Just to let you folks know - I recently purchased some giant party poppers, The principal is the same as regular party poppers but these look like a 3 foot toilet roll tube with a twist bottom for release, from a department store and used them all the time as they go with a real bang and where only £1 each

I honestly thought these were the Dogs B ks

Here's the problem, I am currently being threatened with legal action from the caretaker/owners of the venue because it would appear that if the confetti inside gets wet whilst being on a wooden floor then the colours run and stain the floor.
And i'm told it won't buff out

So be warned....

Does anyone know if snow machines have problems with floors?

You might make your insurance void too, as the company will argue that you are using pyrotechnics and are not covered

Hi

time to renewal the wording on your Boking Contract to say something like:

"the company is not liable for any damage to the room or building where performance is to be held.

Darren

Nicely Put Darren - although I would check whether or not any disclaimer would be deemed as acceptable, or viewed as you trying to get out if any possible legal obligation. It would be a bit like us putting a dlisclaimer on our booking contract along the lines of "The Management or anybody employed by the management do not accept liability for any damage to persons or property arising from our negligence".

In the event of an accident - you could still be proven liable for any negligence / damage - whether you had the disclaimer or not, basic safety law and obligation will always override disclaimers however well they are written. If it was that easy non of us would need PLI - we'd just get a disclaimer

Melody - I would think that if the Village Hall has various D.J's covering functions there, on a weekly basis then it would be very difficult for them to prove that you caused the damage. Basically without any proof it would be their word against yours and extremely difficult to prove IF it ever went as far as the small claims. They have their own insurance anyway for damage such as this, I would hardly think that they would persue damages - had there been a fight and damage been caused to the venue.

How significant was the damage?, and being realistic, do you really feel that you are liable for it?. If the answer is yes, then morally perhaps you should pay something towards the damage, especially if you intend on covering any more gigs there . Offer them a token payment (Say - £50 to cover their insurance excess) in full and final settlement of the Alledged damage.

Contact them with your offer by letter, point out clearly that the offer is purely a goodwill gesture on your part, and not acceptance liabilty, and state at the top of your letter - "Without Prejudice......" - this way the letter can't be produced and used as evidence against you as an admission of liability, should the venue take you to the small claims.

I'm not a solicitor by any means, but the above will keep you out of trouble and won't come back to haunt you, if you decide to make any offer by letter.

Snow Machines:- Don't make the floor slippery, although it can make some wooden floors a little sticky, and a white powdery residue can rarely occur on some materials. However when this happens, I have found that a simple wipe over with a damp cloth removes any residue. The foam is water based, so no nasty chemicles.

Thanks for the replys guys, The outcome is this, After speaking with them today.

The confeti releases die when mixed with alcohol and seeing as this was a 15th birthday there shouldn't have been any in the building anyway - although there was loads on display.

The manufacturers have stated the die will wear out in time anyway, and with the use of a proper floor cleaning machine, shouldn't present a problem anyway.

In short i guess its not as bad as they made out because i have offered to go and look/help out & offer was rejected so.....

Of course they could just be looking for a scapegoat, in this area a lot of council run halls have banned partypoppers for that exact reason but this tends to be the cheap 50 for a quid jobbies from china, and I doubt they could prove that nobody else used any on the night in question could they??

Just my 4d worth

Spin

Tell them that a little light sanding before buffing the floor would almost certainly remove any traces of die. If they get nasty ask them if they were licensed to let the hirers of the hall serve alcohol!

another tip for stubborn stains.... get rid of all the linx body spray you all got for chrimbo.... it is brilliant as a cleaning solution... removes all manner of stains!

on the damage theme,a person i work with runs the local village hall in his spare time and asked me how i secure my wires so as not to cause a tripping hazard,i said trusty scotch tape to which he went on to tell me about how he had the floor of the hall 're-sealed' a week before a disco and when he cleared up at the end of the night found strips of laquer were missing from the floor where the dj had stuck the wires down .he then went on to claim the cost of repair from the dj!!!.

has anybody heard of this before?

As I have an input being on the committee of our local hall, the floor sealing can't have been very well done, as it should withstand most things being dropped on it including tables chairs dragged over it etc. I would have found gaffa tape a perfectly acceptable form of securing cables.

Just my 4d worth

Spin

ive never had a problem either spin but it made me think

Wooo!!! 2 toplcs in 1

For the "colour running party popper fall out"...your about 2/3 months away from all those lovely white bridal gowns...which dont look good with coloured blots on them. If it were me, Id stop using the party poppers, shame to lose a short but sweet effect, but the potential problems outweigh the benefit.

As for wires, I go for the rubber cable covers. These are about 6 inches wide and hold either one or two cables.

