Powering the Tiki Room

how do you get electricity to all the mood lighting, bar, stereo & entertainment center and ceiling lamps in your indoor tiki area?

do you run extension cords and power strips ~ or did you go all out, and have more outlets installed? can track lighting be used for pufferfish or tapa beachcomber lamps?

i've converted my tiki torches with battery-operated candles, to free up outlets. are there other battery powered tiki tchotkes? (like fountains?)

Enronically yours
elicia

I would go all out and install additional outlets. You can piggy back on other outlets if your not going to power large items like a fridge or such. If you use extension cords for surge protectors, i wouldnt use the cheap stuff, invest in good extension cords & surge protectors with thick wire casing if your planin on running it behind matting or rugs. But as always you might want to consult a licensed electrican.

Tbird.

I would just like to mention one thing, DO NOT USE EXTENSION CORDS! We had one short out last August, it was next to a wicker chair that caught fire, long story short, half our house burned down. The fire marshal told me next to kitchen fires, extension cords were the number one cause of home fires. You should ALWAYS use a power strip. With all the wicker, grass etc... we use in decorating Tiki/Poliysian style, our house went up like a torch, it was over 1000 degrees where the fire started within a minute of the fire starting. We lost a lot of treasured items we brought back from our trips to the South Pacific that can never be replaced and it took 9 months to rebuild the house. Thank God my wife works for an insurance company and we had adequate coverage.

KavaDan ~ zoikes. i'm only running one extension cord, and its along linoleum ~ but your advice is well-taken. i'll have the 'lectrician make some changes in our basement room...

is your tiki room back to normal? were you able to find replacements?

elicia

Man, you're scarin' me! I have extension cords running across the thatch to the lamps hanging in the room...

Would putting the extention cords into a power strip prevent a short fire?

Life is slowly getting back to normal, were still unpacking stuff that was put in storage. What's really pissing me off is there is one box missing. It has my hand carved lava rock tiki from Tahiti. I know the tiki survived the fire since I found it on the floor, there are even pictures of it before it was taken in for cleaning. After the fire they only let us take enough cloths to get us through the night since I guess a lot of toxic fumes are released. I was only able to save one Tapa cloth.

Swanky, I don't know if a power strip would work or not with extension cords, I would think it would but I would call the fire department and ask them. Like I said, with all the wicker, rattan, thatch, etc., it went up like a torch! I was home when it started and I thought I could get it out, it went from a small fire to roaring flames in no time, I had 1st degree burns over most of my body, I was only wearing shorts and it was like a bad sunburn, I also had 2nd and 3rd degree burns on my arms and face and had to go to the hospital from smoke inhalation. I keep thinking how much worse it could have been, I just got home from work, an hour earlier and the whole house would have burned down. Four or five hours later, the kids and my wife would have been home and we would have all been asleep.

When you stop and think about it, it's not worth it to screw around. Our house is a late 50's house, when they rebuilt it they had to bring it up to code, we now have outlets every 10' and I had them add a few up by the ceiling.

[ Edited by: Kava Dan on 2004-06-10 00:39 ]

Oh no, Kava Dan, how terrifying! I'm so sorry you had to go through that, but thankful that it's not as tragic as it might have been.

It's so easy to just put more outlets in, that's definitely the way to go, and it's what I did in the Humuhumu Room. I had the advantage of having a father who could safely walk me through it, but seriously--it's not that big a deal. Worth taking a class or buying a book if you don't have an electrician to walk you through it (or just hire an electrician--it's not a lot of work). But it ain't exactly rocket science.

A sad,sad story.You're so fortunate to be all o.k.-gads.Things can be replaced,and I bet your house will be better and safer than ever.Keep a good thought.

I don't have a lot of choice. I did make my cords myself new. They are run over the ceiling and not under foot. They are only plugged in when I am there and there is a fire extinguisher 10 feet away. I do need to get my insurance updated though.

I recall as a kid seeing a cord run under my parents rug at home start popping. It was like a firecracker under the rug and dust flew everywhere. I am amazed there was no fire. They never chanegd that cord.

Swanky, you might also consider using a surge outlet or even install a gfi outlet, but you probably already know that if you can make your own extension cords.

Tbird.

Extension cords. Power strips. Bamboo and grass amtting and decorations?? (five more question marks)a fire is looking to happen. the surge protector on most power strips will not pop off in time to prevent most shorts.FInd someone who knows an electrician if you don't know one and have him over for a wireing party. It really isn't too hard to run wires and install outlet boxes. Most people will need an elexctrician to do the hookup work. Do it right and enjoy your bar without burning the house down.