Thanks, Del! That's some great advice! This gives me a great game plan going into the process. I should know more tomorrow morning. All I was able to ascertain is that the water source came from above and rained down on the piano. And it did this for a while, apparently... Thanks again! Rob On Oct 11, 2011, at 16:07 , Delwin D Fandrich wrote: > Start by insisting that the piano be up on its feet. But, before it goes up inspect the bottom of the piano; check the soundboard to rim joint, make sure the ribs are solidly glued. Usually you will be able to see a “waterline” which will tell you how high the water has been. (Assuming it was in a flood-type situation.) Determine how old the piano is. Is it old enough to worry about animal hide glue joints? If it is a more modern piano—one using a thermal-setting water-proof adhesive—you probably won’t have structural problems. Pull the action and examine the action parts. Even if you don’t see evidence of direct water damage make sure the centers are free (not rusted stiff) and not loose. Listen to the piano—assuming it is playable—how are the hammers? Check the pinblock to make sure there is no delaminating going on. Tune through the bass (the piano was on its side, right?) and see how the pins feel. How do the metal parts look? How much rust can you see? How are the dampers? The damper levers? The damper guide rail? > > After you’ve given your initial inspection, explain that before you are willing to put anything about the pianos condition in writing you’ll want to check the piano again after it has been dry for a couple of months—when I check a piano that has actually been in a flood I want it to be dried out for about four to six months before I render any final decision on salvageability and the costs involved. It doesn’t sound like this has actually been in a flood but you don’t yet know how high the water might have gone. I’ve found decently built old pianos falling apart after a flood that came only six inches up on the walls and I’ve found other pianos that were literally floating in four or five feet of water that cleaned up reasonably well with only hammers and dampers and a few assorted bits and pieces. > > ddf > > Delwin D Fandrich > Piano Design & Fabrication > 6939 Foothill Court SW, Olympia, Washington 98512 USA > Phone 360.515.0119 — Cell 360.388.6525 > del at fandrichpiano.com — ddfandrich at gmail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/20111011/ae97d3e7/attachment.htm>
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