Upright Complete Rebuild Time

[Joseph Garrett]

Terry,
If you use the Repair Labor Guide to calculate the total amount of man
hours, I think the figure will be more in the 10 to 12 thousand range.
Still, I think a totally re-manufactured "name" Upright is well worth the
effort, if only from an asthetic stand point. The real problem is convincing
the piano buying public. I personally give my clients a Full guarantee: "If
I repaired, fixed or modified it, then, if it ceases to function, under
normal useage and conditions, then I will fix it again, for free". Even this
kind of guarantee won't convince the buyer. Their, (and our), perception of
"new" is that "new" must certainly be better or last longer than "rebuilt".
And yes, I have had to "eat" a few re-repairs in my career, but that's all
part of keeping the reputation.
regards,
Joe Garrett

----- Original Message -----
From: "Farrell" <mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Sunday, August 26, 2001 7:22 AM
Subject: Upright Complete Rebuild Time


> So much talk about old uprights not being worth doing any work to. I know
of
> a very prominent PTG member that says he can COMPLETELY rebuild an old
> upright and make a profit selling it for $7,500. The rebuilding includes
> everything:
>
> complete new action
> reconditioned keys & keyframe
> restrung
> new bridge caps
> new soundboard
> new pinblock
> trapwork reconditioned
> refinished
> back & case dissassembled and reglued
>
> What I have described above is a new piano hand made to an old design
> (although, we could certainly update some areas) with 100 year old major
> structural components. We could have started with a Mason & Hamlin,
> Steinway, Knabe, Weber, Bush & Lane, etc. Any one of those is obtainable
for
> about $500 or less.
>
> Now, would you rather have our remanufactured piano for $7,500, a Yamaha
U3
> for $11,000 or a K-52 for $23,000? It just seems to me that there has to
be
> a market for such a creature. But I cannot believe that you can do a
rebuild
> like described for $7,500 and eat and pay your rent. I think you gotta be
> toward the $10,000 to $12,000 range (I'm talking midwest USA dollars).
> Anyone care to venture a total hour time spent with such a project? I can
> figure the parts easy enough, the hours can be a little slippery for my
> limited cranial capacity. Thanks for any interest/input.
>
> Terry Farrell
>
>