How to Reclaim a Bathtub

When I was home for the holidays, my buddy called me up to help him remove a bathtub from his sister's house. I went over there and we carried the cast-iron bathtub out onto the porch. He said he was going to take the tub to the dump, and I tried to convince him to sell it for scrap metal and told him he could probably get a pretty decent price for it. He said, "Maybe." And that was that.  I don't know what he ended up doing with it, something responsible I hope. Anyways, here is how to reclaim a bathtub. 

Reclaim vs. Replace:

In these reclaim posts, we are salvaging useful bits from an imagined derelict house. This post is not designed for removing a bathtub in a working,  livable home. This post is all about architectural salvage. I don't want you smashing your own walls, then realizing I haven

Turn off the Water:

You can turn off the water to a house or use cut-off valves to turn off the water to the room. Cut-off valves can be located behind the bathroom's access panel or in the basement if bathroom is on the first floor. If the bathroom doesn't have an access panel and there is no basement valve, you may have to put a hole in the wall. If the house is derelict, there may not be water coming to it, but I wouldn't take any chances. 

Detaching the Pipes:

Get an adjustable wrench or Channel-lock pliers. Disconnect the drain. Then you should loosen the slip nut that joins the overflow pipe which runs from the drain pipe. The drain strainer might need to be disconnected as well. If the faucets are in the wall, you

Removing the Tub From the Wall:

If the wall is tiled, you

If the walls aren