[CAUT] Smoke damage

[Greg Newell]

Joel, Wim & list,
         I suggest that you don't immediately jump to conclusions 
here. A story,if you will allow;
         A few years ago I had a victim of a house fire contact me 
regarding purchasing her piano that had been through a fire. This 
person had contacted several other technicians who told her that the 
piano would cost upwards of $30k to rebuild and that it simply wasn't 
worth it. The fire had been in the basement of the opposite end of 
the house, started by a candle making hobby in the basement. The wax 
spilled or something and the fire got out of control almost 
instantly. The firemen came, put out the fire, and we're lucky enough 
to localize their efforts to mostly the one end of the house. Since 
there was an abundance of soot and smell the insurance company 
considered everything a total loss and paid out big! After the 
reconstruction began I got the call asking if I was interested in the 
piano. When I went to look I found that really only soot and smell 
had reached the area where the piano was. I wasn't too afraid of a 
little clean up and perhaps even a re-stringing. The finish, a black 
high polish finish, cleaned up very nicely and the insides cleaned up 
quite well too with some time and alcohol and Q-tips. The smell went 
away on it's own after a year or two and it has been rented out for 
special occasions since then to rather high brow events with 
absolutely no complaints. Fearing the worst I only paid about $2k for 
the piano. BTW, it's a  6 1/2 ' Bosey!!!!
         Think twice about it, eh?

all the best,
Greg Newell




At 05:21 PM 2/8/2007, you wrote:
>Quoting Joel Levine <involumes1 at cox.net>:
>
> > I am in the process of putting together for insurance purposes a
> > quote on an older smoke damaged Wurlitzer grand piano.  The fire
> > occurred in a new addition, away from the living room where the piano
> > is located.  Supposedly the restoration company cleaned up the house
> > but a strong smoke smell remains.  There is no visible damage to the
> > piano but I suspect there could be possible effects from humidity and
> > lack of heat overnight.  Also, at this point it is impossible to
> > determine if the smoke smell is imbedded in the piano.  I was
> > planning to change the hammers on this piano before this fire
> > happened, as it appears someone in the past refinished it and
> > repinned it but neglected to change the hammers.  I am also assuming
> > the hammers will retain a smoke smell as well as the wood especially
> > in the action.
> > Any ideas on how to quote this besides carefully?
> > Thanks,
> > Joel Levine
>
>Joel
>
>Besides the hammers, all felt in the piano, including understring,
>key bushing, dampers, etc., will retain that smoke smell, not to
>mention the wood itself. The other thing to look for is soot or rust
>on the strings. Not where you can see it, and remove it with
>steel wool, but at the pressure points, under capo bars, through
>agrafs, and on the coils on the pins. If there is any effects of the
>fire on the strings, they should be replaced. You need to ask the fire
>inspector what temperature was in the room with the piano. Very high
>heat will dry out the pin block, and it should be replaced.
>
>The problem with fire damage is that most of the problems resulting
>from a fire don't show up until 20 - 30 years later, long after the
>claim has been settled. I am working on a Kimball grand right now that
>was in a fire 40 years ago. It took this long for the pin block to
>totally give out. I just pulled the plate, and there is soot on the
>soundboard under the plate.
>
>Unfortunately, unless the owners have replacement value insurance, the
>cost of totally rebuilding the piano will be far more than the piano
>was worth, or what it will be worth once it has been restored.
>
>You will need to give an appraisal of the piano before the fire, what
>the piano will be worth after it has been repaired, and the price of a
>comparable new grand piano. Be sure the customer pays you for the
>estimate/appraisal.
>
>Willem Blees, RPT
>Piano Tuner/Technician
>School of Music
>University of Alabama
>Tuscaloosa, AL USA