Cast Iron Bath

[WaterTight]

Only done one full bathroom to date. Went well but obviously being my first took it out of me a bit. Got possible 2nd one to quote on shortly. She says there's a cast iron bath to remove.

Dealt with one of these before with one of the guys I worked with. Was a case of.. gloves on, goggles on, club hammer and bash the bugger in. Then lump it out to a skip. My boss sliced his hand up on it too. But this was in a total refurb, completely gutted and we weren't worried about damaging anything.

What precautions would you take getting one of these out in a bathroom that may well be tiled and tidy and so forth. Protect windows from flying bits of cast iron? Protect tiles? Cover the whole room in cardboard?..

Also, I don't have a van so last bathroom I did I paid for rubbish removal blokes to take the old suite away... Was about £40. Am I looking at lots more for cast iron or would I be wise to contact a scrap merchants to see if they want it? I doubt it's worth much but after we dumped the last one in the skip some blokes in a pick-up who drive round raiding skips for scrap asked if they could take the cast iron out. If all else fails can I take it to the tip in my car?

 

[tamz]

Leave it in the street. It will disappear within an hour. You should order a skip for a bathroom swap. A mini is around £45. Add it to the bill and tell the cust once you are done they can fill the rest. Most are quite happy with that. Btw you need a waste carriers licence if you take it away yourself.

As for breaking it, cover with a dust sheet and split it into 4. Start at the waste and work up to the overflow and taps then along base to the back. Then split across the middle. If you can't carry it out in 4 pieces you need to eat more proteins.
When i was an apprentice i had to carry them up the stairs myself.(Put the taps on and get inside like a turtle shell on your back)

 

[easyt]

I broke one out a week ago. I knew that there was an oil feed pipe underneath and so I took extra care. I checked underneath and put some timbers each side of the pipe to protect it. As for breaking into 4 - I did that at the last house. Either this was a thicker gauge or I am older and weaker. There is no way I could have got a quarter size piece out. Too heavy. Also difficult not to catch door frames and decor.

I used a lump hammer (safer than swinging a sledge) and an old curtain, with some gogles for me. I found that the best place to strike was the top edge. I also broke around the taps and left a bit hanging on there. (Did that last time too. Meant I could turn the water back on whilst I was doing other work.) The biggest bit was about 1500 by 600. A good tip was not to hit the sides until late in the operation or it rings like a bell and the hammer bounces back at you. Tooh it to the tip in my car - perhaps I should have taken it to the local scrappy ?

Have your brush and hoover ready.

Easy T

 

[unguided1]

If its in an upstairs bathroom make sure your customer is aware that when your breaking it into 4 pieces, cracks may appear in the cieling below!!!!!

 

[easyt]

If its in an upstairs bathroom make sure your customer is aware that when your breaking it into 4 pieces, cracks may appear in the cieling below!!!!!

That's another good reason for a lump hammer rather than a sledge.

Strike down on the back edge - not towards the wall. If older place with hollow pot or breezeblock could damage the wall. I made that mistake with a sledge hammer on the first one I took out. Luckily the bedroom next door was next on the list for decorating.

 

[turnpin]

make sure your insurance is up to date although a lot harder always weigh up the option to remove in one piece if possible not easy I know from personal experience but can sometimes be done good luck what ever way you do it regards turnpin

 

[Bernie2]

They aren't half heavy!

Like Tamz, we had to carry them upstairs by ourselves at times. It was hard work especially if the flight had a turn and you had to put the bath on edge to get it around.

In those days there wasn't any H and S maximum weight you could be asked to carry.

The maximum weight was as much as you could lift.

One of the worst was sheet lead rolls. It came like a 10' and 12' carpet roll and you and a mate got either end with a scaffold bar down the middle. It was okay in the Summer for short distances, but in the soft ground of Winter you usually sank deeper and deeper into the wet ground as you went along.

The same with CI baths on sites that put that roads in after the houses where built not before.

It was great being covered in mud, wet and tired, load up the job and then start work for 8 hours or more in a freezing cold house. The problem was, if you got warm you usually went to sleep. So "tea time" could be murder trying to keep awake.

The good old days!! When men where men and they where worn out by 40!!

 

[WaterTight]

Thanks for all the tips guys. As usual your advice is as informative and preparational as it is terrifying.

 

[WaterTight]

Did it this morning. Ceiling remained intact. Took about 15 mins of 4 or 5 bashes, little peek under sheet, 4 or 5 bashes, little peek etc..

Didn't put up too much of a fight. Don't understand how anyone used to lift these on their own. Even in about 4 or 5 pieces it weighed enough.

 

[tamz]

It was never easy, but it is easier to lift when it is on your back as you are using your legs and your arms are straight holding the taps. Think of a coalman carrying cwt bags (50kg in new money) of coal with one hand, it is really on his back and he uses his legs to lift.
If your tradesman was in a good mood he might guide the tail around the turn while shouting words of encouragement

 

[kirkgas]

Leave it in the street. It will disappear within an hour. You should order a skip for a bathroom swap. A mini is around £45. Add it to the bill and tell the cust once you are done they can fill the rest. Most are quite happy with that. Btw you need a waste carriers licence if you take it away yourself.

As for breaking it, cover with a dust sheet and split it into 4. Start at the waste and work up to the overflow and taps then along base to the back. Then split across the middle. If you can't carry it out in 4 pieces you need to eat more proteins.
When i was an apprentice i had to carry them up the stairs myself.(Put the taps on and get inside like a turtle shell on your back)

haha tamz, superb, i remember it well, dont know if i have carried hundreds up the stairs like that (we all seem to think we have done more than we actually have) but i have carried loads up like that, i'm only 5' 7" and used to be a skinny wee laddie straight out of school, (now i'm as wide as i am tall) but it was actually no bother at all, just needed a hand at the top of the stairs in case it fell off your back when you stood up, we used to raggle out the wall along the 3 edges then plaster them in to get a good seal, a bugger to lift up and down to level etc, but it forced you to do it righ first time after a few lifts. i bet if the elf and safety mob gotinvolved that you wouldnt be allowed to smash a cast bath with a hammer now, no ear plugs, no goggles, no gloves, time it right to shut eyeas as hammer hit to save you getting blinded, and your ears hurt for hours, then when you were done you would go outside to tell the trsdesman you were done and he would micky himself at your face all peppered with wee bits of shrapnel, the early 80's eh!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[tamz]

[/B]

and your ears hurt for hours,

A couple of bits of Daily Record in the ears

 

[WaterTight]

Only other cast iron bath I saw get smashed up was done by one of the blokes I work for. He didn't use ear-protection. And probably never has. He also says "Eh?" immediately after just about everything you say to him.