<HTML><FONT FACE=arial,helvetica><FONT SIZE=2>In a message dated 5/22/0=
1 7:38:09 AM Central Daylight Time, ted@yourlink.net
<BR>writes:
<BR>
<BR>
<BR><BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-=
LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px">Yesterday I received a phon=
e call from our local college informing me that
<BR>their Stage piano, a Steinway D, was stored beneath an air-conditioning
<BR>water line and the line burst flooding the piano. I hurried over t=
o the
<BR>college and inspected the piano. There was water all over the soun=
dboard
<BR>and some students were sopping it up with paper towels. The damper=
felts
<BR>were drenched and were coming unglued. I removed the action and fo=
und the
<BR>backcheck leathers unglued, the rebound felts soaked but not coming ungl=
ued,
<BR>and the hammers were wet but intact. I propped the dampers up off the
<BR>strings and raised the hammers hoping all will dry in a few days.
<BR>
<BR>My question is this: can the leathers and felts be re-used after t=
hey dry?
<BR>Also, although there was no rust showing on the strings, how can I convi=
nce
<BR>them that all the strings should be replaced? I donšt know what =
to think
<BR>about the condition of the pinblock. The insurance company will co=
ver the
<BR>cost, so I guess they are the ones that have to be convinced. Any =
other
<BR>advice you can provide will be most welcome.
<BR>
<BR>Ted Simmons
<BR>Merritt Island, FL
<BR>
<BR></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BR>
<BR>Ted
<BR>
<BR>In my opinion, the insurance company needs to pay for a complete restora=
tion
<BR>of this instrument, including a new board, block and strings, new action=
<BR>action. It might be best to ship it to Steinway in New York, unless you,=
or
<BR>someone you know has the capability to do this work.
<BR>
<BR>Anything less than a complete rebuilding job will not be fair to the col=
lege.
<BR>They pay insurance to insure that inventory which is damaged can be repl=
aced,
<BR>or repaired, to it's original condition. There is no way that just dryin=
g out
<BR>is going to do that. The insurance company must pay to restore that
<BR>instrument, or buy a new one.
<BR>
<BR>I have dealt with enough insurance companies to know that they will try =
to
<BR>save even $100 on a claim. They will try to say what needs to be done, a=
nd
<BR>what shouldn't be done. Not because they know about pianos, but because =
they
<BR>want to save money.
<BR>
<BR>Willem </FONT></HTML>