Q: My home has hard-wired smoke detectors. How often do I need to replace them, and what kind of replacements do I need? Can I do it myself, or do I need a professional? And if I need a pro, what kind ...

Lee Wallender is a home improvement writer of nearly 20 years and specializes in home remodeling, repair and maintenance. Sami Allen is the managing editor at Forbes Home, with over seven years of ...

We've been in our house (bought new) for 12 years. This morning (5:40AM, everyone was asleep) our smoke detectors, of the wired whole-house variety that were installed when the house was built, ...

Daniel Pope said his apartment has seven fire alarms, and two of them haven’t been operational in over two years.

Q: I changed the batteries in my smoke detector, but when I tested it afterward nothing happened. The batteries are new, but the smoke detector is very old. I know that it’s hard-wired into my home’s ...

Juan has been a home inspector for 10 years and runs a successful home inspection company in Richmond, VA. He loves inspecting homes, but his real passion is educating home owners and newer inspectors ...

Q: About 10 years ago, I replaced the original wired smoke alarms in my home with wired dual sensors that use both photoelectric and ionization technology. Because I’ve read that in-home smoke ...

When you move into or buy a new home, no one hands you a guide to how the smoke detectors work. They "chirp," which really means shriek loudly, and you occasionally have to put new batteries in them.