WWYD: Piano from Dh's parents

[Meriwether]

Dh and I are going round and round on this issue (not fighting), and we think we finally have a plan. The problem we have is that neither of us is sure we have the right plan.

 

Two years ago Dd8 started taking piano lessons. She had 2 or three months of lessons and practiced on a keyboard that belonged to a good friend of ours. When my MIL heard that Dd8 was starting piano, she offered to give us their piano. It was a very sweet offer, but I had reservations. I don't need to have the nicest piano in the world, but generally if I accept a family piece, I feel obligated to keep it. I knew the piano wasn't in the greatest condition, but Dh seemed to think it just needed tuning. Dh wanted to accept the piano because it was free. There was also some sentiment involved, but I don't think he would have bought it from his parents. We dithered for a month or so. Then we found out we were moving and would no longer have access to our friend's keyboard. Dh's parents brought us the piano (a six hour drive) the next month. It was no small thing for them to bring us the piano. I feel that very much right now.

 

Once we got settled in our new home, I wanted to find a piano teacher for Dd8. The piano obviously needed to be tuned. We had a tuner come. He said the board was warped and it would never be in tune with another instument but that he could make it in tune with itself. Or something like that. There are a few keys that don't make any sound, and he didn't know how to fix that. So for 18 months or so the piano just sat there. I didn't know what else to do. Finally I asked Dh to get serious about getting the piano fixed. He has asked around for the past 6 months, but we haven't found anyone who knows how to fix it.

 

Dd8 and Ds(almost)7 are both more than ready for lessons. I want a functioning piano. We could:

 

A) Take the piano to a big city to have it repaired. Maybe. I don't want to even think what it would cost to repair a piano that can never be in tune.

 

B) Get rid of the piano and get a new one. We could afford this, but what in the world would we tell Dh's parents?

 

C) Let the piano sit in our living room and get a portable keyboard. I don't really want to do this. I want a more permanent solution one way or the other. The biggest difficulty with this is that with Dh's job we are guaranteed to move at least once more in the next 5 years. Maybe several times. It is a very big, very heavy piano. Worth moving if it worked.

 

So, what would you do. Or if you know anything about pianos, could you recommend another course of action.

[Moxie]

"MIL and FIL, thanks so much for the piano. It has been really well loved. Sadly, it is broken and our piano guy says it is beyond repair. We loved having a piano so much we're buying a new one. I'm sending this one to goodwill unless you want to come and get it."

[Scuff]

yup. And get a digital so that it's easier to move with DH's job

[Teachin'Mine]

No idea on what to do with the existing piano, but personally I would buy a good quality digital piano instead of putting the money into the major repairs. These pianos never need tuning and tolerate moves much better and with less expense.

 

Any other family member you could offer the piano to? Maybe talk with MIL and explain that it needs a lot of work beyond tuning and it would cost more to repair than buy a new one and see what she suggests. Would have to be carefully worded though. That was so nice of them to bring it to you.

[In The Great White North]

"MIL and FIL, thanks so much for the piano. It has been really well loved. Sadly, it is broken and our piano guy says it is beyond repair. We loved having a piano so much we're buying a new one. I'm sending this one to goodwill unless you want to come and get it."

 

Except some piano stores will actually take unfixable pianos as trade ins (ie pay you for it) so you don't have to pay someone to haul it away.

[FaithManor]

"MIL and FIL, thanks so much for the piano. It has been really well loved. Sadly, it is broken and our piano guy says it is beyond repair. We loved having a piano so much we're buying a new one. I'm sending this one to goodwill unless you want to come and get it."

 

 

This!

 

Speaking as a piano teacher who also took two college classes in piano tuning and repair, once the sound board is shot the piano is "not long for this whirl" as the saying goes! It is not worth repairing because even if it is brought into tune with itself, it is not likely to stay that way long and piano tunings tend to run $85.00-110.00 these days. Additionally, if the pin-block is cracked (tends to be the next thing that goes after the sound board) the tuning pins become loose and it can't be tuned at all. As for the keys that make no sound, there are several things that can be wrong one of which is that the hammers broke and were clanking so the previous owners removed the broken hammers. If the piano is fairly old, custom-made hammers would be the only possible repair and these must be made by a piano restoration company or a master technician...if you don't live on the east or west coast or in Chicago, you may be hard pressed to find a guild technician with the expertise to do this and if you did, I doubt you could get them for less than $100.00 a piece and very probably much more than that because, well, it takes a lot of time and training to make customized hammers for old pianos. On top of all of this, if the paper bushings in the pedals are old and the felts of the other hammers have hardened.....it's just a bad deal.

