Don't believe the plumber when he tells you that THE PIPES WILL HOLD UP THE HOUSE!

A PEPSI CAN! Not at all refreshing as a building material.
Here's where the pepsi can is, in the would be kitchen:
A public service announcement from Dineen Contracting, who came for a second estimate on my tragic beam situation. But first, I don't think I've mentioned the discovery of a certain Pepsi can that was cut up and used to secure the water pipes in the kitchen - thanks Mike the contractor! He was a little shocked that "this is my competition?!*?!" I would have never known about the Pepsi can if we hadn't just ripped open the kitchen wall to vent the sink and dishwasher. What dishwasher, I'm sure everyone wants to know? The $1200 18" Miele Incognito dishwasher that has been biding its time in my mother's living room, right next to the embattled square toilet, whose fate is still uncertain. The absurdity of the situation is creeping up on me... the high end fixtures, beautiful tiles, hip design magazines piling up in an apartment that I might as well have hired a kindergarten class to renovate. At first I felt screwed. I'm starting to feel like a fool. I had no idea how wrong it could go.... I guess the lesson is, you want the contractor to be at least half as technically skilled as your dishwahser. The problem is that, even going for the GE instead of the very best (looking) dishwasher I could find, getting a comparable contractor is a lot more expensive. But since you can't sheetrock over a dishwasher, like you can over beams and sewer pipes, my priorities were out of order, like the rest of the house is now.