<WBR>Hi Sue<br> <br> First of all, since this damage was a year ago, did your customer keep the case open with the insurance company? Any damage to the piano as a result of the water damage is covered under home owners insurance. But if the customer signed off on it, she's on her own.<br> <br> Concerning the  rust on the pins and coils. Yes, in time the rust will cause the strings to break. it might take another year, or maybe even longer, but eventually the rust will eat through the strings, and they will break.  <br> <br> Concerning the pin block. After one heating season, the pin block might still feel OK. But in a couple of years, the pin block will dry out, and start to fail. <br> <br> Concerning the wippens. With that many having been exposed to the water, I'm surprised only a few came appart. Again, in a couple of years, the rest will probably go bad, too.<br> <br> All in all, unless the customer signed off on it, the insurance should pay to have a new pin block and string, and new action parts put in the piano. The piano was not in the same condition after the flood as it was before the flood. The purpose of insurance is to help get property back in it's original condition. Since the piano can't be put back in the condition it was in, the insurance should pay to have the piano rebuilt. <br> <br> Willem Blees, RPT<br> Honolulu, HI<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> -----Original Message-----<br> From: Sue Brown <stbrown9@frontiernet.net><br> To: pianotech@ptg.org<br> Sent: Tue, 16 Sep 2008 2:10 pm<br> Subject: flood damage<br> <br> <div id=AOLMsgPart_2_97e51beb-00d7-4298-a562-b774986dafa1> <div><FONT face=Arial size=2>Hi,</FONT></div> <div><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </div> <div><FONT face=Arial size=2>I have a client who's 1905 Steinway B was in a flood in which water leaked from the toilet upstairs overnight and flooded the piano, carpet, etc.  The main areas of water exposure were the webbing and keywell.  The surrounding carpet,ect. was also soaked.  The room was dried out pretty quickly, using a commercial flood cleanup service.  I have waited the recommended one year time since the flood.  The strings still sound good - the lid was down.  There is water staining on the plate and rust on the coils.  There are plate bushings and they are water stained.  The pinblock still feels tight.  I am concerned that since the webbing area was exposed to water, should the pinblock be checked for water damage (by destringing, taking the plate out and looking.)  Also do I need to worry about rust in the plate. </FONT></div> <div><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </div> <div><FONT face=Arial size=2>During the flood several wippens became unglued under the rest rail cushion.  I glued them back together.  The piano got soaked in the key well to the point where about 2/3 of the balance rail puchings got soaked.  There is a hairline crack in the keywell about 10" long.  Does a handful of wippens coming apart warrant a new action?  (My customer doesn't notice anything wrong in the action so she's a bit resistant to having work done)</FONT></div> <div><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </div> <div><FONT face=Arial size=2>I also have questions about glue joints coming loose in the keywell area that seem OK now.  Does the piano loose value because it now has a history of having been through a flood?  </FONT></div> <div><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </div> <div><FONT face=Arial size=2>Thanks in advance for any ideas, input.</FONT></div> <div><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </div> <div><FONT face=Arial size=2>Sue Brown</FONT></div> </div> <div id='u8CAE67BC92CABB2-12EC-1A6D' class='aol_ad_footer'><FONT style="color: black; font: normal 10pt ARIAL, SAN-SERIF;"><HR style="MARGIN-TOP: 10px">Looking for spoilers and reviews on the new TV season? <A title="http://television.aol.com/feature/fall_tv?ncid=aoletv00050000000037" href="http://television.aol.com/feature/fall_tv?ncid=aoletv00050000000037" target="_blank">Get AOL's ultimate guide to fall TV</A>.</FONT> </div>