Overheated churches bad for sensitive organ components

ZAANDAM – Dutch organ builder Flentrop is still documenting the damage done to pipe organs by raising temperatures in cold church buildings during a severe cold spell this past winter in the Netherlands. The century-old firm has already identified three such instruments with cracks in fine wooden parts. Flentrop warns that various sensitive parts can sustain significant damage through overheating, costing tens of thousands of euros to repair. A large pipe organ could easily cost a hundred thousand to fix. The company cautions that many organs are not used frequently in church buildings with other uses so that the number of ones with damage could actually be higher.