I have just replaced a cast iron bath. Nothing worth salvaging, it is
1970s with poor enamelling. No lions feet or such. It is not sitting on
the landing and needs to be disposed of.

Because of the geometry of the stairs the bath will have to be upended
at the top of the stairs and then tipped to the horizontal over the
edge. I don't fancy being under it when I do that - it's bloody heavy.

So looking for any useful suggestions as to how to get it downstairs in
one piece without standing under it at any point.

Failing all else I can break it up in situ but I am aware that this
option can be rather loud and messy.

Andrew

Andrew May wrote:
I have just replaced a cast iron bath. Nothing worth salvaging, it is
1970s with poor enamelling. No lions feet or such. It is not sitting on
the landing and needs to be disposed of.

Because of the geometry of the stairs the bath will have to be upended
at the top of the stairs and then tipped to the horizontal over the
edge. I don't fancy being under it when I do that - it's bloody heavy.

So looking for any useful suggestions as to how to get it downstairs in
one piece without standing under it at any point.

Failing all else I can break it up in situ but I am aware that this
option can be rather loud and messy.


Loud, but not that messy. But watch oput for shrapnel


Rope through the tap holes, and a lot of padding taped to the walls is a
possible.

Abseil it down..

Andrew

On 05/08/2011 09:48, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

Rope through the tap holes, and a lot of padding taped to the walls is a
possible.

Abseil it down..


I had thought about a rope through the tap holes and it would work since
it is a straight flight of stairs. However the problem is getting it
into that position in the first place. Upend it then tilt forward over
the top of the stairs. I am NOT standing underneath it to pull it down.

A hammer it is then.

"Andrew May" wrote in message
...
I have just replaced a cast iron bath. Nothing worth salvaging, it is 1970s
with poor enamelling. No lions feet or such. It is not sitting on the
landing and needs to be disposed of.

Because of the geometry of the stairs the bath will have to be upended at
the top of the stairs and then tipped to the horizontal over the edge. I
don't fancy being under it when I do that - it's bloody heavy.

So looking for any useful suggestions as to how to get it downstairs in
one piece without standing under it at any point.

Failing all else I can break it up in situ but I am aware that this option
can be rather loud and messy.

Andrew

Set it on it's feet and put a blanket round it. Big (lump/sledge) hammer. It
will smash easy hitting on the inside. (Cast iron doesn't like tension.)
It's only thin metal.
Wear goggles/earplugs, no audience. Fragments of enamel make shrapnel. (It
is actually glass.)

On 05/08/2011 09:25, Andrew May wrote:
I have just replaced a cast iron bath. Nothing worth salvaging, it is
1970s with poor enamelling. No lions feet or such. It is not sitting on
the landing and needs to be disposed of.

Because of the geometry of the stairs the bath will have to be upended
at the top of the stairs and then tipped to the horizontal over the
edge. I don't fancy being under it when I do that - it's bloody heavy.

So looking for any useful suggestions as to how to get it downstairs in
one piece without standing under it at any point.

Failing all else I can break it up in situ but I am aware that this
option can be rather loud and messy.

I used an angle grinder to cut mine into three bits, each of which could
be carried down stairs between two people.

Colin Bignell

Nightjar wrote:
I used an angle grinder to cut mine into three bits, each of which
could be carried down stairs between two people.

You have to take your hat off to the guys who got it up there in one piece
in the first place.

The Natural Philosopher wrote:
Andrew May wrote:
I have just replaced a cast iron bath. Nothing worth salvaging, it is
1970s with poor enamelling. No lions feet or such. It is not sitting
on the landing and needs to be disposed of.

Because of the geometry of the stairs the bath will have to be
upended at the top of the stairs and then tipped to the horizontal
over the edge. I don't fancy being under it when I do that - it's
bloody heavy. So looking for any useful suggestions as to how to get it
downstairs
in one piece without standing under it at any point.

Failing all else I can break it up in situ but I am aware that this
option can be rather loud and messy.


Loud, but not that messy. But watch oput for shrapnel


One of the few jobs I wear both goggles and ear defenders for.

--
Adam

On 05/08/2011 12:41, GB wrote:
Nightjar wrote:
I used an angle grinder to cut mine into three bits, each of which
could be carried down stairs between two people.

You have to take your hat off to the guys who got it up there in one piece
in the first place.

I'm not sure they didn't build the house around it. That has to be the
way the iron water tank got into the loft.

Colin Bignell

A hammer it is then.

