Bath removal

The process is similar in most bathrooms. What changes is how firmly the bath is built in and how heavy it is.

1. Preparing and protecting the room. The tradesperson covers the floor, basin and toilet and clears a route to the door, along the hallway and out of the property.
2. Shutting off the water and removing the taps. The water supply is turned off, the bath taps or mixer are removed, or the pipes in the wall are capped.
3. Disconnecting the waste. The trap and overflow are undone and the waste pipe is plugged straight away, so drain smells stay out and no debris falls in.
4. Removing the bath panel and tiling. If the bath is boxed in with masonry or tiled, the front wall has to be broken out and the sealant along the wall cut. In older bathrooms this is often the slowest part.
5. Freeing the bath. The bath is pulled away from the walls, feet or base. A heavy cast iron bath is sometimes broken up on the spot so it can be carried out in pieces.
6. Carrying out and disposal. The bath and rubble are carried out, loaded and taken to a site that accepts the waste legally.

The material of the bath decides how many people and what tools the job needs.

• A cast iron bath is very heavy and often weighs well over a hundred kilograms. Carrying it down stairs in one piece is hard work, so it is often broken up with a sledgehammer. Eye and ear protection matter here, because the enamel shatters into sharp fragments
• A pressed steel enamelled bath is much lighter. Two people can usually manage it and carry it out whole
• An acrylic bath is the lightest, but it is often glued with sealant or sits on adjustable feet and a frame. Getting it out takes patience rather than strength

With steel and cast iron baths you will often find a green and yellow cable attached to the bath. This is the earth bonding conductor, and disconnecting and terminating it safely is a job for a qualified electrician. The same applies to whirlpool baths, which have a pump and their own electrical supply.

Two baths that look the same can mean very different amounts of work. These situations make the job longer and therefore more expensive:

• The bath is boxed in with brick or blockwork and tiled, and you want to keep the surrounding tiles
• The bath is sunk into the floor or fitted into an alcove
• It is a cast iron bath in an upper-floor flat with no lift
• The isolation valves are seized, faulty or missing, so the water has to be shut off for the whole building
• Old steel or cast iron pipework is corroded and breaks when disconnected

The job goes quickly with a freestanding bath or one with a simple plastic front panel, working valves and plastic waste pipes. If the whole bathroom is being stripped back to bare walls anyway, there is no need to save the tiles around the bath, which makes the work much simpler.

In a block of flats, let the building management or owners' association know in advance. If the water has to be shut off for the building, management usually arranges it and the neighbours need to be told. Plan noisy demolition for the hours the house rules allow.

Simply replacing a bath with a new bath or a shower is normally treated as ordinary maintenance. If the removal is part of bigger work, such as taking down partition walls, altering shared pipework or changing the layout, check with your local building authority first. They will tell you whether you need to notify them, apply for approval or follow another procedure under local building regulations.

An old bath counts as bulky or construction waste. It must not be left next to household bins. There are usually three options: your local household waste recycling centre under its rules, a skip for construction waste, or, for cast iron and steel baths, a scrap metal dealer. Take care with old bath panels, boxing boards and old sealants and adhesives in older buildings. If you suspect asbestos, stop work. Only a licensed contractor may remove it.

A lighter bath that is not built into masonry and has no electrical connection can be removed by a handy homeowner with a helper. For a cast iron bath, a whirlpool bath or a bath with an earth bonding cable, call a professional.

1. Cover the floor with cardboard or plastic sheeting and get gloves, safety glasses and a bucket ready.
2. Turn off the hot and cold water supply and open the taps to let the remaining water drain out.
3. Remove the taps and cap the pipes in the wall.
4. Loosen the trap, empty it into the bucket and plug the waste pipe.
5. Remove the plastic bath panel or carefully break out the tiling in front of the bath.
6. Cut through the silicone and sealant between the bath and the wall with a sharp knife.
7. Lever the bath up with a pry bar over a wooden block, so you do not damage the wall or floor.
8. Carry the bath out with your helper, lifting with your legs and wearing sturdy shoes.
9. Check that no water drips from the capped pipes or joints.

• Removing the taps without shutting off the water, a common cause of flooding the flat below
• Leaving the waste open, so rubble falls into the drain and blocks it later
• Forcing the bath out without a block under the lever, which damages walls, floors or pipes
• Underestimating the weight of a cast iron bath, which risks injury and damage to the stairs
• Tearing off the green and yellow cable instead of having it disconnected properly
• Leaving the bath beside the bins, which the council can treat as fly-tipping and fine you for

Before you sign off the job, go through the bathroom with this list:

• The water pipes are capped and do not drip even with the main stop valve open
• The waste pipe is plugged and free of rubble
• The earth bonding cable, if there was one, has been properly disconnected and terminated
• The surrounding walls, floor and fittings that were meant to stay are undamaged
• The space where the bath stood is cleared of rubble, sealant and silicone residue
• The hallway and stairs are clean after carrying everything out
• The bath and rubble have been taken to a site that accepts the waste legally