 

Cracked sound-boards in an upright run around $1500.00 - 2000.00 to replace. This is generally only done for collectible pianos that owners want refurbished for their sentimental value or for rare grands such as say a 1910 Steinway and such....of course those sound boards can run in the many thousands. Pinblocks very rarely run less than $1200.00, voicing hammers and regulating actions - $250.00-500.00. Your old piano is just not likely worth this investment unless you are sitting on a rare square grand or something. On top of all of this, your piano could be at the piano rebuilders for up to nine months so you'd still need something else for your dd unless you suspend piano lessons during that time.

 

Just try to be as sweet as you can to the in-laws, but do be firm. Your daughter needs a decent instrument to practice on, and you don't need to go bankrupt trying to fix up a lemon.

 

Faith

[Meriwether]

but personally I would buy a good quality digital piano Thanks to both of you who have mentioned this. It would certainly be something to consider.

 

Any other family member you could offer the piano to? This is one of the big sticking points. The only sibling who learned to play on it has a piano. The other sister also has a piano. The other two DILs wouldn't even consider taking it. If we don't keep it' date=' nobody will. MIL was happy to get it out of her house, because it was only used to sing together at Christmas.[/color']

 

That was so nice of them to bring it to you. Very nice. I appreciate family pieces. I've got my own pieces from Mom that I view as keeping for the next generation. That actually makes it harder, though. I don't want MIL to think that my family's stuff is worth keeping but their stuff isn't. If I didn't want a working piano and their piano wasn't so hard to move, I'd just deal with it.

 

.

[OLG]

Do the in-laws know anything about pianos? IF they do, just share with them the fact about the sound board and they will get it. If not, retell the tale and ask if they have a preferences as to where to donate it. Shouldn't be a big deal if they accept that it is shot!

[Meriwether]

This!

 

Speaking as a piano teacher who also took two college classes in piano tuning and repair, once the sound board is shot the piano is "not long for this whirl" as the saying goes! It is not worth repairing because even if it is brought into tune with itself, it is not likely to stay that way long and piano tunings tend to run $85.00-110.00 these days. Additionally, if the pin-block is cracked (tends to be the next thing that goes after the sound board) the tuning pins become loose and it can't be tuned at all. As for the keys that make no sound, there are several things that can be wrong one of which is that the hammers broke and were clanking so the previous owners removed the broken hammers. If the piano is fairly old, custom-made hammers would be the only possible repair and these must be made by a piano restoration company or a master technician...if you don't live on the east or west coast or in Chicago, you may be hard pressed to find a guild technician with the expertise to do this and if you did, I doubt you could get them for less than $100.00 a piece and very probably much more than that because, well, it takes a lot of time and training to make customized hammers for old pianos. On top of all of this, if the paper bushings in the pedals are old and the felts of the other hammers have hardened.....it's just a bad deal.

 

Cracked sound-boards in an upright run around $1500.00 - 2000.00 to replace. This is generally only done for collectible pianos that owners want refurbished for their sentimental value or for rare grands such as say a 1910 Steinway and such....of course those sound boards can run in the many thousands. Pinblocks very rarely run less than $1200.00, voicing hammers and regulating actions - $250.00-500.00. Your old piano is just not likely worth this investment unless you are sitting on a rare square grand or something. On top of all of this, your piano could be at the piano rebuilders for up to nine months so you'd still need something else for your dd unless you suspend piano lessons during that time.

 

Just try to be as sweet as you can to the in-laws, but do be firm. Your daughter needs a decent instrument to practice on, and you don't need to go bankrupt trying to fix up a lemon.

 

Faith

 

Thank you so much for telling me all this. Dh hoped our piano could be fixed for a couple hundred dollars, but I doubted it. I don't know what all is wrong with it, but I do know some hammers are broken. We were leaning towards getting a new piano, but we both feel badly about it. No way do we want to put that much money into this piano, though, and we've already delayed Dd's lessons for two years because of it.

Edited July 19, 2011 by Meriwether

[Spy Car]

I would be honest with the in-laws, thank them for their generosity, and find the best way to replace it with a piano that works for you.

 

Bill (a piano owner for less than a week)

[FaithManor]

I would be honest with the in-laws, thank them for their generosity, and find the best way to replace it with a piano that works for you.

 

Bill (a piano owner for less than a week)

 

 

Bill, I'm certain there must be a story in there somewhere! :lol:

 

Please, oh please, the piano teacher in me is begging to know WHY you owned a piano for one week only. :D

 

Faith

[Spy Car]

Bill, I'm certain there must be a story in there somewhere! :lol:

 

Please, oh please, the piano teacher in me is begging to know WHY you owned a piano for one week only. :D

 

Faith

 

No, we just acquired our very first piano a week ago. A gorgeous English made upright beauty from 1904 with inlay and ebony and ivory keys and it is in really great condition.

