My parents are making a gift of an old piano. Formerly the piano belonged to my grandmother's aunt. The piano is a George Steck circa 1937 or 1945. The delivery date is 12-28-20. The piano is in tune. The travel is about 75 miles.

Can the piano sit on a tile floor or does it need a base? Any particulars for the care? TIA.

Ours sits on carpet with a normal sub-floor, so can't answer the question about tile.

I think the 75 mile journey will most likely alter the tuning. I'd give it a few months for the wood to acclimate to the new location, house humidity, etc before getting it retuned.

Not sure about tile, but our mini upright is fine on hardwood.

Have always heard to not put a piano on an exterior wall.

Our tuner recommend 3-4 visits to get it fully tuned. Tune, settle, repeat, 4x.

Is it a spinet, console, upright, baby grand or grand? It may need a tune after moving depending on how exacting you are about the sound. Our console model just sits on carpet which has padding underneath and seems to be fine. I would think tile would be fine. They don't like temperature or humidity changes very much. I can't imagine 3 or 4 visits to achieve an accurate tune unless this is a Steinway Grand and you are playing it tonight in Carnegie Hall before a sold out audience.

My only concern would be that a tile floor might be a cold, humid base for the piano. It might be better to have a buffer of some kind between it and the piano.

flashguy

The piano is an upright.

My parents had a spinet (I THINK) that sat for years on carpet. When my dad passed away my brother-in-law purchased it from the estate. The professional piano movers came out and gave it a close examination and suggested it be tuned once in it's new home and acclimated. It now sits on hardwood flooring. Those professional movers were amazing that they were able to move it so quickly and easily.

I'd put it on a rug for a couple of reasons. First you will have a lot of echo or at least it will sound extra loud. Next, as mentioned, it is typically best to keep a piano off a tile floor for humidity/ moisture reasons. Next, don't place it under or over a heat register as blowing hot and cold air are hard on pianos. I would also keep it out of direct sunlight. Finally, you don't want it placed against an outside wall or near an outside door as temperature changes are hard on pianos too.

Unless you're going to actually use it, a piano is practically epitome of a "white elephant " gift.

Please consider preparing your home for a delivery. Sweep the drive and walk. Remove the wreath from the front door. Remove area and throw rugs. Etc. Think about a heavy object on any slanted paths and talk the crew through these situations.