Ive previously used short rectangles (4ft by 6ft) of rubber backed carpet, which whilst can still be tripped over by the truely accident prone, but is more visible than a couple of 13amp trailing leads

Wooo!!! 2 toplcs in 1

For the "colour running party popper fall out"...your about 2/3 months away from all those lovely white bridal gowns...which dont look good with coloured blots on them. If it were me, Id stop using the party poppers, shame to lose a short but sweet effect, but the potential problems outweigh the benefit.

As for wires, I go for the rubber cable covers. These are about 6 inches wide and hold either one or two cables.

Ive previously used short rectangles (4ft by 6ft) of rubber backed carpet, which whilst can still be tripped over by the truely accident prone, but is more visible than a couple of 13amp trailing leads

Gaffa Tape can be a little stubborn on cheap carpets or those already threadbare , sometimes the D.J can just be used as a scapegoat for a nice new carpet!.

However, I have known a D.J wanting to get his cables over an archway - who once used copious amounts of gaffa tape on a hotel's nice new wallpaper - OUCH!.

For those who are worried about ruining peoples carpets then H/duty wide masking tape makes a reasonable alternative for thinner cables and doesn't damage any delicate surfaces. Alternatively consider getting a rubber cable conduit, as Gary mentions above. These are not cheap but last for years and are the HSE way of protecting multiple cables from clumsy, drunken people

Cable Protectors are useful to have - especially for covering mains power and speaker cables where they may pass between a public walkthrough. You can buy them from Here and they look like:-




Failing that - Thick Luxury rubber car mats can also have their uses!.

As a former Head Caretaker of a Comprehensive School with 2000 kids, i can honestly say that the hall floor originaly in question here can not have been done right in the first place.

From my experience there were several stages to create a good floor which would withstand alchol, coke , gaffa tape & scraping chairs etc for at least 3 months with a weekly buff and top coat. this establishment seems to be trying their luck,

If were the DJ in question i would get an independent judgement here, possibly from a company who sell the floor products.

Check out the halls terms and conditions of letting see what they say.

Atomic Ian.

(no i didn't wear a brown dustcoat!!!)

Welcome

CP has one of thise dustcoats he wears sometimes but he has taken all the buttons off and is using Velcro

The New Years Eve function, for example, will no doubt cause a mess with party popper discharge, and then some.

True, by adding the disclaimer into a contract with a client would 'cover your terms and conditions', but if you 'supply' these forms of party 'exciters', then the client will just point the finger back.

The same goes for using bubble machines near an un-carpeted floor, smoke or haze machines near a smoke detector, etc, etc.

Who wants to face a penalty when 'someone slips'?

Although I agree that prep of any type of function floor is very important, it would be a shame if any DJ entertainer was 'sued' by the venue thru lack of common sense.

Looking at venues again, when hirers use baloons for decoration, they may be permitted to use, but have to agree to remove all trace of 'inflated accesories' that may interfere with alarm detectors on the premesis.
Failure to remove would infringe the terms and conditions of hire thus losing any deposit secured for venue hire.

One such venue (many years ago) tried to pursue my clients details thru me after the gig (about 2 or 3 days later) because balloons had floated high into the window vents. Later on, the balloons had set-off the venue alarm and the Police had been called out.
I pointed out that my client details were confidential, and that the venue would have to seek their own enquiries, after all, I didn't book the venue - I just worked there for a night!
Threatened with all sorts of 'indirect responsibility' and 'constructive argument for compensation', the function management resorted to immediately 'banning' me from any future work at their establishment, on the grounds of being un-cooperative!

Of the few times in my mobile disco life when I've been able to play an ACE card, I replied to the function manager that she would have to explain to three of my clients (who had forthcoming functions at the same venue) why I was 'banned', and that any form of recourse for lost revenue thru cancellation of booked events would be pursued through the local county court, including recovery of costs, from the three clients, and myself, due to the venue's 'un-cooperation'.

I knew two of the clients. Later in the week, we all attended a meeting with the venue manager.

After 10 mins, the initial decision was 'overturned' and apoligies were allround.

The function manager was not on duty for the following gigs, which I found surprising because I was all geared up for doing the Cheshire Cat.

The third client (a wedding) knew nothing of what had previously happened, and had a fairly good night too.

Just goes to show how over INFLATED these people can get!!!!

Thanks for the advice!! Shall think a little more when setting up bubble machines etc

Don't bubble machines invalidate PLI?

I dont use them myself because of it.... Far too dangerous it's not worth risking it...

If I was outside possibly but certainly not inside... Or are there any good, no residue ones out yet?

One of the bouncers at a venue I was playing at the other week had one of those "Giant Party Poppers".

After much dicking about with it just behind me, it went off. I was picking confettee out of my hair and equipment for the next week