Don Vandervort, Head Homeboy, has written more than 30 DIY home improvement books, been a segment host on HGTV, served as MSN.com's home improvement expert and written countless magazine articles.
Because smoke rises, most detectors are mounted on the ceiling or on a wall near the ceiling.
Detectors should be several horizontal feet away from a heating or cooling register, window, corner of a room, edge of a ceiling fan’s sweep, and any ducts or doors to a kitchen or bathroom. (Because cooking smoke and bathroom steam can cause false alarms, there are detectors that employ silencers.) They should also be placed as far away as possible from combustion sources like oil- or gas-fired furnaces, space heaters, clothes dryers, and water heaters.
In basements, a smoke detector should be placed at the bottom of the stairs and an additional detector near any sleeping areas.
Ceiling-mounted detectors should be placed 4 inches away from any wall at the highest part of the ceiling, with one exception: If you have a cathedral ceiling, do not place detectors at the high point of the ceiling, nor in a corner, because these are dead air spaces. Instead, place detectors at the next highest level.
Wall-mounted detectors should be placed on the wall several inches, but no more than a foot, from the ceiling.
If you are unsure where to place your smoke detectors, contact your local fire department or a state building inspector for assistance.
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