Wayne Automatic Sprinklers

Last fall, the Home Builders Association of Mid Florida completed construction on the "Renaissance Home." This four-bedroom, 4,100-square-foot French style chateau home is located in the pristine section of Winter Park, Fla. It shows off the latest in architectural design, the newest in construction materials, and the hottest in interior fashion. However, hidden in this visually appealing showcase home is the most important life saving protection available - a residential fire sprinkler system.

During the beginning phase of construction, Wayne Automatic Fire Sprinklers (an AFSA contractor member) contacted R. Paul Construction and requested an opportunity to approach the Home Builders Association of Mid Florida with a proposition that we hoped they could not resist. We informed the association that we were interested in donating the material and labor to install a residential home fire sprinkler system in the Renaissance Home.

At first, representatives of the home builders association expressed the usual concerns about the operation of a fire sprinkler system. How does the fire sprinkler activate? What will residential fire sprinklers look like? Will all of them activate at once? They've probably been watching the same television shows and commercials that so many of us have seen, the ones that show a deluge of water flowing from every sprinkler in the building at the light of a single match. However, after all their concerns had been addressed, they unanimously decided to allow us to contribute to this project.

Like any other construction project, the fire sprinkler design needed to be completed immediately. The system was designed in accordance with NFPA 13D, Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems in One- and Two-Family Dwellings.

Our first steps in designing this NFPA 13D system was to contact the City of Winter Park Water Utilities Department. We knew that they had some unique requirements, so we wanted to coordinate this project thoroughly to avoid any possible delay or negative impact. The City of Winter Park required the following underground features for this residential fire sprinkler system:

1. A separate underground fire line tap. As the water main was located on the opposite side of the road, the utility department tapped the water main and installed 1" poly piping to the property line for $175.00.

2. A double-check backflow preventer.

Because of these underground requirements, the homeowner will pay $10.00 dollars a month for the separate fire line and $20.00 dollars a year for testing the backflow for the lifetime of the home.

The remainder of the design went smoothly. Throughout the home, Wayne Automatic installed the visually satisfying "Residential Optima Concealed" sprinkler from Central Sprinkler Corp. We spaced the sprinklers at a maximum of 16' x 16' and 8'-0" off any wall. We applied the three exceptions for omitting sprinklers allowed by NFPA 13D, which is common, and the design used a total of 55 concealed sprinklers throughout this home.

After designing the system, we contacted Central Sprinkler Company about donating the material required for this project. They donated everything from the riser manifold, plastic pipe and fittings, hangers, and glue to the inconspicuous concealed sprinklers.

A typical two-story residence will take approximately two days to rough in and one day for inspection. Because this was a rather special project, rough-in occurred over a two-week period, which included some down time due to interior coordination with electrical fixtures.

The final product is almost unnoticeable to the homeowner. However, if a fire ever occurs the residential fire sprinkler system will be the most important option that was installed in this show home.

The Renaissance Home opened to the public on October 26, 2000, and the Home Builders Association of Mid Florida expected approximately 3,000 visitors to the home. To help those visitors have a better understanding and appreciation of the special life safety feature included in the Renaissance Home, Wayne Automatic Sprinkler contacted the Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition for educational materials and received 3,000 brochures that were made available to people who toured the home.

AFSA Home Page