Anyone know about piano repair? Is it worth the costs to fix it???

[crunchy_mommy]

I have an old piano I inherited from my grandmother. It's a very basic piano, nothing fancy or expensive.

It's been sitting in my house for 3 years mostly unplayed... I've tried to play it but the some of the keys are stuck down & it's really out of tune so I just end up abandoning it out of frustration.

I know nothing about piano repair costs or the cost of a new or working-used piano... Anyone know anything about that? Anyone had a similar situation with a piano? Right now it's just taking up space & I'm considering giving it away, but I love the idea of having a piano (though I do have a keyboard too I suppose I could use if the urge strikes). I just don't know if it's worth the cost to fix it.

[lolar2]

Can you call a piano repair person and get him or her to come out and give you an estimate? It depends on what exactly is wrong and how much the piano is worth.

[marrymeflyfree]

I second that suggestion...a long-unplayed piano might be perfectly fine and may just need to have the action (the playing mechanism) regulated and the strings tuned. We had this done recently - we moved my old piano from my parents' home to mine. It hadn't been played or tuned in nearly a decade, and it's just fine.

[A&A]

Sometimes a long-out-of-tune piano will never be in tune again. But you don't know that until someone comes out to look at it.

[crunchy_mommy]

Ughh I was hoping you wouldn't say that I kind of have a phobia of having people come give me estimates.

[goldfinches]

I love how old pianos sound.

You should have someone come look at it. If it's that far out of tune, it will probably take 2-3 times to tune it up. There is a glue the tuner can use to help it stay in tune and not slip out. Expect to pay about $90 per tune.

And, they may be able to fix the stuck keys by replacing the strings and pegs.

[lolar2]

I'm sorry about your phobia! Maybe you can arrange for your DH or another relative to be home and you can be out of the house?

[SoulCakes]

Restoring a piano can be hugely expensive. It sounds like your biggest problems are too much slack in the strings (which keep the keys from coming back up to their proper position) and retuning. Retuning itself is fairly inexpensive, but the other work, especially if the soundboard needs to be replaced or finished, can get expensive quickly.

I'd just get an estimate--it's really the only way to tell. And have you googled the make and year of your piano? You never know--you might have a valuable piece of equipment right under your nose!

[redvlagrl]

Ditto SoulCakes. You can never be sure it can be brought up to concert pitch - and if it can't it's not a suitable instrument for your children to learn on IMO. Definitely get it checked out by a professional.

I would not let my children hear an out of tune piano regularly as it may interfere with learning proper pitch/intonation. But that is just us and we are both musicians.

[crunchy_mommy]

It looks like the piano is only worth about $200-$400 (and that would be if it was all working/in tune!) so maybe it's not worth fixing Just doesn't feel like a home without a piano though!

[Ethelpea]

I pay about $75 2 times a year to keep an 90 year old upright in tune. It initally took about 3 tunings at $75 (every 5-6 months? I can't remember) to bring up to par.

I say if the piano is in decent shape, keep it and get it tuned. Yes, people are always looking to get rid of pianos - I've heard of no less than 3 offers over the last 3 years of people giving away pianos in my own little circle - but remember it will cost about $200 to move the piano and you still have to pay for tuning (always do after a move).

[mbm]

I learned to play on a 100 year old piano. Unfortunately, it was stored in basements for most or all of its life, so it can no longer be easily tuned. It would cost an estimated 10K to restore. Get the estimate, and then you will know if it is worth it to fix it.

I loved the sound of that instrument (a very tall upright, with a big soundboard!) and would almost pay to restore it, except that I now live 3000 miles away from it AND my parents can no longer get it out of their basement. They tried to throw it out but it is stuck down there!