# Forum Home Renovation Heating & Cooling  Removing wall air conditioner.

## Diddums

This is a two part question. So bear with me.  
I'm moving house this weekend and I have a sparky coming next Thursday to put in some new power points. I was hoping to have the aircon removed and the brick patched before then, but then I realized that it is most likely hard wired. 
Can I switch off the main power and disconnect it and secure the wires or does an electrician need to do it.  
Also, my wife is giving me grief about how long she thinks it'll take to patch the hole. How long can I expect, as a beginner, for it to take to knock out the half bricks and patch the hole. 4-5hrs maybe.  
Thanks.

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## OBBob

Legally the electrician needs to do it. It must be a treasured air conditioner to go to all this trouble and take it with you??

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## Oldsaltoz

Leave it behind. The cost disconnecting, and reconnecting as well closing up the hole left will cost you more than it would to purchase a new unit. 
Not to mention the time lost and the wife on your case. 
Good luck and fair winds.   :Smilie:

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## joynz

Knocking out the half bricks is not as easy as it sounds, if you don't have the equipment a brickie would use (e.g  Arbortech brick saw).  You can do it manually of course, but run the risk of cracking the bricks around the half bricks.

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## Diddums

Sorry. The aircon is in the new house and I want to pull it out. The house has ducted air.  
For the bricks I'm just going to drill the crap out of the mortar and then chisel them out.

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## GeoffW1

Hi, 
As you probably know, when the  moulding around it is removed you will likely see that the A/C unit sits in a sheet metal cradle which is secured to the wall. Remove a few screws and the A/C should simply slide in this cradle. 
If you are not going to reuse the wiring for something then it will need to be made dead by the electrician, or else terminated properly. He may do this at the switchboard if you don't need that circuit. You cannot just leave live wires hanging in the wall cavity.  
Take care with the A/c as those boxes are often very heavy. Once the unit is out you can remove the cradle which will be secured to the wall any old how, bolts, screws, glue, or just luck. 
As to the bricks, if you have internal render there, the half bricks can stay of course. Externally I think your scheme is workable. If you have a larger angle grinder a masonry disk will help with the mortar courses. If the mortar is tinted, you should experiment with making little patty cakes of coloured mortar to get the colour right.

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## Diddums

> Hi, 
> As you probably know, when the  moulding around it is removed you will likely see that the A/C unit sits in a sheet metal cradle which is secured to the wall. Remove a few screws and the A/C should simply slide in this cradle. 
> If you are not going to reuse the wiring for something then it will need to be made dead by the electrician, or else terminated properly. He may do this at the switchboard if you don't need that circuit. You cannot just leave live wires hanging in the wall cavity.  
> Take care with the A/c as those boxes are often very heavy. Once the unit is out you can remove the cradle which will be secured to the wall any old how, bolts, screws, glue, or just luck. 
> As to the bricks, if you have internal render there, the half bricks can stay of course. Externally I think your scheme is workable. If you have a larger angle grinder a masonry disk will help with the mortar courses. If the mortar is tinted, you should experiment with making little patty cakes of coloured mortar to get the colour right.

  Thanks a lot Geoff. 
I was hoping that the electrician can reroute the wires to make a power point for a wall mounted TV. 
As for the brickwork, we're planning on rendering the whole house later down the track so I'm not too fussed about the brick and mortar color. And when the previous owner renovated the bricked up the back door and didn't do the best job anyway.  
When you say "a larger angle grinder", how large do you mean? 6" 9" 12"

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## Bros

I hope you have some spare bricks as you can never seem to match them.

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## InsaneAsylum

> Also, my wife is giving me grief about how long she thinks it'll take to patch the hole. How long can I expect, as a beginner, for it to take to knock out the half bricks and patch the hole. 4-5hrs maybe.

  whatever number you come up with, triple it and tell your wife the tripled value. you are bound to stuff up or get held up or whatever and you can guarantee as soon as the estimated time elapses you'll start getting questions like "I thought you said it was going to take........"

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## Diddums

> whatever number you come up with, triple it and tell your wife the tripled value. you are bound to stuff up or get held up or whatever and you can guarantee as soon as the estimated time elapses you'll start getting questions like "I thought you said it was going to take........"

  Lol. I'll have to remember that.

