At 4:59 AM -0500 1/3/03, Noel Kaufmann wrote:
>My situation is that I've been referred by a happy in-home-work
>customer to another customer who's wanted to have his Steinway B
>circa 1895 rebuilt. The happy fellow mentioned a rough price to
>this second fellow, and of course now I feel I must try to come up
>with a detailed breakdown of costs totalling somewhere remotely
>close, when I actually see and evaluate the piano myself.
<snip>
>I do have Joe Garrett's labor guide and can start from there, and
>thus have an idea of keeping it somewhere in the ballpark of the
>mentioned sum,
Do I read properly that the objective of this estimate is somehow,
not to be far off from the price that the happy fellow mentioned?
>which seemed fair for the likely work -- (a somewhat technically
>savvy eye had seen it before) -- pinblock, soundboard repair,
>strings, hammers, etc. -- and even if a little more is required to
>do the proper job, I can be flexible with my hourly rate and still
>be happy to do the work. I realize too that I may end up pleasantly
>or unpleasantly surprised when I look the thing over.
Joe Garrett has put together a valuable resource. But just because
one can come up with an outline of the work needed, and assign hours
or fractions thereto and sum them, does not mean that one actually
knows how to do the work. It seems to me that if you have done the
job a couple of times, you would have your own times studies (and I'm
talking Net Time, not Gross Time).
Forgive me if I assume too much here from the situation as you
describe it, but it may be safer for you simply to get a general ball
park figure for what your local big city rebuilder would do for a
whole new reincarnation, add your mark up and administrative costs,
and avoid a possible major headache.
>I probably have a few weeks to mull this over, as this person is
>travelling and I haven't even spoken to him yet.
You don't even know what level of work he might need. He may have a
beer budget, but does he know the difference between Cold Duck and
champagne? I really seems to me that you're getting ahead of
yourself, even if only in one aspect, what kind of raw material his
piano is and just what kind of a piano does he need.
At 4:59 AM -0500 1/3/03, Noel Kaufmann wrote:
>But I'm new to full rebuilding jobs, and hence to the logistical
>technicalities, and would appreciate some quick pointers to info or
>samplers of advice (and maybe written forms!?) to use as guides for
>this process until I develop my own procedures.
It's unlikely that the internet is the best place to learn this, but
if you have a chance to see David Betts' estimating class, drive 100
miles for it. (Dave Betts of the Boston MA Chapter, and of course
director of the N. Bennet St. School Piano Tech Class.)
Bill Ballard RPT
NH Chapter, P.T.G.
"I gotta go ta woik...."
...........Ian Shoales, Duck's Breath Mystery Theater
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