Waterbound

[Farrell]

Hi Annie - sounds like a mess! Sorry to hear about it. You can put an 
upright on a dolly for as long as you want. I wouldn't worry about it. Might 
be best to just put it up on blocks though - you might need the dolly for 
something else. Put some heavy plastic between a couple blocks on each side 
to prevent water from wicking up the wood.

I would run, not walk, to Sears or some similar store and buy a good room 
dehumidifier. I highly recommend getting one with the "electronic 
humidistat". I've had two of them now and they seem to regulate humidit much 
better than the old type.

Man, I don't know what the heck to do about your floor though. Is your shop 
that low compared to the surrounding land? Do you know where the water table 
is at? What is the water source? Maybe a nice deep ditch filled with gravel 
around the shop? Do you have enough ceiling height to simply put in an 
elevated floor? You could either fill it in with concrete or build an 
elevated wooden floor. Sounds to me like you definitely need to take some 
serious action though (but I think you know that!).

Terry Farrell

----- Original Message ----- 
> One thing (among many) that I've learned from this List is that y'all 
> always
> have good ideas and different perspectives.  So, here's my newest dilemma,
> with which I'd appreciate your help.
>
> The initial question is:  if I put a big ol' upright on a dolly, how long
> can I leave it there safely?  Will it stress the piano (assuming it's not
> afraid of heights)?
>
> The reason...
> When I bought this place, I was warned that I might see "some moisture" on
> the shop floor in the spring.  Now that the shop is full of pianos and
> tools, I know that "some moisture" actually means "enough to float a small
> boat".  And here are the general conditions:
> 1)  there's no place else to go with the pianos, which include one grand,
> the BOU, and four consoles
> 2)  water has already come through the foundation and up through the 
> jointed
> concrete slab floor
> 3)  the shop is currently surrounded by several feet of snow and ice
> 4)  I'm nervous about trying to seal the foundation/floor now, before I 
> have
> any idea what will happen -- I'd hate to crack or buckle something because 
> I
> tried to block water that I could redirect with drainage later
> 5)  I work and live alone
>
> So, water's bound to come in.  And the question is:  how can I best 
> protect
> the instruments and still be able to get the water out of there?  I have 
> two
> dollies, but I'm also looking for more ideas.  Much as I hope none of 
> y'all
> has ever been faced with this kind of problem, I suspect at least a couple
> of you have.  What did you do and how did it work out?
>
> Thanks!
>
> Annie Grieshop
>