How would you deal with this cast iron bath

[Mrxman]

Hi there

I was thinking of putting a club hammer to this cast iron bath and remove it. It's in poor condition btw.
The challenge though is: it's in a wood bath frame and the heating pipes are resting on the legs plus sink water pipes close by.

How would you deal with this without causing damage to the frame and the plumbing?

I assume it's too heavy to lift out of the frame although I could pay a friend a daily rate to come and help but that means opening
my wallet which is a challenge in itself

 

[HERTS P&D]

Drain the heating system then break the bath, if any damage to the heating pipe work, then repair once the bath is out of the way.

Andy

 

[Mrxman]

Drain the heating system then break the bath, if any damage to the heating pipe work, then repair once the bath is out of the way.

Andy

Thanks. Damaging the pipework wouldn't be great as it would mean getting in a plumber. Ideal scenario: as little damage as possible

 

[johnny2007]

Start smashing from the sides.
Cover the pipes with something thick, ideally pipe insulation so you can leave it in place once done.
Once you break the first bit, go along the top first, gently and possibly a little piece at the time.
BTW, those pipes will most likely be in the way of the new bath (and yourself when fitting it).
They'll also be unsupported, so my way to go would be to reroute them to the floor, just behind the bath panel, so to have easy access to them if needed.

 

[Mrxman]

Start smashing from the sides.
Cover the pipes with something thick, ideally pipe insulation so you can leave it in place once done.
Once you break the first bit, go along the top first, gently and possibly a little piece at the time.
BTW, those pipes will most likely be in the way of the new bath (and yourself when fitting it).
They'll also be unsupported, so my way to go would be to reroute them to the floor, just behind the bath panel, so to have easy access to them if needed.

Great idea smashing from the sides and pipe insulation. I can probably hit it from the outside so the pieces fall into the bath rather than the floor.
I've found a bath that seem to fit the same measurements as the current bath so may be o.k. My plan is to support the heating pipes with a few wood blocks
Rerouting them may be beyond my expertise and would complicate matters a tad. It would be ideal if I could avoid that.

 

[Elkato531]

Put a cover over the bath before you start. The enamel coating is a thin layer of glass and as you start smashing there will be millions of tiny razor sharp shards.

 

[Nige F]

You need a sledge hammer not a club.

 

[dal5band]

Support and protect the pipes as you say, remove the wooden frame - it won't fit the new bath although you could reuse the wood. Get some good ear defenders - the noise is horrendous! It's the first break that is difficult - you need a weak point to start, an edge or plug hole. After that it will just chip off in chunks.

 

[dilalio]

Wear ear defenders.

Oh, and can you also please video it and upload it.

Thanks

 

[Madrab]

Angle grinder and 1mm SS cutting blades (edit) oh and a mask and glasses, PPE, etc

 

[Fred Blogs]

Angle grinder and 1mm SS cutting blades

That's what I used. Cut into 4 pieces and let the scrappy take it away.

 

[Mrxman]

Support and protect the pipes as you say, remove the wooden frame - it won't fit the new bath although you could reuse the wood. Get some good ear defenders - the noise is horrendous! It's the first break that is difficult - you need a weak point to start, an edge or plug hole. After that it will just chip off in chunks.

Thanks for this. Great info.

 

[Mrxman]

You need a sledge hammer not a club.

Believe it or not when we moved in and being a complete beginner I knocked an ugly cast iron fireplace (it really was ugly) into pieces with a pin hammer. Not saying how long it took

 

[Mrxman]

Angle grinder and 1mm SS cutting blades (edit) oh and a mask and glasses, PPE, etc

I somehow assumed that wouldn't work or would take too long. I'll give it a go.

 

[Mrxman]

Wear ear defenders.

Oh, and can you also please video it and upload it.

Thanks

Thanks, will see what I can do