Home Remodeling Tips

When you start a do it yourself home remodeling or renovation you probably don’t have debris and trash removal as one of the things at the top of your mind. But you will quickly find out that it is a lot easier to go out and buy the new materials you need than it is to get rid of the old that you tear out.

The system set up for household garbage removal will not work for the construction debris you will need to remove and you will find that a cost effective solution is to rent a roll off container. Roll off containers, or ‘rolloffs’ as they are commonly referred to in the trade, are like a large one time use dumpster that you can fill will any and all types of trash. When you are finished, the roll off container company will come and haul it all, the container and the debris, away.

Will a roll off container company work with me and how do I get the size I need?

This is the first questions many people ask when thinking about the need for a rolloff. There are standard sizes that are used in the industry and these sizes are called out in cubic yards. 20 and 30 cubic yard size rolloffs are probably the most commonly used in a do it yourself project, but smaller 10 cubic yard and large 40 cubic yard units are commonly available.

When you talk to a representative of a roll off container company they will, however, speak in terms of a ‘20 yarder’ or ‘30 yarder’. This is the vernacular of the trade and it is the way the sizes are expressed.

It is good to have some idea of the size you need prior to your call. This allows you to discuss ordering a rolloff and you can quickly and easily learn more about what you need. You will want to get the pricing and any information or rules they have about restricted materials without you having to ask (pardon me) a lot of ‘dumb’ questions.

 

What is the amount common dumpster sizes actually hold?

A cubic yard is an area that is 3 feet long by 3 feet wide by 3 feet deep. To get some idea, compare the size you need to this imaginary small one car garage. Our imaginary small one car garage (comparable to sizes of storage rental units) is sized at 14 ft wide by 22 ft deep by 8 (useable) ft high. A small building of this size would contain 100 cubic yards of space.

So when determining dumpster sizes that you want to consider how large of a roll off container you might need based on the amount of tear out material and waste you will have from your project.

10 yarders are quite small and would probably only be adequate for a very small project such as redoing the flooring in a bathroom or very small room.

20 yarders start to become the size you might want to consider for other smaller projects. They contain the space comparable to going back only a little more than 4 ft into our imaginary garage. But if you won’t have a lot of sheet rock or lumber to get rid of, this is a good starting size.

30 yarders start to get big enough to handle a larger project such as changing a wall or tearing out cabinets in rooms larger than bathrooms.

And if you really need the space a 40 yarder will give it to you. This would be like having the room to fill up our imaginary small garage nearly halfway full to the roof with debris.

And as a final word of advice, try not to cut it too close and order a rolloff that will end up being too small. If you are in doubt, go to the next larger size. It always seems that there is more to throw away than you think of. If you over estimate the size and still have room remaining when you finish your project you can still be pleased knowing you didn’t run out of room and have the need for extra dumps and additional charges. Then look around and get rid of any other long lost trash or debris that would be hard to get rid of in any other way.

Good luck with your project! At the end you’ll have the pleasure of ringing up the container company to have them come and take away your filled dumpster. It’s a great call to make.