[pianotech] Water damaged piano

[Mike Spalding]

Rob,

Here's an excerpt from an inspection report I wrote in Oct. 2010 for a 
U1 that was in a flooded basement. In this case, the insurance company 
was willing to wait 6 months to settle, and the piano remained in the 
owners' home. If you like it, feel free to lift the parts that work for you.

"The piano was partially submerged (approximately 4” above bottom of 
knee-board, 8” above floor) during a recent flood.The owner minimized 
the damage by 1) immediately lifting the piano up on wood blocks, 2) 
cleaning, drying, and dehumidifying the room and the piano with2 room 
dehumidifiers.At the time I inspected the piano, the internal relative 
humidity of the piano was 55%.

All damage from immersion will not manifest immediately; it generally 
will appear in 3 phases:

1Immediate damage from the saturation and swelling of the wood, such as 
rust, glue failure, finish failure.This is what my recent inspection 
looked at.

2Damage duringthe drying out process due to shrinkage of the wood, 
including cracks, glue failure, finish failure.It is too soon to see 
this damage, as the piano has not totally dried out yet.

3Damage during subsequent years, due to weakening of materials during 
the immersion and initial drying.In effect, this is a shortening of the 
life of the piano:repairs which might be normal during the latter years 
of a piano’s life simply come earlier.Fear in the market place of this 
type of damage will never go away – a piano that has been in water 
suffers a permanent reduction in its market value.The likelihood of some 
structural failures can be reduced by reinforcing some glued joints with 
screws or other mechanical fasteners, and replacing critical metal 
parts, such as strings or casters, which have begun to corrode.

Because the piano still retains significant moisture, my recent 
inspection only covers phase 1 damage, which is minimal.The most 
significant findings are rusted strings and casters, and swollen 
wood.The detailed itemization is attached.My findings are completely 
consistent with the report by Xxxx Yyyyy RPT Dated 8-10-2010.At this 
time, no repairs are recommended.

I recommend that the piano be inspected again in January or February, at 
which time the humidity in the piano should be at it’s seasonal 
minimum.At that time we can put together a recommendation of repairs to 
phase 1 and phase 2 damage, and preventive action aimed at phase 
3.Alternatively, if the insurance company will allow, the piano can be 
observed for a longer period of time to see what additional damage might 
manifest."



On 10/13/2011 2:47 PM, Rob McCall wrote:
> So, does anyone have any proven methods of dealing with the insurance and the flood mitigation company that want solutions yesterday? The insurance company wants to pay it out, the owner wants their piano back, and the flood company doesn't want to store it.
>
> I have no problem telling them that it needs to sit for awhile to see what will come up in the next few months, but it would be nice to have some tried and true method, verbiage, or something to drive the point home. Or maybe I can send them an estimate for what I found, plus some sort of disclaimer or caveat to cover the issues (and my rear) that may (will) come up 4-6 months down the road?
>
> Regards,
>
> Rob
>
> On Oct 13, 2011, at 05:05 , Mike Spalding wrote:
>
>> Rob,
>>
>> Now that you've made a thorough inspection, thoroughly documented with notes and photos, the thing to do is wait through the dry season ( or longer if the insurance company will allow it) then re-inspect the piano to see if any new damage shows up.
>>
>> Mike