Seeking information on Welmar upright piano

[pidgeonpost]

Hello - I'm new to the forum, know nothing about pianos, and wonder if someone can help please. Last month my Mother-in-law managed to flood her bathroom. The water came through the downstairs ceiling and into her Welmar piano. The insurance company has declared the instrument as 'beyond economical repair' and have offered either a cash settlement, or a replacement piano of equal quality. The problem is we don't know what a similar piano would cost today. I'm afraid we don't have much to go on, except that the piano was bought in the late '60's/early 70's, and it appears to be in a mahogany case. We found the number 76102 on the piano, which might help someone identify the model and year of manufacture. If anyone can provide any additional information, or give us some pointers to other sources of information we would be very grateful.
Many thanks...

[PianoGuy]

It's a 1976 piano. If you can send me a pic on piano-guy@hotmail.co.uk I can identify the model.

The insurance company should still be able to supply her with a new Welmar, since as mentioned in a recent post here the last British-built Welmars were bought by a Cheltenham piano dealer and they may well have some available. From recollection the Cheltenham Piano Centre is the place, but Barrie may be able to correct me on this.

As for a cash settlement it all depends on what the policy states. In reality your old Welmar was probably not worth a grand if you needed to sell it prior to its soaking, but the cost of a new one would be probably about £5,000. If you have a 'new for old' policy then they should supply a new piano really.

Where in the UK are you?

[pidgeonpost]

Thanks for the quick reply! Unfortunately I don't have a picture to hand, though I may be able to get one during the next week. I've had a quick look at the Cheltenham Piano Centre web-site. They don't list any new Welmars, but I guess that doesn't mean that they don't have any. The insurance company seem to be offering a new-for-old deal - i.e. they have offered either a cash settlement or the purchase of a piano of similar quality. If, as you estimate, it might cost in the region of £5000 to purchase something similar today, can you suggest any manufacturer or model that would come close?
If my Mother in Law decides that she simply has to have another Welmar, that's a different problem of course...
I realise that I may be asking the impossible here of course - and thanks again for your help. The lady concerned lives about 4 miles from Cheltenham by the way!

[PianoGuy]

It's difficult to suggest a current equivalent to a Welmar. The closest would be a Kemble I suppose, seeing as they're the only British Built piano around these days. In their heyday, Welmar were a bit more upmarket than Kemble, so a top range Kemble Conservatoire or Mozart possibly may fit the bill....?

[pidgeonpost]

That's really helpful - better than a stab in the dark on my part! Actually, her existing water damaged piano has (to the uninitiated) dried out quite well. Basically most of the water ran down into the back of the piano, with only a small amount splashing onto the top and running down into the keyboard area. Initially quite a few keys were sticking, but after a month of drying out there are just a couple of sticky keys (or maybe hammers?), and it is playable. The cabinet has water marks of course.
If I can get a photo or two I'll email them to you. Thanks again.

[Grenache]

Hi, I had a similar problem a couple of years ago.

My central heating boiler burst (only 8 months old) and flooded the house. The piano sat in a wet room for a few days, then they brought in dehumidifiers drawing one litre of water out of the air every hour for a few days

So, the piano casing suffered and it seemed to play ok when it dried out, though it was badly out of tune, but I agreed with the insurance company that I wanted it tuned and then to wait to see if it would hold the tuning. Three tunings and a year later they agreed to replace it, following a report from my tuner.

I went to a dealer who wrote a report comparing the quality of piano mine had been at the time it was new (80 years ago) and suggesting a new model of comparative relative quality. I'm getting it delivered next week

So, I suggest that if the piano is to be replaced, ask for a tuner's report regarding the condition of the piano, and speak to a dealer regarding what the new value of a replacement piano would be (assuming your insurance is new-for-old).

[PianoGuy]

That's really helpful - better than a stab in the dark on my part! Actually, her existing water damaged piano has (to the uninitiated) dried out quite well.

Sorry! double post!

[PianoGuy]

That's really helpful - better than a stab in the dark on my part! Actually, her existing water damaged piano has (to the uninitiated) dried out quite well.

There's the word!

If a piano has been affected that badly by water that keys stick, then the likelihood is that permanent damage has occurred since glues tend to degrade with water. The result of the moisture may not be obvious now but almost certainly things will not all be well in that piano and could reveal themselves later!

In these cases, usually the insurance company will send a tuner/technician out to look at it and send them (if not you!) a report. Has this been done?

[pidgeonpost]

More useful information - thanks to PianoGuy and Grenache. As to having a report on the condition of the piano is concerned, that's where things get a bit muddy. My Ma-in-Law has severe memory problems (but still plays the piano well). When we visited a week or so back there was a business card on the piano from a tuner. We're not sure whether he was summoned by the insurance company or by M-i-L. We're trying to contact him to clarify things.
It's very useful to know that although superficially a piano may appear to have dried out OK it may still have irreparable damage.
I'll keep you posted on how this progresses.