Domestic Sprinkler System Cost Guide

Domestic Sprinkler System Cost

It is difficult to quote accurately for a residential or domestic sprinkler system either based on square footage or bedroom quantity. It is always best to send us your drawings in the form below and we can produce a far more accurate estimate from these.

However, we have tried to produce a table of prices in order to provide a very rough cost indication for a complete fire sprinkler system installed in a modern property that has a suitable mains water supply already entering the property:

A storage-based system incorporating a fully integrated pump monitoring system would add an extra £1300 – £1800

It must be stressed that these figures are meant purely as a guide and that we would require a set of drawings to enable us to give a more accurate estimated cost for a domestic fire sprinkler system.

Systems tend to be priced depending on the calculated quantity of sprinkler heads with additional factors applied to the fire sprinkler costing like:

• Water Supply costs (usually bought by the customer): Has the water supply been designed to cater for a domestic sprinkler system at the planning stage? Can the system be connected to the mains water supply even? If not will the system require a storage facility?
• If a storage facility is required, is there space in the loft for a large quantity of water and a pump? If not, can the storage facility be accommodated on the ground floor/in a basement/garage? This could be a marginally more expensive option due to the larger size of pump required in order to deliver the supply to the top of the property assuming that a full system is required i.e. do the upper floors require coverage?
• Is the requirement for a full system or a partial system? i.e. just the ground floor: A partial system can sometimes satisfy the BCO in the case of a loft conversion. This generally doesn’t affect the storage quantity of the system but will decrease the system size (and cost) however.
• Does the pump utilise a self-testing unit? Unfortunately, due to a very serious omission in BS9251, there is no requirement for any form of automatic monitoring of a pump employed in a domestic fire sprinkler system and over the years many companies have capitalised on this fact and kept their prices low by simply installing normal domestic pumps in fire systems which by nature will remain dormant for a very long time(hopefully) This is contrary to manufacturers advice and we recommend that the automatic testing arrangements of the proposed pump that the installer will be supplying are researched thoroughly.
• Is the property a new build or retrofit?: Obviously, a system which is installed at the building stage when all ceiling voids are accessible will be cheaper than an occupied property.
• In the case of a new build project: are the joists open ‘ecotype joists’ or traditional joists which require drilling?
• Size/scale of property: The number of sprinkler heads will depend not only on room quantities but also on the size of the rooms. A sprinkler head is designed to cover a certain area and obviously, if the two dimensions of a room are over that limit, the head quantity can be quadrupled. The difference between a four-bedroom, terrace townhouse on 3 floors and a large detached 4 bedroom house can be considerable.
• Installation process: Some companies maintain a lower price by carrying out 1st and 2nd fix stages of an installation at the same time with very little regard to scheduling flexibility which can result in unexpected additional charges.
• Location: Obviously the location of the project will affect the price and some companies will impose an additional parking charge or demand that a parking space is available for their exclusive use during installation. Something that is not always considered is that a national company may provide a competitive price for the installation of a system but may charge higher prices for ongoing maintenance contracts which can have a large consequence in the long term. Local companies may be less likely to provide a competitive price for maintaining another company’s installation.
• Integral Garages: If an integral garage is not accessed from within the property, BS 9251 requires no coverage. However, some companies may include this in their price anyway and this will also affect the total price.

To get a more accurate estimate for a residential fire sprinkler system installation cost, please feel free to call on:

01892 680 090

Or drop us an email in the form below & upload any drawings.