So my in-laws have this gorgeous baby grand piano that is about 100 years old now. It doesn't play well. Several keys get stuck and the whole keyboard would need to be replaced. The soundboard is broken, and I have been quoted 10-20k for a restoration to it. It's been moved several times over past 10 years at great cost and time and effort. My in-laws are selling their house again and we don't have space for this baby grand except in our outdoor storage on our property and they are not able to keep it at their new place out of state.

I don't think we'll ever want to spend that sort of money to restore it. It doesn't have much value now as it is. We are a little sentimental to it but none of my kids enjoy playing piano. So one of my friends suggested making a wood based project like furniture out of it. I have a friend that is very good with wood working and he's up for it, but wanted to see if anybody else had insights.

Posted on this board due to it being a wood working based question.

OB so tannerite.

Edit to say with a mannequin in a tuxedo seated like it's playing.

Donate it to a church garage sale. Make them pick it up. Write off at tax time.

bam02 said:

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OB so tannerite.

Edit to say with a mannequin in a tuxedo seated like it's playing.

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That does look like fun.

Does it have real ivory keys??

No, just turtle skin hammer covers with a narwhal tusk as the rod that holds the cover up. Jk

Don't know what I would do with ivory keys. That's an interesting thought though.

I turned our old piano into a bar

techno-ag said:

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Donate it to a church garage sale. Make them pick it up. Write off at tax time.

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As someone who has run many church garage sales, please do not do this. I understand why you are saying this, but it is going to end up costing that church quite a bit of $, time, and headache.

There is very little value that you can actually write off without fudging, and it will be FAR less than the expense and hassle of coming to pick it up (which the church will absorb). They will also not be able to easily sell a piano at garage sale. ESPECIALLY one that needs 20k worth of work. The result will net the church practically nothing.

Check to see if there is a local Suzuki music program in your area. Lots of kids go through that program and could likely help you find a place for this piano.

My 14 year old son has been playing cello through the Suzuki program in Amarillo for almost 8 years now. As a matter of fact, he's headed to Omaha, NE tomorrow (after football camp) for a week long orchestra program.

cupofjoe04 said:

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techno-ag said:

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Donate it to a church garage sale. Make them pick it up. Write off at tax time.

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As someone who has run many church garage sales, please do not do this. I understand why you are saying this, but it is going to end up costing that church quite a bit of $, time, and headache.

There is very little value that you can actually write off without fudging, and it will be FAR less than the expense and hassle of coming to pick it up (which the church will absorb). They will also not be able to easily sell a piano at garage sale. ESPECIALLY one that needs 20k worth of work. The result will net the church practically nothing.

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I disagree. When I was a kid our church garage sales made bank. We were always surprised at what sold. Nowadays I try and find out what any big items I gave sold for, so no fudging. I usually don't worry about the small stuff. But even broken appliances and other big items sell. One church in BCS does this every year and rakes in the bucks. They'd be happy to take it.

Since you posted this in the OB, send it to Demolition Ranch for ballistics testing

My last roommate and his brother had an interesting disposal method for this kind of piano. They'd drive across Denton, pick it up in a small truck, fail to secure it or slap it and say "That ain't going anywhere!", drive slow toward the house, accelerate to usual speed westbound on Scripture, and then turn hard south on Normal. Make sure no one is standing between the sidewalk and the curb on the west side of Normal when doing this. It's also helpful if bulk trash day is tomorrow.

That thing will never be a piano again. Try the friend to woodwork it or just trash it

techno-ag said:

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cupofjoe04 said:

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techno-ag said:

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Donate it to a church garage sale. Make them pick it up. Write off at tax time.

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As someone who has run many church garage sales, please do not do this. I understand why you are saying this, but it is going to end up costing that church quite a bit of $, time, and headache.

There is very little value that you can actually write off without fudging, and it will be FAR less than the expense and hassle of coming to pick it up (which the church will absorb). They will also not be able to easily sell a piano at garage sale. ESPECIALLY one that needs 20k worth of work. The result will net the church practically nothing.

