their tap valve, and for charging you demand fee they have to design their system to accommodate. I honestly question this practice, because it assumes every single building in their system is simultaneously on fire at the same time. They should charge based on the domestic Tap/line.

I know this deserved It's own thread but does directly relate to the OP's issue and why he may lose the work.. The water authorities are as we say here in the south, as crooked as a dog's hind leg...


Real world knowledge doesn't fall out of the sky on a parachute, but rather is gained in small increments during moments of panic or curiosity.