You know what sparks joy? (now that I'm on a laptop and not phone) This:



This would totally spark joy. Except, I somhow suspect I might feel self conscious about actually using it....

AdagioM, thank you for thinking of it! I'm going to go check on WTG's links.

BTW Q-L, at this point I no longer remember the details, but when we had the house inspection, I talked to the inspector about the floor and he said he didn't think there was any concern. IIRC we also talked to a carpenter who said we could have him go into the crawl space (the piano room is on the side of the house that's over the crawl space, not the finished part of the basement) and you could add... not sister joints? I don't remember, but he said because there's a crawl space it would be relatively easy to strengthen the floor from below. He also said that would be overkill.

I can't imagine that any house built since about 1950 would have any problem holding a piano. According to a quick Wiki lookup, the average weight of a grand piano is 500-1200 lbs. Let's say you had 6 members of the college football team in your house. If they stood together and did a high five, would you worry that your floor would collapse underneath them? Nope. Yet 6 good-sized guys are probably well over 1,000 lbs.

Unless you have substantial termite damage (doubtful), your floor will support a piano just fine.

No fear!

quote:

Originally posted by Steve Miller:

quote:

Originally posted by AdagioM:
I had one of those floor templates a long time ago. I was going to send it to you, but I don’t see it here in my house any more...

Perhaps it no longer sparked joy.

I kept it for a while because it was amusing!

I had an inspector in to evaluate my floor before the 9' Mason was delivered. (1400 lbs.) We put it in the spot where, in the basement, there is an extra parallel wall 3 feet from the main wall; the piano is supported by both. Not the best spot acoustically (parallel walls in the music room) but it's OK.

I think about moving the piano at an angle to improve the acoustics but have not done so. It probably wouldn't hurt.

Put it wherever you like. It will sag long before it breaks, giving you ample time to add some blocking if necessary.

quote:

Originally posted by Steve Miller:
Put it wherever you like. It will sag long before it breaks, giving you ample time to add some blocking if necessary.

Are you replying to my post or earlier ones?

Um, the floor already sage because it's a very old 1885 house. Not sure how that figures into the calculations. But that's age-sagging, not weight-sagging, so maybe not critical?

Sag is sag. You don’t want to allow floor sag to affect piano sag over the years.

That said, I have no idea how you measure piano sag. If you can still play it you’re probably ok.

Oh, maybe I was unclear. I'm not worried about the piano itself sagging. The floor is just uneven because of the house settling.

quote:

Originally posted by RealPlayer:
Oh, maybe I was unclear. I'm not worried about the piano itself sagging. The floor is just uneven because of the house settling.

Unlevel floors are pretty typical in old houses. If it bothers you, you can usually correct it by installing jacks under the floor. Having a heavy piano on the floor probably makes the floor sag happen more quickly.

What I wonder is if sitting on an unlevel floor will damage a piano over time.

quote:

Originally posted by Steve Miller:

quote:

Originally posted by RealPlayer:
Oh, maybe I was unclear. I'm not worried about the piano itself sagging. The floor is just uneven because of the house settling.

Unlevel floors are pretty typical in old houses. If it bothers you, you can usually correct it by installing jacks under the floor. Having a heavy piano on the floor probably makes the floor sag happen more quickly.

What I wonder is if sitting on an unlevel floor will damage a piano over time.

i imagine it could affect the action over time, unless it is very slight. when we moved my piano into our 1890 rental house, i had to shim the piano legs to get the piano level. yup, used a long carpenter's level across the keyboard to check it.