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I disagree. When I was a kid our church garage sales made bank. We were always surprised at what sold. Nowadays I try and find out what any big items I gave sold for, so no fudging. I usually don't worry about the small stuff. But even broken appliances and other big items sell. One church in BCS does this every year and rakes in the bucks. They'd be happy to take it.

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cupofjoe is correct. Your anecdotal evidence from 40 years ago when you were a kid means nothing in this discussion.

People go to church garage sales looking for a bargain. A broken appliance may need a new motor or a relay or something easy. A heating element maybe.

Those don't require a bill for $10k-$20k plus the cost of movers (probably a couple of moves).

This "make it somebody else's problem" attitude is pervasive in our country right now. Please don't add to the problem.

OP, either do something like the bar idea or have it hauled to some remote property for the tannerite idea or just hauled to the landfill.

The cost alone for moving a piano of that size is going to be a problem.

Maybe some outdoor wedding venue would take it for quirky photo ops with brides outside.

maroon barchetta said:

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Maybe some outdoor wedding venue would take it for quirky photo ops with brides outside.

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This is easily the most profitable future for this piano.

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Your anecdotal evidence from 40 years ago when you were a kid means nothing

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The market for real pianos, antique wood furniture, old china, silverware, your granny's old figurines, etc. has absolutely collapsed. The exception would be mid-century modern stuff. Everything else you'll be lucky to give away.

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It may get worse but even if this is the nadir and there is little to no indication it is it's bad. It's really, really bad. Like, surveying the wreckage of an economic battlefield, bombs and bodies strewn everywhere, bad. The numbers speak for themselves. The high end of the market has collapsed from its previous peak by 70%. The rest of the market has been decimated, sinking by 90% or more off those same record highs, causing a near total losses on an inflation-adjusted basis for people who accumulated property at the apex thinking it would serve as a satisfactory investment vehicle.

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https://www.joshuakennon.com/antique-furniture-prices-have-collapsed/

CraigsList free section. You'll find someone who'll come get it.

The idea is not for the church to make full market value. That's not the point of a garage sale. You're thinking antique store prices.

And my anecdotal evidence still holds true at our church every summer.

techno-ag said:

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The idea is not for the church to make full market value. That's not the point of a garage sale. You're thinking antique store prices.

And my anecdotal evidence still holds true at our church every summer.

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Sounds like you should volunteer to come get it from the OP for your next garage sale.

Ags helping Ags!

96ags said:

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techno-ag said:

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The idea is not for the church to make full market value. That's not the point of a garage sale. You're thinking antique store prices.

And my anecdotal evidence still holds true at our church every summer.

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Sounds like you should volunteer to come get it from the OP for your next garage sale.

Ags helping Ags!

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Step 1: Make garrotes with piano wire
Step 2: Sell garrotes at gun shows
Step 3: Profit!

If it's hard to move then take the sawzall to it

K_P said:

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If it's hard to move then take the sawzall to it

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How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time!

When my daughter was learning to play, her first piano was an old scrap from someone's barn that had 3 keys that didn't work, that was given to her for free as a learner.

When she started getting good we junked it and got a better piano.

texAZtea said:

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maroon barchetta said:

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Maybe some outdoor wedding venue would take it for quirky photo ops with brides outside.

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This is easily the most profitable future for this piano.

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That's actually a creative and genius idea.

96ags said:

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techno-ag said:

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The idea is not for the church to make full market value. That's not the point of a garage sale. You're thinking antique store prices.

And my anecdotal evidence still holds true at our church every summer.

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Sounds like you should volunteer to come get it from the OP for your next garage sale.

Ags helping Ags!

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If he can wait a year. The one I usually donate junk to made over $50,000 this summer.

Had a similar situation a few years ago. My great-grandfather, who I was very close to, left me a 100+ year old Mason & Hamlin grand piano that was the **** in the piano community. I paid $1,000's of dollars over 20 years storing it until I got a big enough house to put it in. Had kids and decided that the piano needed to go to someone that appreciated it. 15 years ago it was worth $20,000+, so I decided to cash out. Called piano storage place that did restoration/sales, and she said the piano market had declined so much that she wasn't sure if she could sell it for $1,000 but she would try. After 6 months she called me back and said they were going out of business after 50 years and I could pay her $200 to send it to the dump or come pick it up.

lazuras_dc said:

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I turned our old piano into a bar

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The bar idea seems cool.

