Renovations Begin On the Main Floor Bathroom

As we are having difficulty finding the PVA bonding agent I need to attach the mesh to the kitchen wall that project is on hold.  Therefore we headed into the next room that is to be renovated, the main floor bathroom.  We don't have any plans drawn up, yet, but the basic idea is to bring up the washer and dryer into this room and replace the jet tub with a shower designed for my use and still retain the fireplace.  But, I'm jumping ahead of myself.

On Friday we decided it was time to remove the wooden box that held three florescent light fixtures and see why the ceiling in that room had been dropped from it's ten foot height.  What follows are the pictures that answers that question.

I'll try to put the pictures in a logical order.  Sorry to those who have already seen these on Facebook.

 These are the fixtures; which Richard has disconnected at this point.

 This is the sides of the box; the bottom edge was flush with the dropped ceiling.

Richard is holding the two pieces once we had them out.  You see that chord?

It comes from here, the junction box for the three fixtures.

 This plug was on the end; (we have not changed anything) that is what it looked like after we unplugged it...

from here.  Yes, this is on the inside of the dropped ceiling and

 

this is the socket we removed that plug from.  How is that socket wired?  Thank you for asking. 

This is the chord leading from that socket which was then connected to...

 the wiring for a light fixture in the original plaster and lathe ceiling.  None of this is a safe way to do wiring.

 Sitting on the dropped ceiling you will notice, what we can only speculate, are the original tiles from the dropped ceiling.

We finally found out why the need to drop the ceiling.  All the plumbing for the upstairs bathroom was dropped down through the ceiling instead of being placed between the floor and ceiling cavity or running pipes down wall cavities.  We also discovered why the upstairs toilet does not always flush very well. the waste pipe runs uphill.  We still have to figure out all the pipes the PVC is for waste, the copper is either hot, cold or for radiators, but I also think one may be for waste.

These we think are from the bathtub taps and drain and is not far from the wiring. 

  

This PVC pipe we believe is from the toilet, sorry I don't have a picture that shows the angle of this pipe.  All these copper pipes are either hot and cold supply or radiator the bigger diameter one I believe is waster.

We have no idea why this pipe is going over to the far corner or what it is for and of course more ceiling tiles.

 

 Just another picture showing the above pipe trying to see what that piece of strapping is holding up.

 

There are several different sets of pipes here the one that leads of to that far corner with another three that head down to the basement or the bathroom that we are in and of course more of those tiles.

Now I was hoping for ceiling moldings like the living room.  There are moldings around the top of the walls. which I love, but none cross hatching the ceiling.  The next pictures show the molding, it is a shame that it is hidden in a ceiling.

 The hole in the corner with a towel stuffed in it, we have no idea why other than perhaps they drilled in the wrong place for the toilet.

 

This is where the fire place continues up the wall. Again I was hoping for exposed brick, the blue paint makes me believe that maybe this has been a bathroom for a lot longer than we thought.

Trying to get a look at the wood on the left... is it the top of the window?  Can't tell from this angle.

 A patch that Richard removed, it confirms that the ceiling is original, plaster and lathe.  Other things we saw have to be checked out before we discuss them.

These are tiles Richard was able to reach and remove from above that dropped ceiling, why would you leave these up there?

There was a lot of dust even though all we have done is remove the florescent lights and tiles from in the ceiling.

When we began the renovations in the kitchen we realized that we would be dealing with dust and just maybe lead in the paint or asbestos in other old building products.  Richard had a hard time finding a good mask that would be small enough for me.  I can't remember how many different masks I tried on, this was the winner and works really well.  I also have safety glasses, which fit over my glasses.  So I'm safe while doing these projects.

Walk in Little Red River Park

We have lived in Prince Albert for five years and had never actually taken the time to go out to Little Red River Park.http://www.citypa.ca/ThingstoDo/ParksandTrails/Parks/LittleRedRiverPark/tabid/124/Default.aspx

October 5th we decided it was time to check this park for possible hikes we can do during the winter.  We had no idea how big the park is (1200 acres) and the number of trails there are.  In the winter there are many designated trails that can only be used for specific purposes; cross-country skiing, snow shoeing and hiking,  etc.  There are only a few for hiking during the winter and they are supposed to be well marked.

