Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Tuner-Technicians Forum under floor heating

Hi everyone,

i hope that someone can shed some light on my dilemma

Unsure of what to do with a 1920s Broadwood grand that I have been asked to deal with, it was professionally restored about 3 to 4 years ago and fitted with a Dampp-chaser system.
However on inspection the soundboard has begun to split along the lines of the old repairs. also the tuning is particularly unstable.

I believe this may be the fault of the under floor heating in the clents home, however there is no-where else that they can move the piano, does anyone have any ideas about how I can repair the damage or prevent it from getting worse?

Thanks for your help
Dave

Make sure the Dampp-Chaser system is installed properly and working properly. If it does not already have an undercover installed, install one.

Thanks, do you think the undercover may actually begin to close the splits? from the photos,the lookabout 64th inch across.

The question of what problems underfloor heating may cause is a moot one. We discussed this question at some length on the Pianotech Google group (not to be confused with Google+ group). I had posed the question, because I had a client in a similar situation, having bought a substantially older Broadwood than the one you're dealing with.

No-one seems to have any definitive proof that underfloor heating (or rather, in-floor heating, as opposed blown hot air coming through vents in the floor) causes harm. It is a gentler form of heat than hot water radiators which create hotspots in their vicinity. The temperature at the floor is much lower than the temperature at a radiator would be, and the temperature gradient from floor to soundboard gentle. A potent factor must surely be the Relative Humidity in the room, and that could be monitored with an inexpensive hygrometer.

At least one person opined however, that he had seen old grands ruined by underfloor heating. It's difficult to be too specific though, without comparisons and knowing all the facts. One might buy an old grand that had lived fifty years in an unheated and rather damp parlour. Bringing it into a modern centrally heated home is going to cause changes to that piano, which might not specifically be due to the fact that the heating is in-floor.

I think Eric's advice is perfect, plus get the client to obtain a cheap hygrometer and measure the humidity. Monitor the situation before taking any heroic steps with soundboard splits. In any case, if it's split but not buzzing or rattling, there is a school of thought that says leave well alone.

there are old floor heating systems, with hot spots that dry really very much the air of the room, and there are modern systems that generate a constant temperature, without hot spots, and that I did see not drying the air that much.

In any case a room humidifier and an hygrostat is necessary in my opinion.

THe Dampp Chaser with under cover will help the soundboard but not much the rest, so if the dryness is really strong, better use also an humidifier a(dry one, an air flow on a moistened grill or surface, natural evaporation)