Have you seen one of these before?

[seb66]

Hello
We are in the process of buying this house but are a bit concerned about this object in the attic which we cant get information about since it is a probate property and we will be buying it "as seen". Is it a water tank? It appears to be lagged with straw and have some kind of shell strapped around it. The house has a functioning combi boiler. Would that mean that it is disconnected from the water supply? We could just leave it there if it isn't hazardous I suppose. Any helpful recommendations would be most welcome.

 

[cuke2u]

I'll be the old tank for the supply to the taps...

 

[seb66]

Can it just be left there? I guess all the straw padding would be a fire hazard. Was it there to insulate the hot water tank do you think?

 

[SexyGreyFox]

Old water tank, there's even a fill pipe coming out the right side of it

 

[CapitalOne]

Are you not more concerned about who's hiding up in those rafters?

 

[SexyGreyFox]

Are you not more concerned about who's hiding up in those rafters?

Are you concerned about yours

 

[Martynt74]

I guess he means what looks like a gloved hand about to peak out and who it belongs to!

 

[SexyGreyFox]

I guess he means what looks like a gloved hand about to peak out and who it belongs to!

Funnily enough that was the very first thing I saw when he asked what it was in the attic then forgot all about it, old age

 

[cuke2u]

Can it just be left there? I guess all the straw padding would be a fire hazard. Was it there to insulate the hot water tank do you think?

It can be, if not used make sure it's empty and strip off the flammable parts. I guess it was installed when the house was built and too large to take out through the hatch?

 

[seb66]

Thanks for all your advice. Now you have me worrying about bodies in the attic! Maybe I'll just padlock the hatch and pretend there's nothing there!

 

[SexyGreyFox]

Thanks for all your advice. Now you have me worrying about bodies in the attic! Maybe I'll just padlock the hatch and pretend there's nothing there!

Please tell us that's your hand

 

[Nathan]

Water tank. Just leave it be. No need to remove anything. Hell, if you remove flammable items, the whole industry would have to change how we build roof spaces.

 

[Mason-]

It could be an old asbestos water tank and so it might have been decided to just leave it rather than try to get it out. It’s not doing any harm.

 

[seb66]

That is definitely not my hand by the way. It may be the friendly loft man who looks after old asbestos water tanks. Best not disturb him.

 

[Rob_B]

It could be an old asbestos water tank and so it might have been decided to just leave it rather than try to get it out. It’s not doing any harm.

Not even necesarily asbestos, we've had both a galvanised and a plastic tank left unconnected by previous owners in our last 2 houses. They're just harmless and a bit of faff to remove so a lot of people don't.

Personally I remove them as I want the floor space for junk my treasured items

 

[Malt_Vinegar]

I ripped the old metal tank from my previous house, as it was taking up so much storage space in the loft. I just went at it with the angle grinder, and pulled it down in parts. It was a real pain to do, but the old base made a nice little storage area for some heavier items

 

[ANDARIAL]

Could be a copper tank
Might be worth some cash.cut one up from dad's house years back was too big for the trap
Must have been put in when the house was built

 

[fewfe3]

Old tank by the look of it. Probably be too much of a pain to remove it. Might be worth a bit in scrap at least. I would just leave it and forget about it.

 

[Mysterae_]

Is that hay in there? A thatched roof is meant to have that on the outside .

 

[SpellowHouse]

Often they leave the old water tanks in the loft because they won't fit through the loft hatch, will make a mess, or well, why should they?
Yes, you can remove it, but it would be simpler to just remove the insulation.
What's inside depends on the age. You may find it is a steel tank, in which case it would be quite difficult to move.