Renovation debris removal in Portland

The short answer

For larger clearances use the volume ladder: quarter $241, three-eighths $338, half $431, three-quarters $587, full $732. Visit minimum $75, no sales tax in Oregon.

Weight versus volume: why masonry is priced separately

A truck runs out of one of two things first: space, or legal weight.

Most renovation debris runs out of space. Demolished cabinetry, lath, plaster, old decking, insulation, carpet and underlay are bulky and comparatively light. That is why it is priced on volume — construction debris at $120, or as a fraction of the truck.

Concrete, masonry, brick, tile, stone and old chimney material run out of weight long before they run out of space. A quarter truck of it can weigh more than a full truck of household furniture. That is why it has its own line at $219 per quarter truck and why it has to be loaded separately.

Practical instruction: keep the masonry in its own pile. A mixed heap of drywall and brick has to be sorted before it can be loaded safely, and that is time nobody wants to spend on your side yard.

The Portland old-house complications

Renovations here are mostly to buildings from 1905 to 1930, and that changes what comes out of them.

• Plaster and lath. Not drywall. It is heavier per square foot than people expect, it is dusty, and the lath comes out as thousands of thin strips with nails in them. Contractor bags at $41 each are often the sane way to handle it.
• Old-growth fir. Framing, flooring, trim and doors out of these houses are worth money and the salvage trade here will take them. Set them aside before demolition rather than after.
• Cast iron. Radiators at $123 each, and cast iron bathtubs at $185. Both extremely heavy, both usually upstairs or in a basement.
• Brick chimneys. A lot of Portland houses have an unused one. If it is coming out, that is masonry at $219 per quarter truck, not general debris.
• Knob-and-tube and old galvanised. Metal, and divertible.
• Multiple layers of flooring. Vinyl over lino over fir is standard. Carpet removal is $71 per room, and the layers underneath may be more than you planned for.

The thing to check before demolition starts

Older Portland houses can contain asbestos in pipe wrap, sheet flooring, floor tile and some plaster products, and lead in paint. Both need testing and, where present, licensed abatement before demolition.

This is not a junk removal service and no general crew should be handling it. Any hauler who tells you otherwise is wrong and is a reason to hang up. Get it tested first — it is the cheapest part of the project and the most expensive thing to get wrong.

The same goes at the other end: household hazardous waste out of the garage — paint, stain, solvents, old fuel — does not travel with a debris load. Metro's hazardous intake takes it; check the current rules.

Typical Portland renovation jobs, priced

Addition shown:

Bathroom strip-out, 1920s bungalow

Cast iron bathtub $185 + detached toilet $64 + bathroom vanity $69 = $318. Add construction debris at $120 for the tile and plaster: $318 + $120 = $438.

Kitchen strip-out

Refrigerator $164 + electric range $134 + dishwasher $109 + two stone countertop sections $111 + $111 = $629. Cabinetry and plaster usually push this to a half truck at $431 on top, or price the whole thing on the ladder.

Flooring replacement, two rooms

Carpet removal $71 + $71 = $142. If it is already rolled and out, rolled carpet is $68 each instead.

Chimney removal

Masonry debris at $219 per quarter truck. A full unused chimney is frequently more than one quarter.

Basement or ADU conversion, demo week

Construction debris $120 + carpet removal $71 + three cast iron radiators $123 + $123 + $123 = $560.

Access, and why contractors here plan around it

Inner-eastside lots are deep and narrow. The house fills most of the width, there is a side gate of maybe 30 to 36 inches, and the detached garage is at the back. There is usually no alley. The street is parked solid on both sides and street trees limit what can pull in.

That means debris does not get wheeled out on a barrow past the house — it gets carried in loads through the side yard, or brought out the front and down the steps of a raised porch. In the wet months that side yard is mud or slick pavers.

None of it is surcharged. The carry is in the price. But it is why staging matters: a pile in the side yard by the gate is far faster to load than a pile in the back corner behind the garage.

How to keep the bill down

• Separate masonry from everything else. The single biggest thing you can do.
• Salvage before you demolish. Doors, windows, cabinets, fixtures and old-growth fir have a real market here. Every piece diverted is volume you are not paying to haul.
• Pull the metal. Radiators, pipe, old fixtures. Easy diversion.
• Book one full trip at the end of demo, not three half-loads. Each visit carries the $75 minimum.
• Bag the plaster and lath as it comes down. Contractor bags at $41 each, and it stops the site becoming unworkable.
• Stage near the gate. A pile the crew can reach loads faster.
• Keep it covered. Nine months of rain means an uncovered debris pile gains real weight, which matters on anything weight-driven.

Debris pickup versus a container

For a project running over weeks on a suburban lot with a driveway — Beaverton, Hillsboro, Tigard, Happy Valley — a container usually makes sense.

For an inner-eastside remodel, scheduled pickups usually win. A container in the public right of way generally needs a permit, there is frequently nowhere to put it, street trees limit placement, the neighbors lose parking for a week, and an open container between October and June fills with rain and pushes you into weight overage.

A truck that comes, loads and leaves avoids all of that, and the disposal is already inside the published number.

Frequently asked questions