 

Piano playing friends have been visiting all week to check it out and keep giving us big thumbs up. It is even in good tune (although we are looking for a good tuner to look it over).

 

It was a "thrift store" find by Mrs Spy Car. Sometimes you really score.

 

Now we need to figure out how to play more than the staff part of Silent Night :D

 

Bill

[speedmom4]

I would find a Registered Piano Technician. He or she will definitely be able to tell you if the piano is beyond repair. The fact that the person who came to tune your piano didn't know how to fix it makes me question his/her opinion. To find a Registered Piano Technician in your area you can go to http://www.ptg.org. They have lists of people in each state who are licensed. I think it would be worth the fee to find out for sure if the piano is not repairable. Even if you just spoke with someone on the phone about what the other piano tuner said it would give you better information. We just had our old piano tuned and fixed. The man took my piano apart and fixed two keys that didn't play. He was here for several hours. He only charged me $150. Piano technicians come to your house not the other way around. Moving a piano causes it to go out of tune so if you took it somewhere it would have to be tuned when it got home.

 

God Bless,

Elise Speed

[Meriwether]

I would find a Registered Piano Technician. He or she will definitely be able to tell you if the piano is beyond repair. The fact that the person who came to tune your piano didn't know how to fix it makes me question his/her opinion. To find a Registered Piano Technician in your area you can go to www.ptg.org. They have lists of people in each state who are licensed. I think it would be worth the fee to find out for sure if the piano is not repairable. Even if you just spoke with someone on the phone about what the other piano tuner said it would give you better information. We just had our old piano tuned and fixed. The man took my piano apart and fixed two keys that didn't play. He was here for several hours. He only charged me $150. Piano technicians come to your house not the other way around. Moving a piano causes it to go out of tune so if you took it somewhere it would have to be tuned when it got home.

 

God Bless,

Elise Speed

 

Thanks for the link. There are two listed a little over an hour from us. I'll have my Dh look into. The man who came to our house was a tuner. He could see what was wrong but he didn't, personally, have any experience fixing pianos. We live in a rural area where we don't have many options. I'm not musical so having a piano that was only in tune with itself wouldn't be a deal breaker for me. Paying a hundred bucks a piece for the broken hammers so that I could have a piano that was only in tune with itself would be a deal breaker. I think Dh would like to call some of the people from your link to get ballpark figures, at the least.

[catz]

"MIL and FIL, thanks so much for the piano. It has been really well loved. Sadly, it is broken and our piano guy says it is beyond repair. We loved having a piano so much we're buying a new one. I'm sending this one to goodwill unless you want to come and get it."

 

:iagree: Although, I doubt anyone would take it. Sadly, you'll probably have to pay to dispose of this. I'm sure the cost of having it rebuilt would be much higher than a very nice used piano.

 

Hope the in-laws take it!

 

And I'm in the "real piano" camp. We have a real and a digital (use it for travel). The digital does not compare to practicing on the real piano. Actually, our piano teacher won't teach kids unless they have a real piano or get one within months of starting lessons. So you might want to talk to a piano teacher before you decide what to get. Good luck! :001_smile:

[gardenmom5]

A) Take the piano to a big city to have it repaired. Maybe. I don't want to even think what it would cost to repair a piano that can never be in tune..

 

Probably not even be possible if the soundboard is warped.

 

 

B) Get rid of the piano and get a new one. We could afford this, but what in the world would we tell Dh's parents?

 

 

 

Words cannot express how grateful we are for your thoughtfullness, it was truly above and beyond .. .But we are very sad to be the bearer of sad tidings that it was no longer working properly and was beyond repair.

 

C) Let the piano sit in our living room and get a portable keyboard. I don't really want to do this. I want a more permanent solution one way or the other. The biggest difficulty with this is that with Dh's job we are guaranteed to move at least once more in the next 5 years. Maybe several times. It is a very big, very heavy piano. Worth moving if it worked.

 

 

well - if you are guaranteed you will move in five years, and you don't want to tell your in-laws it doesn't work, can it sit in your living room for five years (it can be tuned to itself) and then you just don't take it with you when you move. . . . ?

[WishboneDawn]

I'm thinking that if your in-laws drove 6 hours to deliver the piano to you then they drove 6 hours to get the piano out of their house. I'm betting their not quite as sentimental about it as you think.

 

Tell them the truth graciously and go buy a digital piano. :)

[2squared]

Have you looked on Craigslist or somewhere for a free piano? When we needed a piano for our dc to start lessons, many people were willing to give us their pianos. Pianos aren't easy to get rid of!

