To extend Jer's comment a little further . . .I have found that when a piano has been thru a fire, the damper felt which seemed fine at first, develops a noisy crustiness after about a year, as the invisible oily smoke residue hardens. I concur with Jer. Wait to see what develops. > Tom Gorley > Registered Piano Technician > On Oct 12, 2011, at 4:56 AM, Gerald Groot wrote: > I've found that rust in particular, will not necessarily show up for a full > year afterward. That can take quite a while to show its brutal head. I > generally recommend not to settle with the insurance company for a good > year. You will know for sure by that time, the full extent of the damage > caused. > > Jer Groot > > -----Original Message----- > From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf > Of David Doremus > Sent: Tuesday, October 11, 2011 9:39 PM > To: pianotech at ptg.org > Subject: Re: [pianotech] Water damaged piano > > This is absolutely spot on. Besides the obvious, like dampers stuck to > strings with rust, the whole thing seems to come down to the glue > choices used in manufacture. I can tell you from experience that > Baldwins seem to come apart, while some cheaper pianos hold together. I > have a customer who still has pictures of her piano floating in 3 ft of > water after hurricane Betsy with her birthday presents piled on top. It > still works, according to her it had some leg and lyre repair and that > was it, and as far as I can tell she's right. Let it set and dry as long > as possible before passing judgement, things will change. Swollen parts > will shrink, other parts that looked ok will warp, veneer will peel off. > Before you set it up make sure the legs are not coming apart, most of > them are made from glued up blocks and the joints can fail after getting > wet. Hopefully they have the proper insurance, and enough of it. > > --Dave > New Orleans > > On 10/11/11 6:07 PM, Delwin D Fandrich wrote: >> >> Start by insisting that the piano be up on its feet. But, before it >> goes up inspect the bottom of the piano; check the soundboard to rim >> joint, make sure the ribs are solidly glued. Usually you will be able >> to see a "waterline" which will tell you how high the water has been. >> (Assuming it was in a flood-type situation.) Determine how old the >> piano is. Is it old enough to worry about animal hide glue joints? If >> it is a more modern piano-one using a thermal-setting water-proof >> adhesive-you probably won't have structural problems. Pull the action >> and examine the action parts. Even if you don't see evidence of direct >> water damage make sure the centers are free (not rusted stiff) and not >> loose. Listen to the piano-assuming it is playable-how are the >> hammers? Check the pinblock to make sure there is no delaminating >> going on. Tune through the bass (the piano was on its side, right?) >> and see how the pins feel. How do the metal parts look? How much rust >> can you see? How are the dampers? The damper levers? The damper guide >> rail? >> >> After you've given your initial inspection, explain that before you >> are willing to put anything about the pianos condition in writing >> you'll want to check the piano again after it has been dry for a >> couple of months-when I check a piano that has actually been in a >> flood I want it to be dried out for about four to six months before I >> render any final decision on salvageability and the costs involved. It >> doesn't sound like this has actually been in a flood but you don't yet >> know how high the water might have gone. I've found decently built old >> pianos falling apart after a flood that came only six inches up on the >> walls and I've found other pianos that were literally floating in four >> or five feet of water that cleaned up reasonably well with only >> hammers and dampers and a few assorted bits and pieces. >> >> ddf >> >> Delwin D Fandrich >> >> Piano Design & Fabrication >> >> 6939 Foothill Court SW, Olympia, Washington 98512 USA >> >> Phone 360.515.0119 - Cell 360.388.6525 >> >> del at fandrichpiano.com <mailto:del at fandrichpiano.com>- >> ddfandrich at gmail.com <mailto:ddfandrich at gmail.com> >> >> > > -- > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/20111012/843a54a5/attachment-0001.htm>
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