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Hi, we are about to demo and remodel the kitchen. There will be a lot of dust. It is 1 room away from where the piano is and there is no door. The contractor will put up barriers, but I am assuming it will not be good enough and there will be a lot of dust.

I can't move the piano into storage because my daughter needs access to it to get ready for music school performance auditions.

She can go a couple of days where she just practices on her keyboard upstairs during the actual demo process when it will be most dusty. So I want to seal it up tight during that time. After that, I will want to peel back the cover so she can practice, but maybe cover it back up here and there in case there is any more dust floating in the air, and during floor-sanding, etc.

Is it good enough to just close the lid and put a few sheets over it, or do I need to do sheets, then plastic tarp, wrap around legs, etc.?

Suggestions? What materials to use?

Hi Darb,

Do Not Use Plastic on the Piano!

You are best off with sheets or quilts covering all of the top surfaces. Is the piano a grand? If so, make sure that you drape to the floor the side nearest the remodel. Have your contractors hang plastic sheeting to block any opening or archways. That's standard practice anyway.

Enjoy your new kitchen, you piano is not in dire jeopardy. The protective measures you have described should do just fine.

Among other possible reasons depending on your situation, components in plastic over the piano can interact with lacquer over time and badly damage the finish. Yes indeed, folks who may remember, I missed this critical consideration in a post I made some weeks ago.

Best wishes-

You could put together a bunch of furniture pads that you get when you rent a moving truck and tape them together to form a simple "quilt".

The day I will have decoration work done in my home (early next year) during which I expect dust I already have in mind having my piano temporarily removed/stored by my dealer.

Yes it will cost some money but then I am sure it will not be damaged in any way.

schwammerl.

Yes, it's an Estonia 190 grand. I can drape sheets or a couple of quilts on it. Thanks for your help!

Oh yes, if I could I would pay to store it for a little while, but my daughter needs to continue practicing. I do have some pads - like for moving furniture, so I will use those also. Thanks!

I suggest putting a clean fitted bottom sheet that is large enough to reach over the entire case and then putting a plastic drop cloth over that. Of course the case must be closed up.

If you are having a lot of drywall mud work done that will raise the humidity so get a humidistat and check the RH. If it is above 55% consider running a room dehumidifier during the project as needed.

I will repeat: Do Not Use Plastic on the Piano!

If the RH does rise, for whatever reason, the worst thing you can do is trap the moisture in the piano. Remodeling is not a moisture concern, it is a dust contamination problem, as you well know.

We've been extensively renovating an older home for five years - the last two with "piano on board".

Construction barriers did not come close to containing dust - in some cases quite a bit - from escaping to all corners of our home. Knowing this, I decided on using an extra-large auto cover for protection. While far from attractive, it blocks all dust and is easily removed/redraped. I suspect some type of plastic is involved somewhere in its structure but the tightly woven cloth-like texture does not react with the gloss poly finish.

Marty,
If you monitor and control humidity-the plastic dust barrier will keep the surface of the piano clean. Humidity can often be a construction issue with plaster or drywall and even large amounts of latex paint.

What happened to Yovenim's post of 20 June 2023 which revived this thread?