Birmingham, AL
How Interconnected Smoke Detectors Can Improve Safety In a modern home, a simple flame can turn into an uncontrollable fire within just a few seconds. Within minutes, it can reach the flashover point. This is the moment when the heat becomes so intense that everything in your home lights on fire instantaneously. While each fire can vary, modern engineered lumber will often collapse within about 5 to 20 minutes. As a homeowner, your best line
How Often Should Smoke Detectors Be Replaced? Smoke detectors are easy to forget about, and many homeowners assume their detectors are working properly. However, when you stop and think about how long they’ve been there, can you confidently say that your detectors will perform when you need them most? According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), working smoke alarms can reduce the risk of dying in a house fire by as much as 60
Why It’s Important To Get An Electrical Inspection When Buying A New Home You’ve found what seems to be the perfect new home for your family, and you’re ready to sign on the dotted line. The new home meets all of your expectations for location, size, layout, and more. However, the reality is that even the most beautiful home could be hiding secrets behind the walls. You can’t know what condition a home’s major systems
DIY electrical work is never a good idea. From electrical fire risks to code violations, there’s a long list of reasons to hire a professional rather than attempting a risky home repair. But sometimes, you can’t help wondering if a previous owner took shortcuts. Take, for example, if you recently purchased a new home. In this situation, it’s very important to schedule an inspection to spot DIY electrical work, like uncapped wires, overloaded circuits, and
How Many Smoke Detectors Do You Need TO Install? How many smoke detectors does your home need? This is one topic where underestimating can be downright dangerous. All homeowners should know that you’re required by law to have working smoke alarms at your residence. However, the number of smoke detectors needed for your home can vary based on home size and layout. Let’s make sure you’re prioritizing fire safety at your Alabama home with some
How To Know When Smoke Detectors Are Too Old To Trust Smoke detectors need to work when there’s a fire. But when you’ve had a particular detector for a long time, it might not be as reliable as it once was. Detectors do age, and as they age, they deteriorate internally and externally. Leaving them in place is not a good option even if they still work during tests. With age comes uncertainty about when
How to Tell It’s Safe to Stay in a Home After a Lightning Strike Whenever lightning strikes a home, it’s a shocking event — and a violent act of nature. A blinding light flashes. The noise is deafening, like an extremely loud cracking of a whip. And the whole building might shake. In many cases, lightning strikes destroy houses completely. (That can be true even when a home has a lightning rod and surge protection.)
How Electricians Diagnose Lightning Damage Severe thunderstorms in Birmingham, AL, can be awe-inspiring. While we may need the rain, the truth is that storm damage can sometimes last long after the last thunder rolls. Lightning damage is common in our area, and ignoring a strike could lead to serious house fires and damaged appliances. That’s why we’ve put together this guide to help you understand how our electricians can diagnose the damage and help you
How To Prepare Your Home for a New Generator Power outages can be inconvenient and even dangerous. Being without light, heat, or air conditioning, with no access to hot water or fresh food, can be uncomfortable and put your health at risk. Fortunately, having a standby generator, also known as a backup or whole-house generator, can keep the power on during a blackout until the electricity comes back on. When you’re installing a new generator
Natural Gas vs. Propane Generators Alabama is home to some of the country’s most extreme weather, and with that comes power outages. When they occur, you should have a generator that will keep your lights on and operate medical equipment and any other essentials that you’re dependent on. But how should you power that generator, with natural gas or propane? Natural Gas Generators The main feature of natural gas generators is that they’re hooked right