Brooke here:
Yesterday I spent a good bit of time on a roof repairing water-damaged wood and Brown was below replastering drywall, but neither of these were at the new house so they don’t count. In our absence, Elizabeth rebuilt the Labyrinth. As most projects do, it started with a single idea which grabbed the bit in its teeth; we planned to slap on some sealant to waterproof the walls and we ended up with an entirely new shelving system.
See, the shelves at one time might have been intended to be structural, and yes, there’s a lot of passivity in this sentence for a reason. The majority of the 2×4 support posts had rotted away at the bottom, leaving… oh, I don’t know. Peril?
After finishing the first coat of waterblock sealant, Elizabeth pointed out how she couldn’t slather the second coat on the walls until the shelves were down. I sighed and immediately started ripping out the struts. Eli lunged forward and said, in the tone of voice used when you don’t want to spook a wild animal, that since we didn’t actually know what was holding up the ceiling we should perhaps postpone the teardown until we installed some new supports. I could not disagree.
We cleaned out the local Home Depot’s supply of 2x12s and Eli went to town. New supports and shelves against the far wall came first, and then she backtracked to the wall with the original shelves. Throughout the process, she sealed the walls with waterblock or primer. Here’s the breakdown:
It’s not really possible to appreciate the difference in the photos, as the feel of the room has been absolutely transformed. The Labyrinth has gone from a room used to store dead hookers to an actual functioning part of the house. It is unreal and fantastic.
Oh, and because I promised, here is a picture of the pipes.
My friend Fuzz noted that it is not uncommon to hold pipes in place using aluminum support straps. I noted it is very uncommon to hold a pipe in place using an unfastened aluminum strap and a single 3-inch long nail. Which, now that I’m taking the time to actually look at it, appears worryingly close to ripping straight out of the wood…
I’ll be right back.
Flying by night 
OMG, that Elizabeth woman sounds amazing! Do you happen to have her number? (o;
Seriously, it is great to have some documentation of her work. We always talk about doing “before” and “after” photos of projects, but never seem to accomplish this feat. Great to see how excellent the labyrinth is looking!
I don’t know why you changed it; it’s always good to place to store a dead hooker or two. 😛
What a lovely woman. Wise in the ways of home repairs. Though she fails at storing dead hookers.
As for things held on by a single nail, I wish I had a picture of the floorboard in geniously laid across one in a busy hallway.
You have your work cut out for you. And my sympathies.
I love your house.
Though I am glad I’m watching the progress here rather than participating. 😛