<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
<META content="MSHTML 6.00.2900.3395" name=GENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=#ffffff>
<DIV>"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."</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>I'm not sure that is true. My understanding is that once a
coating of surface rust forms on steel/iron, the rust actually helps to insulate
the metal from moisture and leaving rust in place will actually slow down the
rate of corrosion. Pluse if the room was dried out quickly (I presume some
few days or so), why would the strings corrode any more quickly than they
were before the flood? If anything, whatever the string's rate of corrosion was,
it would slow down now because of the little bit of rust having formed on the
surface as a result of the flood. I sure don't see any reason to expect that
strings will start breaking in the couple years because of anything to do with
the flood.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>However, of course, the layer of rust related to the flood
may well be objectionable and a valid subject for argument in an insurance
claim. Another thing to consider is that the piano is over 100 years old. How
corrosion-free were the strings prior to the flood?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV>"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."</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>If the pinblock was absorbed a large amount of
water, I think it likely that it would have fallen apart already (old
pinblocks were glued together with hide glue) - or at least some or many pins
would have an unusual feel to them. However, your point is generally valid in
that it is very difficult to know the exact amount of damage that may have
occurred to the pinblock without tearing the piano apart - maybe the pins are
the only thing holding it together (although I really do find that unlikely if
they all feel good).</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>The glue joints in the pinblock certainly could be
damaged. However, a year is enough time for the block to "dry out". Whatever
damage might have been done has likely been done. If the block is significantly
damaged and the pins are holding it together, the apparent condition of the
block may well continue to deteriorate, but it will be from damage already
complete - likely not because of the block continuing to dry out for
years.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Then we need to pose the same question again - how good
was the block in this 100+ year old piano prior to the flood?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>And what kind of S&S grand has plate bushings in it?
Was this piano previously "rebuilt"?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Gotta agree with you on the wippens - if a few have come
apart - more will likely continue - potentially similar to the pinblock, the
damage has been done and glue joints have degraded - however, unlike the
pinblock, the wippens get hammered around a zillion times each time the piano is
played, thus putting fluctuating stresses on the impaired wippen glue
joints - very likely that they will continue to fail.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>"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><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>From a technical perspective, yes. From an insurance
perspective, that's likely an issue for negotiation/argument.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></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."</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>And for good reason. Your questions will be answered in
the coming years/decades......<FONT size=3></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV></FONT>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>"Does the piano loose value because it now has a
history of having been through a flood?"</FONT></DIV></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Certainly if a prospective purchaser is aware of the flood
history - yes, the piano will loose value - much like a used car that was parked
on Bourbon Street when Katrina blew though. If the information is not known to
the customer and is not apparent, then perhaps not. If you are assigning a value
to the piano for insurance purposes, then indeed the flood history would devalue
the instrument.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Bottom line here is that when you open the lid on that
piano, you are opening a can of worms - simply very difficult to tell what may
have been damaged. If you write anything up regarding this piano put about eight
disclaimers in every sentence to cover your posterior!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Hope some of this helps.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Terry Farrell</FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV>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</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><BR><BR>-----Original Message-----<BR>
<DIV id=AOLMsgPart_2_97e51beb-00d7-4298-a562-b774986dafa1>
<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></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>