Sawzall. I did that a few years ago when I had one beyond repair. Two hours had it in pieces and in a landfill that was 30 minutes away. Super fast with a 6 inch or longer blade.

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Originally posted by selogic:

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Originally posted by MattW:
Taken many tubs/showers out. Sawzall will go right through it. As mentioned, don’t forget your PPE.

I demo'd a fiberglass shower two weeks ago . Nothing better than a Sawzall for that kind of work . A GOOD dustmask and eye protection at a minimum . You'll be amazed at how quick it goes .

And a full body suit, you'll be itching for a week without one. A sawzall with 18 tpi blades will cut it up in short order.

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Originally posted by 220-9er:
We had one removed from a deck and I think the guy used a carbide tipped skill saw mostly.

That is what I used to remove one from our basement. Wore a dust mask! Cut it into manageable chunks, hauled those to the county landfill.

Paid a guy to demo my old one and he did it with a Sawzall. I don't think it would be too hard to do but definitely PPE up. Wish I would have done that more in my dumber days.

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Originally posted by RogueJSK:
Yep. Sawzall (aka "reciprocating saw"). I've removed and chopped up several fiberglass tub/shower inserts over the years using that.

Good jigsaws are Reciprocating, too, btw.

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Originally posted by Anubismp:
Paid a guy to demo my old one and he did it with a Sawzall. I don't think it would be too hard to do but definitely PPE up.

That's what I'd do: Sawzall with a demolition blade, Tyvec suit, N95 mask, goggles, and gloves.

Googles, gloves, and a mask are certainly needed.

From there, I get that a Tyvek suit is potentially helpful, but I've demo'd several fiberglass shower/tub inserts wearing just jeans and a tight weave long sleeve shirt, with my work gloves duct taped at the wrist to the shirt sleeves. No problems with itching from the fiberglass dust.

A respirator and protective garments are absolutely necessary, as is eye protection.

A sawzall will work well. A circular saw will cut the longer runs well; when you get into tighter areas, the sawzall will work a bit better.

You can reduce the dust by wetting the fiberglass as you go.

Use the minimum cuts needed to remove the item; don't keep cutting it smaller because you can. The point is to reduce the dust and glass microparticles. Some of those are extremely small, and can do damage years down the line. Cancer damage and other issues, as it embeds in tissues and doesn't come out. Glass epoxies also can cause a number of allergic reactions, from mild to fatal. For some, it happens right off the bat, for others, it's cumulative.

Use plastic to contain the dust and prevent it from becoming a long term contamination. Put down plastic, hang plastic.

Wear a shower cap, along with everything else. It's not like dust. It's small. sharp particles that can embed in skin, eyes, lungs. It comes out of the hair, out of clothes, anywhere it settles, and once it's in, it's in. Use the precautions up front, to limit exposure.

Cut it in half with a sawzall or skilsaw, then drag the pieces out into the open air, throw it in a truck and take it to the dump