water damage

[Tom Servinsky]

We had a Steinway D in a concert hall receive a huge soaking in 1990 due to
a new roof which was about to be installed. Unfortunately the new roof
wasn't installed before a huge monsoon came through the area.  The piano was
kept in a "cage" on stage so it had a secondary roof over it.  The lid of
the piano was down, which was a blessing.  However the water eventually
found the gap between the 2 lid sections and soaked the entire action/keybed
area.  Amazingly the soundboard never got wet.
The damage to the action area was enormous and almost everything had to be
replaced: pinblock, hammers, hammer shanks, wippens, damper underlevers +
tray, and all felts.  The keyframe had warped severely but at the advise of
Steinway we devised an intense drying enviorment and clamped the keyframe to
a bench with a wedge in the center,which encouraged crown back into the
keyframe. Apparently the wood has memory and will return to it's original
position.  Sure enough after 3 weeks the warp decreased and the crown
returned.
Also to consider...some damage will not begin to show until several years
down the road.  Look for potential weakening of glue joints and corrosion of
parts.
The long-winded point to this story is look much further into the damage
than simply replacing the bass strings.  With direct water exposure the
strings are the least of your concerns.  The fact that this is the flagship
of all pianos look at everything very carefully.  If you have never dealt
with water related damages, seek someone who has.  Water damage can be very
deceiving.
Tom Servinsky,RPT
----- Original Message -----
From: dcp2 <dcp2@rmi.net>
To: Piano Tech List <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Saturday, April 28, 2001 10:52 AM
Subject: water damage


> List
>
> I service a Steinway D (1920's) which received some water damage this past
> week.   In addition to the obvious damage to some hammers, damper felts,
> backchecks, and finish, I wonder about possible problems with the wound
> strings.   Is it likely they will go dead in the near future due to the
> moisture which collected in the windings?   If any of you have information
> regarding this I would appreciate a response.
>
> If your answer is in the affirmative, I wonder if you could give me a
> ballpark figure for the cost and installation for a new set of wound
> strings?  (I need this info for the insurance company.)
>
> Thanks much.
>
> Donald C. Price, RPT
> 816 Vickie
> Ft. Morgan  CO  80701
> dcp2@rmi.net
> 970-867-2561
>
>
>
>