piano at outside wall

[Farrell]

"....humidity at 6 degrees C is 5%...."

Yikes! I have my little beefs about Damp-Chaser systems varying a bit from 42%, but they do seem to keep the piano's environment in some suitable range of relative humidity. Geez, what does one say to this? These conditions are worse than those at many landfills - piano would be better off there! I just can't in any way shape or form imagine having any piano exposed to these kind of conditions without a good humidity control system and expect it to work more than a month or so. Perfect or not, time for a DC unit - maybe two - one inside and one under a cover on the back.

Terry Farrell
  
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Tony Caught" <caute@bigpond.com>
To: <cedel@supernet.com>; "Pianotech" <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Monday, December 02, 2002 9:04 AM
Subject: Re: piano at outside wall


Hi Clyde,

Yes. 
Piano in Darwin, sun on the wall, outside temp is about 32 degrees C but direct sun on the wall is more like 45 Degrees C.  Tuning pins on a repinned piano are now loose, 5 ribs totally off the soundboard, action totally loose etc. All within 3 months of putting it there. The owner said its too hot to sit there so we thought because the piano has an iron frame it would be OK.
Piano in Alice Springs, temp drops to -4 C, humidity at 6 degrees C is 5%, timber dried out, loose ribs, cracked soundboard, loose pins, glue (animal type) given away and tuning plank has pulled forward.
Piano left in a container in sun for 4 weeks. Enough.

Regards

Tony Caught
Darwin Australia
caute@bigpond.com

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Clyde Hollinger 
  To: Pianotech 
  Sent: Monday, December 02, 2002 9:48 PM
  Subject: Re: piano at outside wall


  Friends, 
  This request brings another question to my mind.  Has any one of us actually seen a piano damaged, or experienced tuning instability, solely because it was placed by an outside wall, above ground level?  Or is this a situation where common sense would say it is inadvisable but there is no proof? 

  Regardless of answers I receive, I will still alert my clients to the potential problems of putting a piano there in an uninsulated house. 

  I did find mold or mildew inside an old upright against an outside wall in a church basement, but I've found the same thing in a piano located on an inside wall on the main floor of an occupied house.  In both cases the humidity level was obviously too high somewhere along the line. 

  Regards, 
  Clyde Hollinger, RPT 
  Lititz, PA, USA 

  carpthos wrote: 

    Dear list,    can you give  some suggestions for a customer`s following inquiry:            - in a 20 year old home she needs to put her piano on an outside wall (she doesn`t know if the home has inside and outside moisture barrier but says it has insulation).        - her question is:  - is there some type of buffer that can located between the piano and the outside wall to compensate for the piano having to be placed there?  e.g.- plywood                                                                                                  - cloth                                                                                                  - plastic