DIY Bathtub Removal

You're safe (!) here, but I will update with a picture of one of the pieces to try show the fracture;

I did a similar procedure on a bath tub in my gf's house. I didn't do any research, I just decided to take some whacks at it with a sledge since I knew it was cast. It was in a very cramped space, so I just bashed it down the middle. I was able to split it into two large pieces in a short time. I did find that the ceramic coating on it yielded some very sharp shards. Other than that it was a relatively simple job and gave me the desired results.

Hi Frank,

It was a pretty unanimous decision from all I asked. Like yourself I had the space problem, but I now have more room - the cupboard that housed an electric boiler has been taken out, and a gas boiler fitted to the wall. The noise of destruction was really nothing at all. As you say, the shards of enamel/ceramic are a bit nasty. Somewhere in the original bath thread is a picture of one that's been cut in half with a grinder. I'm sure that method would be a lot more effort/time + noisier.

To my embarrassment/amusement, the bath carried markings by " Allied Vogue" - they are listed as manufacturers of Steel ! However, the conchoidal fractures leave me more inclined to think Iron. The greyish colour + rusting suggest steel, but the texture is more suggestive of cast. After the event I google Allied Steel, and at the top of the list was this !

What, you left cast iron outside for more than a few days and the earth conscious innocent scrap men didn't help themselves? (and the planet of course.)

I should have stored my cast iron downpipes there, 'cause when I came to put them on again....nothing.

Jim

It all went (and remains) out back. I'm told it's scrap value is negligible, so it will probably go to an approved disposal site eventually.

Some day I've got to tackle the cast-iron soil stack, but I'll probably replace it with plastic. My neighbours down-pipe recently collapsed (partially), so mine is probably in a similar state.

I removed my cast iron tub recently. I talked to a guy at my work who has done quite a bit of remodeling. He suggested that I cut down through the walls of the tub in the middle with a recipricating saw. I did that and used the sledge hammer after making the cuts. It worked well but cost me a few saw blades. At first the Sledge was bouncing off the tub walls but finally it broke. I got very little $ for this scrap metal.

You could have saved yourself some blades. Once you'd cut the bath in half, you don't have as much flexure in the target area to initiate a crack. I'd compare it to karate-chopping a piece of wood - a longer piece is easier to break. My first strike produced cracks, and the second resulted in a nice big chunk coming free. I was pretty cautious with the first strike, having no idea how much force was required. Subsequent strikes could have been a lot more vigorous, but the space to swing was limited. I'd definitely do it the same way again. The reciprocating saw doesn't sound as good as a rotating one - it would set up vibrations (?).

The scrap value is not much for this type of stuff, though my neighbour was more than keen for various bits of lead and copper pipe that I chucked in the back garden (we did a bit of trading).

Here in the land of OZ cast iron bath tubs or bath tubs of any material are greatly prized as they are ideal troughs for watering stock. This mean removing them in one piece is the mandatory method.

All that is required then is a toilet cistern to be mounted in the tub and hooked up to the water supply. A single sheet of corrugated iron wrapped over the end where the cistern is mounted stops horses from playing with the float.

Shattering cast Iron is great fun but watch out watch out if you come across riveted steel or iron as the rivets go of like bullets when they shear.

Over here, baths get re-used by farmers a lot as well. I'd certainly have preferred to find a use for the thing. With our higher density population, the farmers don't have much trouble finding such things. A lot of people us Old (box-shaped) sinks* and chimney pots as plant holders. Most garden centres even stock mock chimney pots to use for planting, so the real thing often has value.

I like the idea of farmers using a cistern as well. I'm not sure why, but I've never seen that done here. It's probably due to risk of freezing etc.

* I have one of these out-back, but not being a keen gardener, it's sitting there for some nice sunny day when I get motivated.

Maybe these will conspire to inspire you:

That's quite cool in an off-beat sort of way. With the right tilt, a cascade of waterfalls could probably be made. It's always better to find a use for stuff, although my bulging shed will testify to my 'that'll be useful one day' approach not always being successful. I find it hard to pass a skip without having a rummage. Things like old style skirting-board, which can't be found in shops, have been 'liberated'. I always ask, and people are more than happy to loose stuff. Because the market is stagnant, a lot of people are doing re-fits. Simple stuff like mouldings etc could form the basis of a nice little earner if I had more space.

Indeed - there are warehouses full of salvaged architectural detail work, some of them rather high-end boutiques, in many cities here that seem to provide a steady, if not awesome, income for the proprieters. I too am a packrat, but it's OK, I inherited the tendency.

I claim to have inherited it too. My Father was a Marine Engineer and so was I before I married. Not only may something "Come In Handy", if you throw it away (Deep Six It) you may not have what you need to do the repair that will get you to the nearest port. It is much to embarrassing to be towed in and a little expensive also.

My shed is over 300 square metres and has some strange thinks in it. 3 toilet pedestals, a three stall Stainless Steel Urinal that has been turned into a trailer for the ride on mower. This gets some interesting reaction from Mums when you tell them what their kids have been riding around the farm in.

Springs are something I seem to have a lots of, from the little ones that you find in ball point pens up to the big ones that sit under steam turbine condensers and lots of car springs flat and coil. I have a black smiths forge and spring steel is workable and can be hardened so it is hard to see it thrown out.

Mrs BAB is a teacher and has resources accumulated since day one of teaching. Between her books and my books we would have close on two tonnes of paperwork.

I am not looking forward to having to move house.

It may be a false memory, but I can't recall ever deep sixing anything that I didn't have to find or buy another one of within about 3 weeks because I needed it to fix/replace something that came away from together...

Ahah! "Deep six". Like hitting a long, 6-runs ball in the game of Cricket. I'm glad you pointed that one out.

Since when do bats catch crickets?!? Sorry, nice guess, but it's actually a sailors' expression. Six feet is the length (or depth) of a fathom of rope (or water). To 'deep six' something is to heave it over the side of the ship sending it to the bottom - the 'deepest six' feet (fathom) of the ocean. Fathom that?

what a smart idea, you could use your old tub for any thing eg.a water tank even,maybe a vegie garden, herbs, water trough for horses or cows, an out door fish tank, ( just plug up the hole and seal it ) a dog bath, or turn it into a dog house , the imagination goes on & on & on ,, many examples....

How do I plug the holes in a cast iron tub to make a water garden?