Repairs

FAQ:

1. Does repairing pay off?

Unfortunately, in most cases books are not valuable. The economic write-off is therefore quickly reached. The advice I give to my customers is to consider whether the book is worth as much to them as the repair would cost. Today you can easily find out about the value of a book (or the possible antiquarian new purchase) on the Internet (e.g. zvab.com. or bookfinder.com).

2. What ist the expected cost?

To make a book workable again unfortunately more work is necessary than one thinks. This usually takes some time. So expect the cheapest repairs (spine repairs) to start at 50€.

3. How long can a repair take?

Since one needs rest and leisure for repairing, which is not often found in the daily workshop operation for weeks to come, repairs can take a long time. But normally an average repair takes 4-6 weeks.

4. Can I save anything from the original cover?

This is not always possible, and a new binding is definitely more durable than a binding with old parts stuck on it.

5. What else can be repaired?

Unfortunately, previous repair attempts by laymen usually cause the biggest problems (Tixo, Tesa, UHU and Co.). Sometimes this means the book is no longer repairable. On the other hand, with normal wear and tear or fatigue of the binding, spine repairs, new gluing or gluing of cracks don’t pose any problems in most cases.

6. How to deal with mould?

Books which were stored in cellars, attics or in damp rooms are often affected by mould (recognisable by the distinctive smell or visible mould formation). In this case the bookbinder can’t do anything at all, and the only solution is a cost-intensive restoration by fumigating or treating the book with high-proof alcohol. This only makes sense for very valuable books.