Smoke Detectors and 3 a.m. Phone Calls
A couple of years ago we built a room onto the back of my house. My mother, who suffers from Parkinson's Disease, needed more space to maneuver than what my 40-year-old, three-bedroom, two-bathroom bungalow allowed. She now has a spacious area with an ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliant bathroom. Because the construction required permits, there were several inspections throughout the building process. The final inspection, to receive the occupancy permit, included the entire house which meant we had to have a smoke detector in every room except the kitchen, according to city code. So, my contractor installed one in each bedroom, the hallway, and the living room. He removed the one from the kitchen that went off every time I fried bacon. Some of my detectors are hardwired to the electricity and some are battery operated only. The ones not hardwired have ten-year internal batteries that can't be changed. Older detectors have nine-vol...