Olerra Living Innovations builds modular ADUs that arrive on site close to completion. Their model depends on completing as much work as possible in a controlled factory environment, where labor is more predictable and typically less expensive than sending trades back to finish work after the unit has been delivered.
A Smarter Fire Sprinkler Alternative for Olerra’s Boulder ADUs
More work completed in the factory. Less work, infrastructure and disruption left for the site.
Fire sprinklers can work against that model. Conventional sprinkler systems often contain field joints that need to remain accessible for inspection and can require final assembly and pressure testing on site before ceilings are closed. Automist uses flexible high-pressure hoses that can be routed through conduit, allowing more of the installation and testing to be incorporated into the factory process. Once the ADU reaches site, the licensed fire-protection contractor can focus on the final connections, commissioning and approval rather than building parts of the system in place.
Less infrastructure left for the site
The same principle applies outside the building.
Olerra explained that the conventional sprinkler route in Boulder can involve a dedicated fire line, a separate connection to the street, trenching across the property and restoration afterwards. Automist’s low water demand allowed the project to connect to the existing domestic water supply instead, removing a significant piece of site infrastructure from a small modular project.
Together, those two advantages — more installation completed in the factory and less infrastructure constructed on site — are why Olerra sees Automist as a better long-term fit for the way it builds, rather than simply a cost-saving measure on one project.
“Truthfully, I find it hard to believe that we’ll ever be able to beat the cost of Automist going the traditional route.”
Cade Bowolick, Olerra Living Innovations
Approved in Boulder
Olerra submitted the alternative arrangement through the local approval process, and the completed system was inspected and signed off.
What information is available to support an AHJ review of Automist?
We have brought together the UL certification, Jensen Hughes engineering analysis, fire-test evidence, DIOM and supporting technical information needed to help an AHJ review the system.
View the Automist AHJ submission information
With the first project completed and further installations underway, Automist gives Olerra a repeatable approach to fire protection that better matches its factory-first construction model.
