cast iron tub

[sandyd]

Any one know the best way to remove a cast iron bath tub? A guy at Lowe's said it would have to be busted up with a sledge hammer. How difficult will that be? Thanks
Sandy

[Todd]

Is it built in? I have heard that sometimes busting them up is the only way. Our tub is a cast iron pedestal tub that took four big guys to get it out and have it re-finished. It was freestanding though.

T

[shuttlebunny]

If you're near a large city there may be a business into home restoration that will buy it from you! Then it'll be their problem removing it!
Sue

[sandyd]

The tub is built in. The restoration idea is great, but we don't live in a big city, and besides, the tub is dark blue. I don't think there is much demand for that color these days. Thanks for the replys!
Sandy

[Todd]

Tubs can be painted. Make sure they do it right if you go that route.

T

[EasyE]

I've removed a cast Iron tub before,I'd say they weigh upwards of 300 to 400 pounds,I had some of the strongest guys I know helping and it gave them a fit.It could be cut up but I wouldn't want to do it,as it would be a mess and a pain.

[andy58]

Take two inner tubes and set them on some type of dolly or build a frame with casters on it. You should have enough room to roll your contraption under your tub. Fill the tubes with an air compressor, and make sure to try to center them as they are expanding in order to keep everything balanced. When the feet are no longer touching, roll the tub wherever you need to. If it won't fit through the door, I'm afraid you are S.O.L.

[Troy]

That's a good idea! Welcome to the forum

[Tackleberry]

I am in the middle of remodeling my bathroom, and also had to remove a cast iron tub. There wasn't too much finesse, just some good 'ol elbow grease. We did clear all of the sheet rock and plumbing around it prior to moving it (which made it a bit easier manuvering it). However, it took us about 1/2 hour to move it out of the house (my father and I). LOTS of stops to rest, of course!

I was thinking of busting it up, but I think it would've been too messy and I'd be worried about breaking other things...After all, that's a lot of force you'd be putting on the tub as well as the surrounding framework.

Great idea with the inner tubes, though!

If it isn't broken, it doesn't have enough features!

[LazyPup]

I am currently doing restorations of older homes for rental properties and i routinely have to remove old tubs. Removing steel or fiberglass tubs is usually not much of a chore, but cast iron tubs can be a real bummer, especially if they are large tubs on the second or third floor with narrow doorways, sharp turns in hallways, steep narrow stairs, etc, etc. Quite often i have to resort to breaking them into smaller pieces as was suggested previously. Breaking a cast iron tub is by no means rocket science, but there are some precautions. First of all, Safety glasses are a must, and hearing protection is not out of the question. Any good 10 or 12lb sledge hammer will do the trick. First begin by removing the drain basket and overflow cover to disconnect the overflow and waste arm from the tub, then you simply use a lot of muscle and repeated hit the tub sides with the hammer. Be prepared for what appears to be an explosion on the first blow as the porcelan enamel coating seems to shatter into millions of small pieces. Rather than concentrate all your blows in one spot, i prefer to hit and move a few inches for the next blow until i have created a fracture line in the tub. Believe me when i say it is not a chore for the faint of heart because it may require repeated blows before the cast iron actually begings to break. Once you have effected the initail break it will go pretty quick, but all in all, it is strictly a laborers job.
Be very careful when stricking against the curved surfaces to insure the hammer doesnt glance off and hit your legs. Usually it takes about twent to thirty minutes to break a tub into managable pieces that can be carried out, but it is a very messy job of cleanup because you will have a lot of porcelan enamel chips. Be very careful when cleaning up the chips. Wear gloves and use a shovel and broom. Do not even attempt to sweep them up with your bare hand as they are very fine and sharp as broken glass.

[kactuskid]

I've also busted up a few cast tubs and I've found that the easiest way to do it is to stand up on the tub edges, one leg on each side. The weakest part of a tub is the hole already in it, the drain. So consentrate your initial sledge hammer blows at the drain area, the tub should start to split down the center. Keep hammering on the front wall above the drain and on the bottom in front of the drain. Then you'll need to break up the larger pieces so you can carry them out. Like LazyPup says, be careful, stuff will be flying everywhere.

[briannarae]

I am new, hello. I never knew there could be so many sites on removing a cast iron tub...and I thought I was very few with this problem. I thought the people who told me if would have to be broken were lying to me![:I] We are having to remove ours dur to the shower door track leaking between top of tub and bottom of track...So I guess next I will probably search online on how to install the new one lol. I am adding this site to my favorites!

[LazyPup]

You shouldnt have to replace the tub to fix a leak in the shower door track. Just seal the shower door frame to the top of the tub with a good silicone tub/tile caulk.

[briannarae]

Oh no, I am sorry for the misunderstanding. We arent replacing the tub because of that. When it was leaking under the track, it was going into the wall, and was never seen, until it started to show up on the surface of everything. We took down the paneling, and the sheetrock ws a mushy mess in the floor, adn it has rotted out the floor around it, but on the underneath side. It was a good thing we have wood subfloor, bc the water went between the planks adn on down, as if it were a concrete subfloor, the water would have sat there pooled, which, actually, it may have made it noticeable a lot sooner. But we have to take the tub out to reapir the flooring underneath it, which where the water was going. And its really shallow, so we are going to replace it now while we are going to be doing all of this.

[Dean]

I've broken several cast iron tubs with a sledge hammer and thrown them out the window.

The last one I did though I also knocked a bunch of the the sheet rock nails out on the bedroom wall next to the tub.

Petty dumb on my part I admit but it was a good thing it was my daughter's house and not a customer's.