We finally installed the suspended pipe beneath our main support beam. This distressed half-inch galvanized pipe supported by half-inch galvanized eyebolts is a feature that has been continuously evolving ever since we first imagined hanging a suspended chair right in front of the fireplace.
At first we were just thinking a couple of fixed eyebolts to be able to sit in front of the fire or as extra seating in the house. Then Liz had the great idea to thread a rod through the eyebolts so you could move the attachment point wherever you wanted.
This change necessitated much more carefully drilled holes so everything would be perfectly aligned which meant a trip back to Reclaim NW for a new beam.
After that we used a distressing technique that we developed so we could reuse a bunch of the original galvanized pipe that came out of the Victorian house that we remodeled a couple years ago.
The process starts with scrubbing all the pieces with toilet bowl cleaner and letting it sit for a couple hours, then we clean everything off and carefully wipe on Super Blue, a rather expensive metal etching acid. After that we use a scrubbing pad to remove just the right amount of the Super Blue.
The overall deep grey effect is industrial but not overbearing, maybe a little more elegant than the black pipe detail that is so trendy these days!
- Brian
