Mute box for a fire alarm

[nightofjoy]

Hi.

We're just moving into a new flat. It's in an old building, made up of maybe 8 apartments, each has it's own sensors and glass-smash boxes for the alarm, but when the alarm goes off - it sounds in each of the flats simultaneously via red siren boxes on the interior walls.

Now I haven't heard this go off, yet, but I've been warned that it's insanely loud.

I have bad nerves, and this is likely to send me through the ceiling or flat out kill me.

I was wondering if anyone on here might be able to offer advice on how I might be able to lessen the alarm noise by creating some kind of mute box to place over it? Not to try to block the sound, but just take the edge off it a little. It would pose no risk, making it slightly quieter, as apparently when it goes off you can hear it from space.

Thanks in advance.

 

[sparkymarka]

Put your hat on it !
Its loud to wake you up if your asleep !

 

[nightofjoy]

Put your hat on it !
Its loud to wake you up if your asleep !

I get that, but it's also prone to go off when anyone burns a piece of toast, and I can see myself being a twitching wreck within a month.

A fly farting two streets away would wake me up - this is not a problem. I just want to take the edge off it a little.

Apparently we're not talking about smoke alarm or even burglar alarm noise, more like in industrial air raid siren level of decibels...

 

[Doggit]

You might be better off talking to the managing agents, and ask them if they can disable the sounder in your flat. But I think current regs for multiple properties specify a heat alarm in the properties, and smoke alarms in the hallways, so you might be able to get them to upgrade the sensors as a more acceptable solution to them. Do you rent, or own the property. Owning it may give you a bit more sway.

 

[nightofjoy]

You might be better off talking to the managing agents, and ask them if they can disable the sounder in your flat. But I think current regs for multiple properties specify a heat alarm in the properties, and smoke alarms in the hallways, so you might be able to get them to upgrade the sensors as a more acceptable solution to them. Do you rent, or own the property. Owning it may give you a bit more sway.

We rent, so it isn't likely we'd get those kind of changes made. That's why I was hoping someone might have an idea about rigging some kind of box to place over the siren which would lessen the noise....

 

[Doggit]

You could try wrapping it in sound deadening felt, but you'd need to construct a box that would surround the sounder first, stuff in the felt, and then fix the top on the box.

 

[alarm13]

You might be able to turn the sounder down, some fire sounders have a volume pot on the back. Post a picture of the sounder

 

[Mikefromlondon]

It may be illegal to tamper with such life saving gadgets, I used to work for a Fire Alarm Company, and personally if a client came to me and asked me what can be the best solution for people with lose nerves, I would propose a slow start sounders, so I would put a ramp voltage generator that would start off soft and go full blast, I remember there used to be a minimum sound pressure requirements, above 90db at 3 meters away, or something like that, but goal posts keep moving and also in noisy areas we had to supply amber flashing beacons, such as in machine, generator rooms. For domestic houses the requirements may be lower, but yes it is possible to modify a sounder that can start slow, but all sounders must now be fully monitored, against short and open circuits, if you ask the owner of the building to get the sounder modified to have a ramp voltage start, I am sure the fire alarm company responsible for maintenance and testing can get this done as well as limit its upper sound pressure level.

Remember in some commercial buildings if fire alarm stops working, they must evacuate, as H&S is taken very seriously now a days. by blocking or covering you could find yourself in hot bath.

 

[OwainDIYer]

Additional warning - you might find that each time the alarm goes off you have to wait for an engineer to attend to reset it, and be charged for each callout.

What probably should have been installed is something like
http://www.c-tec.co.uk/Products/hush.htm

Limits false alarms to the affected flat but maintains full alarm cover for the whole building.

 

[nightofjoy]

You might be able to turn the sounder down, some fire sounders have a volume pot on the back. Post a picture of the sounder

will do, thanks. from memory, it's like a red boxed horn...