Over forty years, one of the most consistent things customers tell us is that they had no idea how good their piano could sound and feel until it was properly cared for. That is just as true after a disaster as after an ordinary service. A piano that has been through fire, water or smoke often looks, and smells, as if it is lost. Many of those instruments can be brought back. Some cannot. The first job is to find out which one you have, and to keep the damage from getting worse.
Yes, we restore pianos with water, smoke and fire damage. I’m Trevor Nelson, a Registered Piano Technician with 40 years in the business and 38 years in the Piano Technicians Guild. I trained at Bösendorfer in Vienna, spent 12 years as a university piano technician, and was a visiting piano technical consultant and technician for the Banff Centre for the Arts, helping care for its 110 concert-quality pianos. Our shop and gallery are in Lafayette, Colorado, by appointment. We serve Boulder County, Broomfield and the north Denver metro, plus northern Colorado, and customers ship pianos from across the country to this shop for restoration.
What can usually be saved — and what may not be
Every damaged piano is a little different, so we will not give you a percentage or a guarantee from a photograph alone. These are the patterns we see:
- Water. How high the water rose, how long the piano sat in it, and whether the water was clean, dirty or contaminated all matter. Felt, cloth, keys, the action, strings and the finish are often badly affected and may need to be replaced or thoroughly restored. The soundboard can swell, then shrink and crack as it dries. If water reached the case, the keybed or the laminated rim, glue joints can fail, and that damage is not always obvious at first. Some of those pianos can still be rebuilt; some cannot be restored honestly. An inspection is what tells the difference.
- Smoke and soot. Smoke works its way into felt, action cloth, the soundboard and the finish. The smell can linger if the soft parts are not addressed. Soot on a finish is easy to grind in if it is wiped with the wrong cleaner. Do not try to clean it yourself with household products.
- Fire and heat. Even when flames never reached the piano, heat can loosen glue, scorch the finish, warp wood and ruin felt and plastic parts. A piano in a room that got very hot needs to be opened and checked before anyone assumes it is only dirty.
If mold is present, or the piano sat in a damp building, treat that as a health concern as well as a piano concern, and tell us what you know before we arrange a visit or a shipment. Our aim is to give you a straight answer: what can be saved, what should be replaced, and when the honest recommendation is not to restore the instrument.
For a picture of how we approach a complete restoration when the piano can be saved, see our piano restoration page and our 1944 Steinway Model S case study. We also keep a gallery of before-and-after restoration photos.
For a recent example of a complete restoration after a burst pipe left standing water on a concert grand, see our case study of a water-damaged Bösendorfer Model 225.
What to do right away
These steps help protect the piano — and your claim, if insurance is involved — until a technician can see it:
- Do not play the piano. Wet or soot-filled parts can be damaged further, and a wet action can stick or break.
- Do not use heat to dry it. No space heater aimed at the piano, no hair dryer, no heat lamp, no oven-like room. Forced heat can split soundboards, loosen glue and craze a finish. Let the piano dry slowly.
- Give it gentle air, and open the lid if you can do so safely. Slow air movement in a room that is not itself wet or overheated is enough. If it is safe to stand at the piano, open the lid so air can move through the instrument. Do not set fans so close or so strong that they drive grit or soot into the finish and felt.
- Do not clean soot or muddy residue with household cleaners or furniture polish. You can do more harm than good. Leave that to the shop.
- Photograph everything. Take pictures from several angles, including any water line, soot, debris, rust and close-ups of the keys, the plate and the serial number. These photos help us, and they help an insurance claim.
- Call your insurance company if your policy may cover the loss, and keep notes of whom you spoke with.
- Call us. (303) 521-3722 or use our contact page. The sooner we can hear what happened and see photographs, the better advice we can give you about next steps, moving the piano, and whether to ship it to the shop.
Insurance claims, in general terms
We are not insurance agents, and every policy is different. In general, a homeowner or renter should notify the insurer promptly, document the damage with photographs and notes, and avoid throwing the piano away until the company has had a chance to consider the claim. The value of a Steinway — and the cost of replacing it with a comparable instrument — is often higher than people expect, which is why a careful description of the model, the year and the damage matters. If you need to date the piano first, see How Old Is My Steinway? For a broader discussion of value, see How Much Is My Steinway Worth?
We provide insurance appraisals and written damage reports for insurance adjusters, and for owners who are filing a claim. After we inspect a fire-, water- or smoke-damaged piano, we document what we find, explain what restoration would involve, and can give you a written report to share with your adjuster. Call (303) 521-3722 or use our contact page to arrange an inspection.
How we can help
After we see the piano, or a thorough set of photographs, we will tell you what we think can be saved and what the work would include. If you need an insurance appraisal or a written damage report for your adjuster, we can provide that as well. If you decide to restore it, the piano comes to our Lafayette shop. Owners across the United States ship instruments to us for this kind of work. When the piano goes home, we can advise on climate control and humidity, a first tuning after it has settled, and, if you need a temporary or longer-term place for it, our climate-controlled piano storage.
If the piano cannot be saved, we will say so. If you are also thinking about a replacement, we sell restored Steinways to buyers throughout Colorado and across the United States, with delivery anywhere in the state or the country. See Steinways for Sale.
Call (303) 521-3722, or contact us, and tell us what happened. We will take it from there, one step at a time.
Frequently asked questions
Can a water-damaged or smoke-damaged piano be restored?
Often yes, but not always. It depends on how high the water rose, how long the piano stayed wet, whether the water was clean or contaminated, and how much heat or smoke reached the instrument. Deep soaking of the rim and keybed can be very serious. The only honest answer comes from an inspection. We will tell you if the piano can be saved, and what the work would involve.
What should I do if my piano gets wet or is exposed to fire or smoke?
Do not play it. Do not try to dry it with a heater, hair dryer or other direct heat. Let it dry slowly, with the lid open if you can do that safely, and with only gentle air movement. Do not clean soot with household products. Photograph the damage, call your insurance company if a claim may be involved, and call us at (303) 521-3722.
Do you restore pianos damaged by fire, water or smoke?
Yes. We restore pianos with fire, water and smoke damage in our Lafayette, Colorado shop. Customers in our local service area and from across the country ship instruments to us for this work. Call (303) 521-3722.
Do you provide insurance appraisals for damaged pianos?
Yes. We provide insurance appraisals and written damage reports for insurance adjusters, and for owners who are filing a claim. Call (303) 521-3722 to arrange an inspection.
