Restoration
About us
We have been repairing and restoring every type and size of reed organ and harmonium for over twenty years, so we have a wealth of skills and experience at your service. We use the same traditional materials and techniques as the original builders, and we have a good stock of "period" replacement parts rescued from derelict instruments. Your instrument will receive the same respectful attention whether it is a simple parlour organ or a prestige museum piece, from a cottage or from a cathedral.
Costs
There are hundreds of makes and models of reed organ with varying complexity and differing repair/restoration needs, so we can never tell you exact costs before seeing the instrument. However we can give you likely top, bottom and average costs for a particular type of work, and we promise never to spring any hidden charges on you. We work in two ways:
1. Site Visits
. . . are suitable where the work can be done in a day and you live within about 80 miles of Newmarket. We have a mileage charge for the round trip and an hourly charge on site, plus cost of materials. Site Visits generally cost between £60 and about £300 depending on distance travelled and hours worked. The cheaper alternative is for you to bring the organ to our workshop for a day: obviously this will avoid our transport charges, but also the hourly rate in the workshop is less than it is on site.
2. Workshop Restoration
. . . is necessary when more extensive overhauls and/or repairs are required or desired. You can bring or send the organ to us, or we will transport it from and to anywhere in mainland UK. It is unlikely that full workshop restoration will cost you less than £500, or more than £1,500. If funds are tight we are happy to do the work a bit at a time.
Waiting Lists
The waiting list for Site Visits is about 6 weeks though we will try to do better if the case is urgent. The waiting list for Workshop Restoration is usually upwards of about 18 months. Please let us know as soon as you decide you would like to join either list.
Payment
There is no VAT to pay on any of our charges. Site Visits must be paid for on the day. For Workshop Restoration we will contact you when your name nears the top of the waiting list to arrange transport by us or by you. In the workshop we dismantle and examine the organ, then send to you a detailed Estimate with each item costed and flagged as either Essential, Advisable or Possible so you will have a clear picture of costs and priorities and can specify how much or little is to be done. We require a deposit of about a third of the total when work begins and the balance in full at the time the organ is collected or returned.
