Pipe Organ Repair and Emergency Guidance

Tell us what is happening, and be specific. The most useful reports describe what the organ is doing (which note, stop, or division; whether the fault is constant or intermittent), when it started, what happened to the building around the same time if anything did, and what you saw, heard, or smelled from the console and the room. If you are not sure how to describe a fault, Remote Triage walks through what to record before you call.

Our office is open Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Central Time. A request for emergency service can be submitted at any hour, by existing and prospective customers alike. Include the instrument’s location, the problem, your contact details, and any upcoming service or performance affected. Availability and the next step depend on the situation; submitting a request does not confirm a service appointment.

What happens next depends on the problem. Some faults can be discussed and scheduled from your description. Others need a diagnosis visit, a site evaluation, or a review of the instrument’s records before we can say what the repair involves and propose it in writing. Where the fault involves a manufactured control system or components that need factory parts or information, we coordinate with the manufacturer on your behalf. The scope of any repair, and who performs each part of it, is set out in the written proposal you accept.

Stop using the organ if you notice smoke, a burning smell, unexpected heat, or signs of overheating. Do not restart it to see whether the problem has cleared. Keep clear of affected equipment and arrange a check by a qualified person.

Do not touch wet electrical equipment or attempt to disconnect wiring. Electrical isolation, evaluation, and return to service need to be handled by qualified people through the building’s emergency and electrical procedures.

A wind leak, noisy blower, or loss of pressure also needs a technician’s attention. Describe the symptoms and ask whether continued use is appropriate. If there is any concern about safety, stop using the organ until it has been checked.

A fire, or water flowing onto live equipment, is a building emergency before it is an organ problem. For fire or immediate danger, contact emergency services and follow the building’s emergency procedures. Contact us about the instrument once people are safe.

For water, the trigger for contacting an organbuilder is evidence of water near the organ, not visible damage to it. Diocesan organ-care guidance from Church Music Dublin, approved in 2019, says that if water is found near the instrument, advice should be sought from an organbuilder immediately. Keep clear of wet equipment and leave electrical isolation and inspection to qualified personnel.

Do not go inside the instrument. The Organ Historical Trust of Australia restricts access to the interior of an organ to organ specialists or persons under their supervision, and church conservation guidance says the same: only suitably qualified people should be allowed inside an organ. Conservation guidance for keyboard instruments adds that covers and components are not removed without the relevant expertise, that organ reeds are never casually touched because the slightest contact can change their sound, and that an instrument is not operated unless it is certain to be in working condition.

While waiting for advice, report only what you can observe safely from the room and keep a record. Do not attempt to clean damage or residue. Nothing should be stored inside the organ; it damages the instrument and is a fire risk.

Write down what happened. Guidelines approved in 2019 by the Diocesan Councils of the United Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough recommend a logbook at the console in which users record faults, such as notes not working or unusual noises, so that a service visit gives the most benefit. An incident belongs in the same record. Note what happened, when, what you saw, heard, and smelled, and what has been done to the building since. A technician who was not there can only work from what the people who were there observed.

Each of these situations has its own page with the detail that applies to it.

• Water has reached the organ, or you have found evidence of water near it: Roof Leaks and Water Damage follows the water from its source, whether roof, gutter, plumbing, or condenser, to the instrument, and explains what a wetted organ needs before anyone tries to dry it.
• Fire, smoke, or a discharged suppression system: Fire, Smoke and Suppression-System Damage explains what the residue or the discharged agent means for the organ before anything is cleaned.
• Droppings, nesting material, or gnawed material in or around the organ: Rodent and Pest Damage Inside an Organ explains what that evidence means and why the cleanup is not an owner task.
• A fault you need to describe before calling: Remote Triage covers what to record from the console and the room.

If nothing has happened to the building and the organ has simply developed a fault, such as a note that sounds on its own, a stop that has gone silent, or a key that has stopped responding, start with problem-diagnosis guidance and report the fault to us. Tell us if it prevents use of the organ or affects an upcoming service or performance.