Piano Restoration
4 WEEK FREE EXCHANGE
DISCOUNTED TUNING
UP TO 10 YEAR GUARANTEE
LOCAL FREE DELIVERY
Open 7 Days A Week
PART EXCHANGE
FOURTH GENERATION · FOUNDED IN SUNNINGDALE 1993
Handel Pianos Ltd
Handel Pianos restores and rebuilds pianos of every make and age. A fine instrument that has grown tired - one that no longer holds its tuning, whose action feels heavy or uneven, or whose case has lost its lustre - can be brought fully back to life, often to a standard close to when it was new.
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Restoration is more than repair. Where a repair puts right a single fault, a restoration renews an instrument throughout: restringing with new wire and tuning pins, rebuilding or replacing the action, fitting new hammers, addressing or replacing the soundboard, and refinishing the case, lyre and fittings. The parts that give a piano its value - the frame, the case, the craftsmanship of the great makers - endure; it is the working parts that wear, and those we renew.
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We have our own workshop and qualified restorers, and where a rebuild calls for a specialist hand we work with some of the country's finest. We restore instruments by every maker - Steinway, Bechstein, Blüthner, Bösendorfer and the great English and German names among them.
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If you have a piano you think may be worth restoring, we will come and inspect it, free of charge, within a reasonable distance.
Why restore a piano
A well-made piano is built to last a century and to be restored more than once in its life. The soundboard, the cast-iron frame, the case and the quality of the timber are established when the instrument is made, and in a fine piano they endure for generations. What wears, over decades of playing, is everything that moves and everything that is struck - the hammers, the action's cloth and leather, the strings, the tuning pins, the dampers, the finish.
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All of those can be renewed.
That is the case for restoration. A restored Bechstein or Blüthner from the last century is built from seasoned timber, by hand, to a standard that is now enormously expensive to reproduce - and once restored, it can outperform a new instrument at several times the price. For a family instrument, an inheritance, or a piano with sentimental value, restoration keeps something irreplaceable alive rather than replacing it.
It is often the most rewarding work we do.
What restoration involves
Every instrument is different, and a restoration is tailored to what the piano actually needs. A full rebuild may include:
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Restringing - new strings throughout, with new tuning pins, so the instrument holds its tuning as it should
Action rebuilding - the mechanism that connects keys to hammers, rebuilt or replaced and regulated to the maker's specification
New hammers - replaced and voiced so the tone is even across all eighty-eight notes
Soundboard work - repair, or a new soundboard where required, the component most responsible for a piano's voice
Case restoration - French polishing, repolishing or refinishing, and restoration of veneers, legs, lyre and pedals
Brass and fittings - cleaned, restored or replaced
Regulation and voicing - the final fine adjustment that makes a restored piano a joy to play
Not every piano needs all of this. Part of our inspection is telling you honestly what yours requires, and what it does not.
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Our Workshop
Restoration is skilled, patient work, and it needs proper premises. We have our own workshop and qualified, experienced restorers, and for the most demanding rebuilds we work alongside some of the finest specialist craftsmen in the country - the kind of hands that fit a new soundboard or rebuild the action of a concert grand.
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This is what sets a full dealer apart from a mobile tuner or a general repairer. We restore the pianos we sell, and we restore instruments brought to us by their owners, to the same standard. When we describe the work carried out on a piano, we mean it literally - every stage, done properly, by people who do this for a living.
Frequently asked questions
Often, yes - particularly if it is by a respected maker. The expensive, irreplaceable parts of a piano (the frame, the case, the soundboard, the craftsmanship) endure, while the worn parts can be renewed. A restored instrument by a good maker can outperform a new piano at several times the cost. Whether it is worth it for your specific piano depends on the instrument, which is why our inspection is free.
It depends entirely on the instrument and how much it needs - a partial restoration is far less than a full rebuild. We will give you a clear figure after inspecting the piano, before any work begins.
Yes - every make and age, upright and grand. We work on modern instruments and on older Steinway, Bechstein, Blüthner, Bösendorfer and English and German pianos.
It varies with the depth of work, from a few weeks for a partial restoration to considerably longer for a full rebuild involving a new soundboard and action. We will give you a realistic timescale before we start.
A well-restored piano by a fine maker can equal or surpass a new instrument, because the underlying craftsmanship and materials - especially in older German and English pianos - were often superior to what a comparable budget buys new today.
Yes, and it is some of the most rewarding work we do. Keeping a family instrument playing for another generation is often possible even when the piano seems past its best.