Renovation Debris Removal in Los Angeles

How debris is priced

Two ways, and you take whichever is cheaper. Generic construction debris is $120 as a bundle. By material: drywall is $37 per sheet or small bundle, lumber and wood scrap is $41 per bundle, hardwood or laminate flooring is $41 per bundle, tile or flooring is $33 per box or bundle, roofing shingles are $48 per bundle, and concrete or masonry debris is $219 per quarter truck because of the weight.

Bagged debris has its own ladder, which is usually the right tool for a demo that has been swept up: 10 bags is $132, 15 is $196, 20 is $259, 25 is $390, 30 is $385, 40 is $449 and 50 is $575. A single contractor bag is $41. For a whole load, the truck ladder runs a quarter at $241, a half at $431, three-quarters at $587 and a full truck at $732.

Kitchen tear-out prices

A full kitchen cabinet set ripped out is $293. Individually, a base cabinet is $67 per unit and an upper is $48. A laminate countertop is $56 per section and a stone or granite countertop is $111 per section. A drop-in cooktop is $71, a range hood is $53, a sink is $61 and a garbage disposal unit is $47.

A typical LA kitchen gut — the full cabinet set, a stone countertop section and the old dishwasher — is $293 + $111 + $109 = $513. Stone is the line that surprises people, and it is a weight charge rather than a difficulty charge.

Bathroom tear-out prices

A fiberglass bathtub is $90 and a cast iron tub is $185 — and cast iron is what is in most 1920s and 1930s Los Angeles bungalows and courtyard apartments, sitting on a mortar bed and usually needing to be cut in place. A shower stall or kit is $115, a shower door or glass enclosure is $71, a bathroom vanity is $69, a medicine cabinet is $41, a detached toilet is $64 and a toilet still attached and needing disassembly is $192.

A full bathroom gut with a cast iron tub, an attached toilet and the vanity is $185 + $192 + $69 = $446.

Why dumpsters are hard on LA lots

In most of this city there is no good place for one. A hillside house in Silver Lake or Mount Washington has a driveway that is a ramp, or no driveway at all. A 1920s bungalow in Highland Park sits close to the street on a narrow lot. Venice walk streets have no vehicle access. And placing a dumpster on a public street in Los Angeles generally means a permit from the relevant city, which has its own process and its own lead time — check the permit page for the city you are actually in before assuming.

Then street sweeping, which moves parked vehicles on a fixed schedule and does not care that there is a container in the way. And a container sitting on a street in this city attracts other people's furniture overnight, which you then pay to haul.

Staged pickups instead

The pattern that works on an LA remodel is scheduled removals at phase boundaries rather than one container for the duration. After demo, after rough-in, after finishes. The site stays clear, the trades are not working around a pile, and you are not paying for container days you are not using.

It also matches how the work actually goes. A kitchen demo produces a defined quantity in one day, and clearing it that afternoon keeps the cabinet installer working on schedule the following week.

Walk-up and courtyard remodels

A meaningful share of LA renovation happens in buildings with no elevator — condo conversions in Koreatown, unit remodels in 1920s courtyard buildings in Los Feliz and Miracle Mile, dingbat units in Palms. Everything comes down the same stair that turns ninety degrees on a half-landing, bagged.

That is why bag pricing is so often the right structure for these jobs: the material is already in contractor bags because that is the only way it can travel. Twenty bags at $259 for a bathroom gut on a third floor is a clean, predictable number, and there is no stair charge on top of it.

High-rise and HOA remodels

Downtown lofts, Century City, Marina del Rey and the Wilshire Corridor all have building rules that matter more than the debris itself. Expect a freight elevator reservation, a limited window during business hours, protective coverings in the elevator and lobby, and a certificate of insurance naming the association before anyone is allowed up.

Request the COI at booking. Buildings will not release an elevator without it and discovering that at eight in the morning costs you a day of the schedule.

What to separate before pickup

Keep concrete, masonry, tile and stone in their own pile. They are priced by weight-driven categories — concrete is $219 per quarter truck — and mixing them into general debris makes the whole load harder to quote and harder to divert.

Flag anything with special handling. Paint and solvents are $30 for a one-gallon can and $52 for a five-gallon bucket. A water heater coming out is $131 tank or $90 tankless. A furnace is $131. And if the building predates modern materials standards — which in Los Angeles means most of what is being remodelled — have suspect materials assessed by a qualified professional before demolition rather than after.

Frequently asked questions