[pianotech] water damage

[Joseph Garrett]

Jack,
Giant OOOPS! re the floors. That's where you have parts interacting with each other. If there were a way to disassemble the floor and then put it back together, the warpage would be at a minimum. Also, flooring is usually solid pieces of wood joined together, whereas a piano has lots of laminated wood of the highest grades which is less apt to warp, etc. The trick is getting the piano apart ASAP. 
Best Regards
Joe

Joe Garrett, R.P.T. (Oregon)
Captain, Tool Police
Squares R I



----- Original Message ----- 
From: Jack Houweling 
To: joegarrett at earthlink.net;pianotech at ptg.org
Sent: 8/3/09 10:54:37 PM 
Subject: Re: [pianotech] water damage


Hi Joe,
This makes me feel better, I always thought that water would expand the wood and ruin it. I have damage on my hardwood floors from my air-conditioner leaking water on them.
They are warped and look like a mess. 



Regards,
Jack Houweling





----- Original Message ----- 
From: Joseph Garrett 
To: pianotech 
Sent: Monday, August 03, 2009 9:12 PM
Subject: Re: [pianotech] water damage


Jack,
You do run into some interesting stuff, buddy. Here's my take on this stuff. I bought a Yamaha P-2 that had been in a Gymnasium fire. It was in 2 feet of water and the roof, afire, fell on the piano. This caused the keys to combust and also the treble end caught fire. The major amount of damaged was caused after the piano was extracted, via fork lift, and placed in the parking lot. Some well meaning soul opened the lid to "let the piano dry/air out"!!! It rained that night and pretty much trashed the dampers and expanded the hammers. I had to replace the dampers intoto. The hammers were salvageable and were simply surfaced. Best sounding Yamama I've heard in ages!!<G> Nice and mellow tone with nice fundamental!<G> The strings were sprayed with LPS-1, which dispels water and changes rust to a white powder. This was done a week after the fire, in the process of taking the piano COMPLETELY apart so that all parts were able to dry without any influence from other parts, etc. The short version is: I gave it to my daughter 12 years after the fact, as I didn't feel good about selling it, even tho it was now better than a new yamama, imho. My daughter has had that piano for over 20 years with no problems what so ever!! Bottom line: Those Yamamas are tough Mamas!!!
In your case, I suspect the dampers will need to be replaced, possibly the strings need to be replaced. However, I'd bet that the pinblock is okay, once it dries out. I suspect the action will need some major work, but all worth it and doable, IMHO.<G> BTW, stains don't affect tone, the last time I checked. <G>
Regards,
Joe


Joe Garrett, R.P.T. (Oregon)
Captain, Tool Police
Squares R I
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