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<DIV>Hi,</DIV>
<DIV>Regarding the basement situation, I have a different point of =
view. I
agree that constant R.H. is good, but 60% is high enough to gradually =
allow
rust, cell collapse in wood, glue failure etc. The damage that's being =
done will
show up if the piano is ever moved to a drier environment. We see this
frequently in old pianos that come here from Europe, where they never =
went out
of tune. One winter in SE Pa. and soundboards open (their swollen fibers =
finally
drying back down to the original dimension, and beyond, exposing damaged =
glue
joints), pinblocks delaminate, action screws all loose as crushed wood =
in
flanges dries, etc. The pitch stability at A440 is "artificial", held =
there by
excessive moisture in the soundboard. I think it's better to stabilize =
the
moisture at a lower level, let the pitch drop to where it will, then go =
over it
as necessary to stabilize pitch at 440. </DIV>
<DIV>Ruth Phillips</DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; =
BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">Date:
Thu, 14 Jul 2005 08:11:48 -0400<BR>From: Greg Newell <<A
=
href="mailto:gnewell@ameritech.net">gnewell@ameritech.net</A>><BR>To=
:
Pianotech <<A
=
href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</A>><BR>Subject: =
RE: room
climate
=
control<BR><BR>Paul,<BR> =
This
has been my experience as well. The temperature and humidity <BR>seem =
much
more constant below ground level.<BR><BR>Greg =
Newell<BR><BR><BR>>Glad you
mention this. I have serviced a lot of pianos in the "lower
level"<BR>>of homes with humidity readings of 60%. The pianos tune =
well and
hold for a<BR>>very long time. There appear to be no signs of =
rust or
corrosion; some of<BR>>them being there for several
decades.<BR>><BR>>Paul
C<BR>******************************************</BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML=
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