I remember one of my first jobs as a school leaver, helping a local
builder renovate a house. His hired gorilla decided to break up the cast
iron bath with a sledgehammer. I had seen my dear old grandad do this
several times and remember him doing it from the inside with a regular
hammer, couple of blows and hey presto. Tried telling said gorilla, but
he dismissed my advice, turned the bath over and swung the sledgehammer
with all his might. Now you know on the cartoons when the character hits
something unbreakable, hammer rebounds and reverberates up their
body.............................

On 05/08/2011 12:41, GB wrote:
Nightjar wrote:
I used an angle grinder to cut mine into three bits, each of which
could be carried down stairs between two people.

You have to take your hat off to the guys who got it up there in one piece
in the first place.



Although since it has been in the house since it was built I suspect
that it was probably got up there before a lot of the things like
banister rails and even walls.

On 05/08/2011 11:31, harryagain wrote:

Wear goggles/earplugs,



Also thick gloves or hand padding. When I did this job my hands tingled
for several days.

Another Dave

ARWadsworth wrote:
The Natural Philosopher wrote:
Andrew May wrote:
I have just replaced a cast iron bath. Nothing worth salvaging, it is
1970s with poor enamelling. No lions feet or such. It is not sitting
on the landing and needs to be disposed of.

Because of the geometry of the stairs the bath will have to be
upended at the top of the stairs and then tipped to the horizontal
over the edge. I don't fancy being under it when I do that - it's
bloody heavy. So looking for any useful suggestions as to how to get it
downstairs
in one piece without standing under it at any point.

Failing all else I can break it up in situ but I am aware that this
option can be rather loud and messy.

Loud, but not that messy. But watch oput for shrapnel


One of the few jobs I wear both goggles and ear defenders for.

+2

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember Nightjar
saying something like:

You have to take your hat off to the guys who got it up there in one piece
in the first place.

I'm not sure they didn't build the house around it.

I'm utterly sure many were, when new estates were going up in the
30s/40s/50s. I've seen several where it just wouldn't have been possible
to get a CI bath up the stairs.

On 05/08/2011 12:02, Nightjar wrote:
On 05/08/2011 09:25, Andrew May wrote:
I have just replaced a cast iron bath. Nothing worth salvaging, it is
1970s with poor enamelling. No lions feet or such. It is not sitting on
the landing and needs to be disposed of.

Because of the geometry of the stairs the bath will have to be upended
at the top of the stairs and then tipped to the horizontal over the
edge. I don't fancy being under it when I do that - it's bloody heavy.

So looking for any useful suggestions as to how to get it downstairs in
one piece without standing under it at any point.

Failing all else I can break it up in situ but I am aware that this
option can be rather loud and messy.

I used an angle grinder to cut mine into three bits, each of which could
be carried down stairs between two people.

Colin Bignell

Now that is 'real' DIY!

--
Dave - The Medway Handyman www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

Andrew May wrote:
I have just replaced a cast iron bath. Nothing worth salvaging, it is
1970s with poor enamelling. No lions feet or such. It is not sitting
on the landing and needs to be disposed of.

Because of the geometry of the stairs the bath will have to be upended
at the top of the stairs and then tipped to the horizontal over the
edge. I don't fancy being under it when I do that - it's bloody heavy.

So looking for any useful suggestions as to how to get it downstairs
in one piece without standing under it at any point.

Failing all else I can break it up in situ but I am aware that this
option can be rather loud and messy.

Andrew

I've smashed dozens of 'em, they're easy to break into 4 manageable pieces,
not that loud but there will be shards of glass pinging in all directions,
so tip it over so that the enamelled side is down (preferably on a sheet)
before you give it a good hiding, and don't be tempted to break it into lots
of small pieces, they're a pain in the arse to move afterwards

"Andrew May" wrote in message
...
I have just replaced a cast iron bath. Nothing worth salvaging, it is 1970s
with poor enamelling. No lions feet or such. It is not sitting on the
landing and needs to be disposed of.

Because of the geometry of the stairs the bath will have to be upended at
the top of the stairs and then tipped to the horizontal over the edge. I
don't fancy being under it when I do that - it's bloody heavy.

So looking for any useful suggestions as to how to get it downstairs in
one piece without standing under it at any point.

Failing all else I can break it up in situ but I am aware that this option
can be rather loud and messy.

Andrew

You poor thing, my heart bleeds for you.
When I was an apprentice I smashed up many a bath with a hammer. I was 16.
My heart bleeds for you.