apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I've always wondered - when you do something like this, or make or re-cover a lamp shade, how concerned do you need to be about the fire hazard and the material itself? The "don't use a bulb of more than 60W" line always leaves me a little uncomfortable, but I wouldn't know how to quantify the risk.

Excellent question, Mella.

I have two lampshades right now that need recovering. No one I've asked knows anyone who will do it (well for less thaan $300, hand sewn)--I hate to buy new ones. The size of one of them is quite large--I haven't even been able to find one retail!

One's a lamp I use for reading--so I've a tri-light up to 150 watts in it, the other is an old upright lamp with three bulbs on the "outside" and one in the "cone." (Does that make sense?)

They are two of three, count them, three sources of light for the living room.

I do hope someone answers your question, Mella, because I have several ideas in storage because I don't know the answer. Help, anybody?

I helped myself! At the Martha blog it recommends these for parties, and no guarantee about safety. But someone recommended a fire retardant spray, which I found at:

http://www.natfire.com/


Hurrah, and I feel the projects coming on--

Typically, the highest temps reached by a 60 watt incandescent bulb are about 407F. Paper ignites at a surface temp in the range of 500 to 550F (ymmv depending of if it is a coated paper and the fiber content, but this is approximate). I'd never leave a paper lantern on all the time, but if you're using it occassionally it seems like it should be ok at 60W. And FYI, 100W bulbs can get up to 477F, and 200W to 505F.

Please don't take any of this as expert advice - I'm just a librarian with access to the most recent edition of Kirk's Fire Investigation, where all this data comes from. But at least it's something for those of you who are curious.

I wonder if using a compact flourescent helps cut down on the heat issue? I have absolutely zero scientific data/info, but it seems like they burn much cooler. Anyone?

Another factor to consider is how close the paper shade is to the bulb. Clearly it would be hotter and more of a hazard if it were actually touching the bulb as opposed to having some "breathing" room. Even the traditional asian paper shades will scorch from the heat of a bulb over time.

Just use compact flourescent bulbs. You can comfortably grasp a CF bulb while it is on. I don't think there is any way that could inginte paper, unless there was a sever electrical problem.

Yea, the whole reason compact fluorescent bulbs are more efficient is because they don't waste so much electricity as heat. So I think you'd be fine with something like a 2 or 3 watt compact fluorescent (which is similar to a 40 or 60 watt incandescent).

A store I worked in carried a huge supply of paper lanterns of all shapes and sizes, and almost every shade was put on display crooked, or with the wrong wattage, or somehow a fire hazard according to the instructions, and nothing ever caught on fire. And if you make a shade with heavy paper, it would probably be less flammable than the cheapie paper lanterns. I don't think anyone has anything to worry about with a 60 watt bulb.
But in my house, I use 40 watt in paper lanterns because I find glow to be more pleasant.