While we were there checking things out we found very few markers and basically wandered along various very well used trails and some barely used trails.  I had fun and thought it would be great to share pictures that I took during our exploration walk with you.  The colours were gorgeous with many leaves still on the trees, the sky was a lovely blue with very few clouds. 

There had been a lot of flooding damage in our area in the late spring from all the snow we had last winter and then the rain in the late spring the park was closed until the water had receded and damaged could be assessed with the necessary precautions made to make the park safe for the public.  http://www.paherald.sk.ca/News/Local/2013-06-20/article-3284987/UPDATE%3A-Water-danger-closes-Little-Red-River-Park/1  There were still visible signs of the damage done during the flooding with bridges removed and just sitting waiting for repair or rebuilding.  http://www.paherald.sk.ca/News/Local/2013-08-21/article-3359128/Damage-assessment-underway-at-Little-Red-River-Park/1

As we began our walk Richard could not resist climbing this slope, little did I know that at the end of our walk we would be on the top section a little further East preparing to come down a path like this, although not quite so steep. 

Just a quick look at how the river looks now in October, still dirty and still on the high side with obvious damage that has been done can be seen.

This is the beginning of the trail we decided to take.

It was such a gorgeous day and the colours were amazing so my pictures are of what we saw on the ground, in the trees, etc.

 Richard spotted this butterfly and as I walked closer and closer taking zoom shots until it flew off, this is the final and closet that I got, it's colours really stand out amongst the dried leaves and roots.

 The texture and colour of the moss was amazing, it was so green amongst all the autumn colours around us.

This tree fungi was very pretty the rings of colours against the grey of the trunk of this tree, even amidst dicay can be beauty.

 Each few steps there was a different colour from red to silver amongst still hints of the green from the summer.

 

We chose this part of the trail as it looked to have many different varieties of trees and colours to give me pictures I would want to take.

 Red shades with splatter of yellow

 Pink to red shades against the silver of dead branches

 Of course who could resist taking this particular shot that one deciduous branch appears to be coming from the evergreen tree trunk, the colours against that fabulous blue sky.

We so often are looking ahead and up that we often miss what is right at our feet.  The above series of pictures were all taken withing a few feet of each other and the colour, variety of plants are amazing.  Richard gets a little bored as I keep seeing and taking more pictures.  Once home I pick the section of the captured shot and crop to just that portion for maximum colour and interest.

I took this picture, actually I took two at this location, just to remind me of where I can find stones of different colours, shapes and sizes to come and pick from for the new rock garden I intend making at the front corner of my front flower bed.

 One lonely yellow flower, but I saw it and took a picture to show that even in October you can find flowers in the wild.

This plant I spotted first the colour then the shape and fianlly its delicate foliage.

The above two pictures show a plant that is still holding on to its green as the edges turn red as the winter begins to draw close, the other the beauty of the seeds still holding onto the flower stems looking so much like snow and a reminder that snow is just around the corner.

Our car, the third from the left, as we look down from the meadow we had just walked through.  This is the spot where we were going to descend to our vehicle and head home after a glorious couple of hours exploring the possibilities of this park, while finding hidden beauty in a time when the plants prepare for their winter sleep.

 Just a few more pictures from the top of that incline, looking back to the areas we had walked through or around.

 A lone golden tree on the slope that I would have to navigate down to get to our car.

 To the East across the small brook a forest  of pine, maybe another adventure for another time.

The sandy path we would use to head back to the car, quite steep for me to navigate but I did, without falling or sliding make it down.

 A better idea of the slope that I had to navigate.

The whole time during our walk I had been looking for rose hips, who would have thought at the top of the ridge just as I was descending I saw them.  the last of my pictures are of the wild roses with their food for the birds or animals and still with a few beautiful coloured leaves attached.

This was a great afternoon and soon we shall make another trip back to Little Red River Park, hopefully once there is snow on the ground and we have nice days once again we will head out here to hike some more.