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Placing My Piano In My Home
"Is it wrong to place a piano against an outside wall? How far from
the fireplace must it be? Can I keep my piano in an unheated room?"
These are all common questions posed by piano owners. The answers lie
in two important criteria: temperature and humidity.
Pianos are mostly wood and are greatly affected by seasonal
change. Variations in the air's relative humidity, and to a lesser
extent temperature, cause a piano to go out of tune. In the long run,
repeated swings in relative humidity can cause damage to the finish,
cracking of the wooden soundboard, and even structural failure. So,
when locating your piano, try to choose a spot with the fewest drafts,
no direct sunlight and stable temperature and humidity.
Common lore says that a piano should always be on an inside wall. This
is not necessarily true. If your home is well insulated, an outside
wall will usually be fine, as long as the piano is not directly in
front of a window or close to a furnace vent or other source of warm
(or cold) air.
Evenness of humidity and temperature is what you should strive
for. Thus, a piano in an unheated room is better off than one in a
family room that's alternately heated, cooled and ventilated with open
windows.
Remember:
- If the piano is facing a fireplace or heater and its surface feels warm, it's too close.
- Avoid direct sunlight; it will wreak havoc on your piano's tuning and eventually fade and crack the finish.
- Consistency is more important than the actual levels of temperature or relative humidity.
If you can't find a suitable location, have a climate control system
installed in the instrument itself. These units can greatly improve
tuning stability and other climate-related problems where it's not
practical to control the environment of the entire house.
Information provided by: Piano Technician Guild
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