"Our local piano shop told me that that my piano was beyond repair but I found Toby who literally saved my piano"
(Virginia Water)
Expert Piano Repairs.
Traditional craftsmanship. Thoughtful advice. Lasting repairs.
From a sticking key or unwanted noise to more complex action work, Runnymede Pianos provides expert repairs for upright and grand pianos across Surrey, Sussex, Berkshire, Hampshire and London.
Every piano is different. Before recommending any work, I take the time to understand the instrument, identify the cause of the problem and consider what is appropriate for the piano, its owner and the way it is used.
More than simply fixing a fault.
A piano is a remarkably intricate mechanical instrument. Thousands of individual components work together every time a key is played, and over the years felts compress, springs weaken, wooden parts wear and adjustments gradually change.
The result may be a sticking or sluggish key, an uneven touch, notes that fail to repeat properly, unwanted noises or a piano that simply no longer responds as it once did.
My approach is to find the cause rather than simply treat the symptom.
Repairs can range from straightforward adjustments carried out in your home to more involved action work undertaken in the workshop.
Traditional skills for unusual repairs.
Older pianos sometimes present problems for which a replacement component is no longer available.
This is where traditional piano-making and repair skills become particularly important.
Where appropriate, worn or broken action components can be carefully repaired, adapted or individually made by hand, allowing an otherwise serviceable instrument to continue playing rather than being condemned simply because a particular part can no longer be ordered.
It is a slower and increasingly uncommon way of working, but for the right instrument it can make all the difference.
Experience with pianos old and new.
My training began at the London College of Furniture, where I studied piano tuning, repairs and restoration before continuing my experience at Steinway & Sons in London.
I was fortunate to learn from highly experienced craftsmen at a time when traditional piano repair skills were still very much part of everyday workshop practice.
That background has given me an appreciation for the enormous variety of instruments that have been made over the past century and beyond — from modern Yamaha and Kawai pianos to Steinway, Bechstein, Blüthner, Broadwood and many less familiar British and European makers.
The aim is never to impose the same solution on every piano, but to understand the instrument in front of me.
When a piano means more than its value.
Some pianos are valuable instruments. Others are valuable for entirely different reasons.
A piano may have belonged to a parent or grandparent, been the instrument on which somebody learnt to play, or simply have been part of a family home for decades.
In those circumstances, its financial value tells only part of the story.
Where possible, I will always explore sensible and sympathetic repair options and explain what can realistically be achieved. I will never encourage unnecessary work or suggest replacing an instrument simply because it is old.
Equally, if I believe a repair would not represent sensible value, I will say so.
The important thing is that you have the information you need to make the right decision for your piano.
Repairs considered individually.
Because no two repairs are quite the same, repair work is assessed individually.
Minor faults can often be diagnosed and corrected during a visit. More extensive work may require the piano action, or even the entire piano to be takento the workshop.
Before undertaking significant work, I will explain what I have found, what I recommend and the likely cost.
There are no unnecessary repairs and no pressure to proceed.
Talk to me about your piano.
If your piano has developed a fault, isn’t responding as it should, or you have an older instrument that another technician has been unable to repair, please get in touch.