I need advice

[Greg Newell]

Marcel,
         I thought about the smell but forgot to mention it in my post. 
You're right , of course, and it should be accounted for in the offering 
price. Any ideas what that might/should be?

Greg

At 01:36 PM 8/9/2004, you wrote:
>Some questions:
>
>What was used to put out the fire?
>         If water was used, that created a lot of steam in the house. This
>could have voiced down the piano and weakened the structural joints
>(soundboard, rim etc.). The damage could become feelable only after
>the piano goes through the dry cycle (next winter depending on where
>you live).
>
>The other problem is the smell. Soot usually sticks to the felts.
>
>So, you are looking at a complete rebuilding if you want the piano to
>be at it's best for resale.
>
>There are products to clean fire damaged surfaces (unsoot, unsmoke).
>Do a google search for fire & smoke. You will find a lot of
>information.
>
>Make sure you don't offer too much for the piano just to be on the
>safe side.
>
>Marcel Carey, RPT
>Sherbrooke, QC
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: pianotech-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org]On
> > Behalf Of Gevaert Pierre
> > Sent: August 9, 2004 1:21 PM
> > To: Pianotech
> > Subject: Re: I need advice
> >
> >
> > Hi,
> >
> > I heared that soot could affect iron (more than the
> > finish), so maybe it
> > should be good to take a close look at the strings. I've
> > also heared that to
> > avoid damage on iron parts, the soot should be removed
> > within three weeks?
> >
> > Otherways, I would clean the piano the same way as you suggested.
> >
> > Regards,
> > PierreGevaert
> > Belgium
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: Greg Newell <gnewell@ameritech.net>
> > To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
> > Sent: Monday, August 09, 2004 6:48 PM
> > Subject: I need advice
> >
> >
> > > Greetings gentle list folk,
> > >          I just received a phone call from a nice woman
> > who wants me to
> > > clean and possibly buy her 6' 7" Bosendorfer grand. The
> > piano is 25 years
> > > old but I do not as of yet know the model. I'm guessing
> > there was only one
> > > model that was this size but I don't know for sure.
> > >          This unfortunate customer had a house fire in
> > April that started
> > > in the basement and burned through some of the floor
> > joists on the first
> > > floor. This happened 2 rooms away from where the piano
> > sits. There is a
> > > layer of dry soot on the lid but there is no finish
> > damage that the owner
> > > can detect. There is no damage to the walls or outlet plate covers
> > > (plastic) in the same room. I wonder, 1) what to clean
> > the piano with. I'm
> > > thinking just a vacuum cleaner and perhaps some forced
> > air once the
> > > majority is removed from the vacuum. and 2) what is an
> > estimation of it's
> > > current fair market value. I realize that there isn't too
> > much to go on
> > > here but an approximation or range of numbers would be
> > more helpful than
> > > nothing.
> > >          There was apparently no insurance rider on the
> > piano so I'm sure
> > > that the owner would like to get as much as possible. She
> > is currently
> > > looking to replace it with about a foot shorter Petrof.
> > It seems that the
> > > local dealer here is not interested in the Bosey. I don't
> > know why. Not
> > > sure if they've even seen it but probably not. Since
> > there is no visible
> > > damage to the piano from the fire I'm guessing that the
> > two things to look
> > > for are acidic soot and or glue joint failure which may
> > not be seen for
> > > years. Anything else?
> > >          Would really love to hear your take on it's
> > approximate value,
> > the
> > > best way to clean it and whether or not it might be worth
> > while to get
> > > involved. Seems odd to me that the dealer wasn't
> > interested. I'm all eyes
> > > .... to possible drawbacks and or previous experiences.
> > Thanks in advance!
> > >
> > >
> > > Greg Newell
> > >
> > >
> > > P.S.  Thanks to all who posted about the Chickering
> > Quarter grand. It
> > > turned out to be in fairly decent shape needing
> > refinishing but had scale
> > > 135 which is understand to be the better of the two. I
> > mentioned a street
> > > value of $500 after it's actual value of "exactly what
> > you can get someone
> > > to pay you for it."
> > > Thanks again!
> > >
> > > Greg Newell
> > > Greg's piano Forté
> > > mailto:gnewell@ameritech.net
> > >
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > pianotech list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives
> > >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
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> >
>
>_______________________________________________
>pianotech list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives

Greg Newell
Greg's piano Forté
mailto:gnewell@ameritech.net