Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum Help with remodling choices please

Before my new piano is delivered I am remodeling some. I was worried about to much tile and the possiblity of echoing. The room the piano will be in is carpet, however the neighboring room areas are getting tile. The rooms are connected with large doorways and half walls. I have the option of putting carpet opposite the tile against a far wall, in hopes that any sound that would bounce off that wall could get muted and not echo back to me. If that makes any sense. My husband is against the idea of the extra carpet cause he just likes the look of tile better. This is my first piano, and so I have little experience with such things. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

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Before installing anything on the far wall, try angling the piano a little so that when the lid is opened, sound is not projected directly at it. Soft decorative objects mounted in the openings above the half walls will break up sound waves and absorb some of them.

Welcome to the forum, Biizare!

Seeing as it's always a good idea to please one's hubby when possible, I'd say go with the tile. You can always lay down lots of area rugs after the fact if you get too much echoing.

[edit: I somehow skimmed over the part that the piano is not yet delivered ... disregard the following p.s.]
p.s. Do you have the piano yet? If so, make sure you have a cover or big drop cloth and keep the piano covered up when you're not playing to protect it from the inevitable construction dust.

Yup; haven't you heard? Husbands are always right. Do what the man says, and you will have a happy life. Now, if I could just convince my wife.

Seriously, though . . . my piano is in my "great room." It is entirely tile, and there are 2 big windows and a pair of French doors leading to the patio. There's not a fiber of carpet in sight, and I think it sounds just wonderful. There's really no way to tell until you get the piano in there and try it out.

Hi Biizare,

If you are talking about a delayed echo, that would probably not happen in a home environment. There is just too much stuff, such as furniture, that would break up the sound patterns. I think you are asking about acoustics and room resonance.

There is no way to predict, in advance, unless you hired one of the great concert hall acoustical designers. Often, that doesn't even work.

Relax and just finish up the remodeling project and see how the piano sounds when it is delivered. Even in an existing environment, a piano never sounds the same as it did in the showroom.

Are you getting a grand or a vertical? A grand, with the lid up, will cary more punch and what you hear will be more affected by the room acoustics, - echo. With the lid down and at the keyboard, you will hear a sound that is less affected by the room.

Yours is a great question. Unfortunately there are no concrete answers until the piano arrives.

Welcome to the PW forums!