Recently we were called to move a piano for a client which had been placed in “storage” a few years ago. The piano in question was a large (7′) grand piano by a reputable Asian company. According to the customer it was stored in a garage behind a house in Queens, NY. Finding the piano under mountains of stuff and placing it on it’s side on hard rubber mats was only the beginning.
The unheated garage was very humid and damp. The movers had taken the top off and laid the piano on it’s side effectively putting all of the 800 lbs of weight on three tiny hinges and ripping the screws out of the body. After wrestling the piano onto the piano board and pushing it through the heavy snow we delivered the beast to it’s destination. But after putting it on its legs it was apparent that the action had suffered badly from the dampness. All the hammers were sluggish and not responsive. The damage was estimated at approximately $800-$1200 and possibly more with passage of time.
The moral of the story ?
You should store a piano, if possible, in a climate controlled warehouse, or at least lend the piano to someone who will have it tuned and cared for (our customer could not afford to store it anywhere). M
pianoandthecity 