I'd salvage the ivory. Seems like something interesting could be done with it. Same with the ebony.

Any way to tie a modern synthesizer into it? Might be much cheaper than replacing the sound board. (My entire knowledge of pianos comes from watching family member recitals - all two of them - so my apologies if that's an illogical suggestion.)

bam02 said:

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texAZtea said:

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maroon barchetta said:

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Maybe some outdoor wedding venue would take it for quirky photo ops with brides outside.

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This is easily the most profitable future for this piano.

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That's actually a creative and genius idea.

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Thank you.

Can you post a photo of the manufacturer's label or tag?

I'm curious about a piano that would take a $10-$20,000.00 restoration. Is it a Steinway? A Baldwin? A Bosendorfer?

As commented by others, pianos in general do not retain value so finding a way to give it away or donate it is likely the best option but there are a handful of piano brands that retain and even appreciate in value. A 5-figure restoration quote is suggestive of a higher end piano so tannerite or local dump might not be the best available solution.

Edit to add: If you don't want to hassle with it and you don't want to destroy it, post it on Facebook Marketplace, Craig's List, maybe local classifieds, as a "Free to Take" item. There has to be someone out there willing to come and pick up/haul off a piano for free, even if it needs some work.

Find a fighter squadron who has recently lost a pilot.

https://sierrahotel.net/blogs/news/the-burning-piano

Quote:

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As more pilots completed their flight training and flew to the front lines, it soon became clear that although well trained and proficient in the art of piloting an aircraft, they were lacking in certain "je ne sais quoi" in socially acceptable qualities. In hopes of adding a bit of culture and civility to the growing group of fearless yet under-groomed aviators…pianos were ordered to be brought onto multiple air bases, and displeased pilots were forced to attend piano lessons as part of their training.

For some unknown reason, that no aircrew on base could explain, or have any knowledge of, when one particular piano stationed at RAF Leuchars inexplicably suffered extensive fire damage one evening, and was completely destroyed. Sadly, this was the only piano located at the base, and all piano lessons had to be cancelled. Reports surfaced shortly after of similar unexplained fires occurring at other RAF bases…

There is another legend that originated sometime during the second world war involving an unknown air base, and a nameless piano playing pilot, and this is the reason the tradition continues in air forces around the world.

According to legend, each time the squadron lost one of its members, the pilot would play a piano piece as a tribute to his fellow fallen airmen. Then came a day when the piano playing pilot himself failed to return from a mission, and there was no-one to play the piano for him.
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That evening, the piano was brought outside the barracks and set aflame in symbolic silent tribute to the missing airman, and a tradition was born.

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CanyonAg77 said:

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Find a fighter squadron who has recently lost a pilot.

https://sierrahotel.net/blogs/news/the-burning-piano

Quote:

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As more pilots completed their flight training and flew to the front lines, it soon became clear that although well trained and proficient in the art of piloting an aircraft, they were lacking in certain "je ne sais quoi" in socially acceptable qualities. In hopes of adding a bit of culture and civility to the growing group of fearless yet under-groomed aviators…pianos were ordered to be brought onto multiple air bases, and displeased pilots were forced to attend piano lessons as part of their training.

For some unknown reason, that no aircrew on base could explain, or have any knowledge of, when one particular piano stationed at RAF Leuchars inexplicably suffered extensive fire damage one evening, and was completely destroyed. Sadly, this was the only piano located at the base, and all piano lessons had to be cancelled. Reports surfaced shortly after of similar unexplained fires occurring at other RAF bases…

There is another legend that originated sometime during the second world war involving an unknown air base, and a nameless piano playing pilot, and this is the reason the tradition continues in air forces around the world.

According to legend, each time the squadron lost one of its members, the pilot would play a piano piece as a tribute to his fellow fallen airmen. Then came a day when the piano playing pilot himself failed to return from a mission, and there was no-one to play the piano for him.
.
That evening, the piano was brought outside the barracks and set aflame in symbolic silent tribute to the missing airman, and a tradition was born.

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Really like the idea of turning the piano into a bar or something useful.
AgGrams could probably have a nice business of doing this!