Hi James, Pianos don't like rapid changes. I'd suggest that with modern glues that there has been at least a years accelerated aging of this piano. For "insurance" I'd add a DC system with top and bottom covers. There will have been some permanent damage--for example where the strings go over the bridge. Have a look at the hammer shanks they may have warped. Of course, a full regulation may be needed. At 07:14 AM 8/2/2008 -0700, you wrote: >Greetings, > >I need some help from the collective experience of the piano list. > >I recently examined a two-year-old Knabe WGK-70 - a six-foot grand piano >made by Samick. > >While the owner was away on a trip, a toilet valve on the second floor began >to leak. The piano, on the first floor, did not come into direct contact >with the floodwater, but it was exposed to very high humidity in a closed >house for about two weeks. Restoration of the damage to the house involved >drying out the house with fans and dehumidifiers. Thus the piano went from >an environment of high humidity, to very low humidity, and finally a return >to the normal humidity of southern California. > >I examined the piano ten days after "dry down." I found no damage to the >piano. The pin block is holding the pins at normal torque. The soundboard >shows no deformation or cracking. A pluck test at the mid-treble gave a >sustain of over ten seconds. I looked for rust particularly where the muting >felt touches the strings at the hitch end and did not find any corrosion. >The action needs regulation, but is not showing any ill effects. > >As you might expect, the piano was wildly out of tune, being rather new and >going though extreme humidity changes. >It seems to me that this piano went through the annual humidity cycle of, >say, Kansas, but compressed into a three-week time span. > >Having spent my piano technician career in southern California, I have not >had the experiences of those who live and work in more severe climates. This >leads me to ask several questions of those who do: > Does the analogy of a compressed annual humidity cycle make sense? > Is it likely that there is damage to this piano that will be revealed at >some time in the future? > Or, finding no damage, is it reasonable to assume that the piano went >through a stressful episode but came though OK? >I would appreciate any insights from my colleagues - especially those east >of the Rocky Mountains. > >Jim McCormac Regards, Don Rose, B.Mus., A.M.U.S., A.MUS., R.P.T. Non calor sed umor est qui nobis incommodat mailto:pianotuna at yahoo.com http://us.geocities.com/drpt1948/ 3004 Grant Rd. REGINA, SK, S4S 5G7 306-539-0716 or 1-888-29t-uner
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC