How much does a sprinkler system for a 4000 sq. ft. building cost?

Question

Fire sprinkler system
Is it normal for a fire sprinkler system to be required for a building this size?

Answer 1

Quite normal, and almost universal if you have rental spaces in the building.

This is kind of a generic answer for any question that begins "How Much will it cost", when what is meant is how I ensure I pay a fair price and get a decent job done.

Labor costs vary widely depending on locations; materials are a bit more standard. call local supply stores to get Ideas on the cost of materials.
One way to get a true competitive price for the job, regardless of location, is to have contractors bid against one another for the chance to receive your money.
Call at least 5 contractors and schedule them all to come to your home at one time. Show them the entire project you have in mind, describe what you want done. Ask questions like "do you see anything that looks like it may cause a problem?" "Does this require a filing?" etc and let them talk it back and forth. Thank them for coming and ask that all the bids be in three or four days later (set a date that you will review the bids).

By seeing that there are other competent craftsmen interested in doing your job they will be forced to give a realistic price if they want to take your money. Also that visit just gave you an in depth understanding of the exact nature of the scope of work, as the contractors are less likely to put out a line of bull in front of their peers where they can be called out on it.

Review the bids, verify their contractors license, proof of insurance ( I usually ask for a rider specifically covering my job address and myself on the coverage for the specific job, only takes a call from the contractor to their carrier and no additional cost to them), review offered warranties, if any, and contact the references of the two lowest bidders.
Contact the winner and let them know they have the job and you have a deposit ready for them to proceed (25% is normal but 50% is not unusual), and the full payment available upon "Satisfactory" completion. That means everything contracted to be done is complete and working with no apparent problems. Pay the remainder promptly.

I also like to call the other contractors who bid, thank them for their time and if they ask let them know where they fell in the bid. This is useful information for them which they can track to make their bid process more competitive and profitable.

Answer 2

There is no way to guess the cost from the info given. A major cost will be in the connection to a water supply. Even though a utility water main might be right outside the front door, water department costs can be in the thousands of dollars.

Whether such a building would be required to have a fire sprinkler system depends on the building and fire codes. These you can check on with the authorities. In some areas buildings over a certain square footage require sprinklers. Other codes can require sprinklers for certain types of occupancies.

Make a visit to your friendly fire guys and pose the requirement question to them.

Answer 3

Are we talking fire or landscape, i have the landscape answer if you know if it is to include a pump or not? Get back 2 me....
Erika0511