Is an Old or Inherited Piano Worth Restoring?

The piano has been in the family for a long time, or it came to you with a house, or it was left to you and you never learned to play. It still sits against the wall, a little dusty, a few keys that don't answer, and every so often someone asks whether it's worth doing something about it. The decision you're stuck on isn't whether pianos are lovely. It's whether this one deserves the work.

Sentiment is a fair reason to restore a piano. It is not, by itself, a reason to assume the instrument can be brought back. The honest answer depends on what's underneath the case, and it's worth finding that out before you spend anything or move the piano anywhere.

What tends to make a good candidate

A piano is a good candidate when the structure is still sound and the problems are the kind that can be put right. A worn or damaged case finish, sticking or uneven keys, a pedal that no longer works properly, and general neglect after years of being left alone are all things a restorer can look at and talk through. The frame and the soundboard, the parts that hold everything together and give the piano its voice, matter most.

Look at the piano as a whole. Does it sit level? Is the case straight, or is there a gap or a bow somewhere? Is the finish worn, or has it lifted and cracked? These are things you can see without any tools, and they help you describe the piano before anyone opens it up.

What can make a piano not worth the work

Some pianos have problems that no amount of care will undo. A cracked soundboard, a frame that has failed or damage from water or long, damp storage can leave an instrument that isn't worth the work it would take. Heavy insect damage or a case that has come apart is similar. If we see that, we'll say so plainly, because you deserve to know before you commit.

It's also fair to say that a piano can be sound and still not be right for you. If the room is too small, if nobody will play it, or if the family would honestly rather have the space, restoring it won't fix that. Choosing not to restore is a perfectly good outcome.

Send a photo of the piano through our contact form. A view of the whole instrument, one of the keys, and a close look at anything that worries you gives Bob, Jenny and Dick a real place to start. You don't need to know the make or the age, and you don't need to have it moved first.

What to look at before you decide

• Where it has lived. A piano kept in a steady room has had a different life from one left in a garage or a damp outbuilding.
• How it has been treated. Has it been played, tuned and looked after, or left closed for a long time?
• What you can see. Cracks, lifted finish, keys that stick or sit unevenly, and any sign of water or insects.
• What you want from it. A piece to play every day, a family instrument to keep in the room, or something you simply don't want to lose.

None of that has to be settled in one sitting. Write down what you notice and what you'd like the piano to do, then add it to the photos. If you inherited the piano and are still sorting out what to do, our post on what to do when you inherit a piano covers the first steps.

What comes next

If the piano looks worth pursuing, the next conversation is about what it needs: case work, key and action repair, or something larger. Our piano services page covers what the shop does with pianos beyond moving them. If it needs to travel to the shop, how to move a piano explains why the route through your home matters, and piano storage is worth reading if it has to wait somewhere while you decide.

Moving a piano is a separate job from restoring one, and our piano movers page explains how that works. Tell us about stairs, turns and doorways when you write, because they affect the plan.

We're a family-owned shop in Modesto, in business since 1991, and we'd rather tell you a piano isn't worth the work than take it on to be polite. For pianos in Modesto, Turlock, Ceres, Riverbank, Oakdale, Manteca, Stockton or Tracy, send a photo or two and tell us what you've noticed. We'll tell you what we think, including if the answer is that it doesn't need us.