[pianotech] Pianos damaged by moving?

[Joseph Garrett]

From: "David Heidel" <dbheidel at comcast.net>
To: <pianotech at ptg.org>
Subject: [pianotech] pianos damaged by moving?
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I usually just sit back and read everyone's postings, but now I need your
help. An insurance company has beckoned me to figure out what has caused
the damage to 2 pianos that were moved from Alaska to Washington in
February. The owner claims these pianos were in perfect condition before
the move. They were loaded by actual piano movers onto a moving van. Both
have Dampp- Chaser units on them. In my short tenure (8 years) of being
around pianos, I have never run across this situation before and could use
some help in figuring out what might have caused the damage. Could a
combination of extreme cold and a 5-day move have caused this?


As a side note, the owner also has a Suzuki digital grand (Costco) that
sustained no damage at all on the case (unfortunately). 


Hopefully, the pictures are good enough to see some of the damage. 


Piano #1 - Young Chang grand, model G-208, serial # G 104337, built in
1996.
The piano had 3 long cracks in the polyester finish on the lid, extending
the entire width of the lid. The cracks are located on the front, middle
and rear of the lid. The plate of this piano has hundreds of small cracks
in the finish, located throughout the entire plate.
cid:8CE5A464-4BB1-40E4-B900-0659BED211A6cid:FCDF68AB-5DA4-471B-BDE6-95DA677B
4994
Piano #2 - K. Kawai grand, model KG-5, serial # 479922, built in 1970 (but
looks newer - and I didn't think Kawai used poly finishes back then).
The piano had numerous cracks in the finish, of various lengths and
patterns, over the entire lid, going in all directions. The music desk also
had cracks in the finish. The plate had cracks in the finish, as well as the
finish separating from the cast iron. The entire soundboard showed hundreds
of cracks in it, giving the appearance of "cracked ice". There was also one
crack in the soundboard that was actually in the wood, extending for about 2
feet. Also noted were cracks in the wood where the soundboard and the rim
of the piano are connected. There were 4 keytops that also had cracks in
the plastic.
cid:7C933EB9-781D-4C6D-A7E8-EA28FF8F0111cid:53D7C404-BB09-441B-AA59-9FDCFB3B
6E6E


David Heidel, RPT

David,
The first question is: From where in Alaska were the pianos shipped from? 
I suspect that the temperature was below zero and the truck was not heated! That would cause the damage you have encountered. Then, to add insult to injury, they were delivered to an extremely dry climate, that a Damp Chaser system would be hard put to keep up with. ( it will lessen the problem, but not completely, IMO.) If the pianos came down the AlCan highway in February, those pianos were subjected to some of the harshest weather conditions known! I would have waited until late spring for that move!
Just a Native Alaskan's take on that.<G>
Joe


Joe Garrett, R.P.T. (Oregon)
Captain, Tool Police
Squares R I
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