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## GeoffW1

> Thanks a lot Geoff. 
> I was hoping that the electrician can reroute the wires to make a power point for a wall mounted TV. 
> As for the brickwork, we're planning on rendering the whole house later down the track so I'm not too fussed about the brick and mortar color. And when the previous owner renovated the bricked up the back door and didn't do the best job anyway.  
> When you say "a larger angle grinder", how large do you mean? 6" 9" 12"

  Hi, 
The electrician should be able to do that for you. Discuss what and where you want something. 
Any grinder larger than 4" will be a help if you can source one. It will make the most dreadful mess with clouds of dust you don't want to breathe in, so wear a good mask. Also the larger angle grinders sometimes kick badly when you start them, so keep a tight grip at that time. 
Cheers

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## David.Elliott

If you are rendering down the track, don't bother cutting out the halves.  
Some 6mm galv rod drilled and inserted into the mortar, probably two per side should be ample...work on 100-150 mm in the wall and the same into the mortar between the bricks you are laying into the opening.
You can do that for both leaves, if it's a double brick place. If it's brick veneer then you're home and hosed. The patching of the wall with a small frame and gyprock will be so very easy...

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## PlatypusGardens

Cover the hole with ply and pump it full of expanding foam. 
Heaps quicker.    :Rofl:

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## Bros

> Cover the hole with ply and pump it full of expanding foam. 
> Heaps quicker.

  What and paint the bricks on the outside.  :Biggrin:

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## PlatypusGardens

> What and paint the bricks on the outside.

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## Diddums

Lol. Classy.

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## Moondog55

> Cover the hole with ply and pump it full of expanding foam. 
> Heaps quicker.

  Well you did say you will be rendering in the future Just remember to put the ply on BOTH sides of the hole or it will take more than one can of EXP

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## Bros

> Well you did say you will be rendering in the future Just remember to put the ply on BOTH sides of the hole or it will take more than one can of EXP

  And bolt it onto the wall as expanding foam expands all ways and needs restraining.

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## PlatypusGardens

> And bolt it onto the wall as expanding foam expands all ways and needs restraining.

  A few threaded rods through the guts to stop it bulging

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## OBBob

If you use Sika Post Fix it'll be done in 3 minutes!

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## PlatypusGardens

Even quicker

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## Brian7886

Ive pulled air cons out of walls for customers before and our carpenter (who sadly passed away recently) has used the hole to fit a fixed window, glass bricks, recessed shelving. I remember one customer using the case as a support to build in a storage box.

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## Diddums

If I wasn't building a wall to wall bookcase along the wall I could make it a cool in wall safe. 
Thanks for the ideas though.

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## PlatypusGardens

> If I wasn't building a wall to wall bookcase along the wall I could make it a cool in wall safe. 
> Thanks for the ideas though.

  
Even more reason to hide a safe behind it! 
Pull a certain book out and the secret door opens.   :Wink:

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## Marc

I love the replies so far.
I had to do exactly the same not long ago. Mine was not hardwired, so I did not need an electrician, you do.
As explained before, they are in a metal box and slide out after you take the face off from the inside and figure out the few screws that hold it in place if any. Then you give it a mighty shove and hear it crash on the outside with satisfaction ... well that is what I did, you may want to have a wheelbarrow full of sand, the dog kennel or similar to cushion the fall.
To patch the hole, from the inside is easy, providing it is a brick veneer so you have to patch only the gyprock. If it is full brick then the numbers are stuck against you.  
How to patch up gyprock? My be post in the Plastering section, you'll get some tips from the pro.  
To brick up the hole, and cut out the half bricks you need a 9" angle grinder with a diamond wheel and a mask for the dust. You can also hire a dedicated mortar saw from Arbortech that makes almost no dust but costs a bomb.  
Bricking it all up with disregard to color and neatness is easy. I have exposed bricks so had to pay a bricky to do it properly

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## Marc

> Even quicker

   THIS is the best solution by far !!!

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## Diddums

> THIS is the best solution by far !!!

  Thanks Marc.  
I pulled it out today, it was too easy. Was only held in by 2 screws at the back. 
Was going to start pulling bricks turn it started raining. Figured it wasn't the best idea to play with power tools on the rain so I fixed the aerial instead and did a bunnings run.  
Hoping for some dry weather tomorrow to get it patched up outside.

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