[gardening momma]

"MIL and FIL, thanks so much for the piano. It has been really well loved. Sadly, it is broken and our piano guy says it is beyond repair. We loved having a piano so much we're buying a new one. I'm sending this one to goodwill unless you want to come and get it."

I would say this, but not say it's broken. They'd wonder what you did to it to break it, or that you didn't take good care of it. After you confirm what exactly is wrong with it (just skimmed the thread and I think I saw advice along those lines), I'd use the note above but say what is wrong, and that it would cost more to fix than to get a new (or new-to-you) piano.

[catz]

Have you looked on Craigslist or somewhere for a free piano? When we needed a piano for our dc to start lessons, many people were willing to give us their pianos. Pianos aren't easy to get rid of!

 

This can work or not! I'd have someone look at it before you moved it, or you might end up with another piano in your living room that is beyond repair. It would likely be money well spent!

[Gooblink]

I agree that you should simply be honest with the in-laws and tell them you'll be buying a different piano.

 

I found a great deal onthrough Craig's list, and when I bought it I didn't know a thing about pianos. :)

 

Digital would be a great option for kids that young to learn! If they take to it, though, you'll want to buy a real one. There are things you just can't learn on a digital.

 

Good luck!

[Meriwether]

Thanks for all the replys! Dh and I contacted someone from the link Speedmom4 gave this evening. We are going to have a technician come to look over the piano. If it can't be fixed for a reasonable price, we'll be able to tell the IL's that we got a second opinion. If it can be fixed, we'll try to make it work. I think it will depend on just how bad the sound board is and how much it costs to replace the parts.

[WishboneDawn]

Thanks for all the replys! Dh and I contacted someone from the link Speedmom4 gave this evening. We are going to have a technician come to look over the piano. If it can't be fixed for a reasonable price, we'll be able to tell the IL's that we got a second opinion. If it can be fixed, we'll try to make it work. I think it will depend on just how bad the sound board is and how much it costs to replace the parts.

 

Good. I think they'd be embarrassed and hurt if they learned their gift to you actually wound up costing you a lot of money.

[Parrothead]

"MIL and FIL, thanks so much for the piano. It has been really well loved. Sadly, it is broken and our piano guy says it is beyond repair. We loved having a piano so much we're buying a new one. I'm sending this one to goodwill unless you want to come and get it."

This or something very similar would be part of one of the next conversations I have with them.

[Orthodox6]

Your piano sounds as if it were neglected so badly that it suffered irreparable damage. (neglected before you inherited it, I mean) I would confirm this via second opinion, then dispose of the instrument and replace it with a real piano. ('Scuse, but I can't support a digital keyboard for serious music study. Get one only if piano is something to doodle on for your kids.)

 

If the soundboard truly is warped, the costs of repairs probably will be very high. A tuner can't make such repair, anyway. You would have to transport the piano to a repair shop.

 

Yes, as you already were advised, a member of the piano technicians guild should make better evaluation for you. We never have sought the services of anyone who was not a member.

 

Hope you find a good outcome !

Edited July 20, 2011 by Orthodox6

[DarlaS]

"MIL and FIL, thanks so much for the piano. It has been really well loved. Sadly, it is broken and our piano guy says it is beyond repair. We loved having a piano so much we're buying a new one. I'm sending this one to goodwill unless you want to come and get it."

 

:iagree:

 

Get a nice digital version for now. I got this keyboard/stand/pedal combo (from Best Buy) for $550 at Christmas for my eldest. It's full sized and has weighted keys. It's very easy to move.

 

http://www.priviapiano.com/products/PX-130

 

Or if the budget allows, these are nice (and still don't require a piano mover):

 

Yamaha YDP161

 

Yamaha YDP181

[DarlaS]

:iagree: Although, I doubt anyone would take it. Sadly, you'll probably have to pay to dispose of this. I'm sure the cost of having it rebuilt would be much higher than a very nice used piano.

 

Hope the in-laws take it!

 

And I'm in the "real piano" camp. We have a real and a digital (use it for travel). The digital does not compare to practicing on the real piano. Actually, our piano teacher won't teach kids unless they have a real piano or get one within months of starting lessons. So you might want to talk to a piano teacher before you decide what to get. Good luck! :001_smile:

 

Piano repair is very expensive indeed. We know we would spend over $3000 having our old upright rebuilt. It was $200 originally.

[PentecostalMom]

"MIL and FIL, thanks so much for the piano. It has been really well loved. Sadly, it is broken and our piano guy says it is beyond repair. We loved having a piano so much we're buying a new one. I'm sending this one to goodwill unless you want to come and get it."

:iagree:

 

We inheirited my in-laws piano because dh plays, but it functions & is tunable.