Stephen, Questions like this are tough. I think one could very easily make the case that the piano should be considered a total loss, written off, buy a new one. As you are aware, effects can take a long time to show up, and if you pursue restoration to some extent, only to find later there are serious structural problems, for example............a lot of unhappy people. Similarly, one could make the case for restoration. If you pursue this avenue, I would recommend getting the climate stable, allowing the moisture content of the piano to equilibrate, then perform an assessment. If you choose to restore, you have to take some chances and you can't possibly know the extent of the damage for some time. That risk could be significant. However, it may pay off as well, and restoration may be reasonable. If it were me, I would also consider talking to someone at S&S, NY for their opinion, probably either Kent Webb, or David Kirkland. IF it were me and IF I chose restoration, I would have a new key set made, pinblock, stringing, dampers/trapwork, action, possibly soundboard, depending upon assessment in a month or two. If the keybed were a problem, I'd lean toward total loss; if it doesn't show problems after a couple months, and you want to restore, it's a risk you'll have to take - along with veneer separations, case part separations, other failing glue joints........... Good luck, William R. Monroe On Tue, Dec 1, 2009 at 6:47 AM, Stephen Snyder <shsnyder1 at verizon.net>wrote: > Dear Colleagues, > > I have been asked to appraise/ evaluate/estimate for insurance purposes a > Steinway S #317539 that has significant water damage. By the time I saw > the piano the water had been removed. The customer told me there was water > on the plate bass section of the plate web/tuning pin area, a small area of > the soundboard along the spine , all throughout the action and key bed. The > action is a mess as you would imagine- seized up, backcheck & knuckle > leather coming unglued, nice ivory keytops all coming unglued and curling, > keybushings shot, etc. The bass dampers are stuck to the strings. Couldn't > really evaluate the pinblock. The finish is coming off the music desk, > cheek blocks and fallboard and there is evidence moisture on the long lid > hinge. The cabinet was in fair condition before the water damage. > Soundboard and bridges appear to be OK. I know that the effects of water > damage can take quite a while to show up so at this point I feel I should > recommend a New pinblock, tuning pins, strings, damper felt and a complete > New action. Cabinet restoration. Questions I have for you are 1. Does > this sound reasonable? 2. Should I include New keysticks and action frame > with the estimate? 3. Am I likely to have problems with the keybed as well? > Sorry I don't have pictures . I would appreciate any advice you would be > willing to offer. Thanks! > > Regards, > Steve > > Stephen Snyder > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/caut.php/attachments/20091201/9b549d76/attachment.htm>
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