Renovation debris removal in Tampa

The short answer

Bagged debris by the band: 10 bags $132 · 15 bags $196 · 20 bags $259 · 25 bags $322 · 30 bags $385 · 40 bags $449 · 50 bags $575. Truck fractions: $241 · $338 · $431 · $513 · $587 · $661 · $732. Minimum visit $75.

Weight versus volume, and why masonry is priced apart

Most junk is priced by the space it occupies, because most junk is bulky and light. A sofa fills a lot of truck and weighs very little of what a truck can carry.

Masonry is the opposite. Concrete, block, tile, mortar, pavers and stone are dense — a quarter of a truck of block rubble weighs more than a full truck of household furniture. Disposal downstream is charged by weight at the scale, so that material cannot be priced on the same ladder as a bedroom set. Hence $219 per quarter truck for concrete and masonry debris, separate from the general ladder.

This matters enormously in Tampa, because the housing stock is concrete block. Most single-family homes here are CBS construction — concrete block with stucco — so any wall you take out, any window opening you enlarge, any patio you break up produces masonry rather than framing lumber.

Keep masonry separate from everything else on site. Mixing a wheelbarrow of block rubble into an otherwise light load changes what the load is.

The Tampa renovation patterns

Four jobs generate most of the renovation debris in this metro, and they produce different piles.

The bungalow renovation. Seminole Heights, Tampa Heights, Hyde Park, parts of West Tampa. Wood framing, plaster or early drywall, old flooring, sometimes original cast iron in the bathroom. A cast iron bathtub is $185 and a cast iron radiator $123 — both are two-person items that people routinely underestimate.

The mid-century ranch update. Carrollwood, Temple Terrace, Seminole, Town 'n' Country and across Pinellas. Block walls, terrazzo floors, popcorn ceilings, original kitchens. Heavy on masonry and old cabinetry.

The new-build upgrade. Wesley Chapel, Riverview, Lutz, Apollo Beach. Builder-grade laminate countertops at $56 a section coming out for stone, carpet at $71 a room coming out for LVP, and the original appliances going with them.

The storm repair. Drywall, insulation, flooring, and screen enclosure aluminum and mesh.

Screen enclosures and lanai rebuilds

A category that barely exists outside Florida and is routine here.

Screen pool cages take damage in storms and simply wear out — the mesh degrades in UV, the fasteners corrode, and near the water salt air accelerates all of it. A rescreen or a partial rebuild produces a distinctive pile: rolls of old mesh, bent aluminum framing, and a surprising quantity of small hardware.

The aluminum is recoverable and goes into the metal stream. The mesh is not. It is construction debris at $120, or bagged: 10 bags $132, 20 bags $259.

Two practical notes. Do not leave a pile of screen and framing beside the cage through storm season — lightweight aluminum sections are exactly the wrong thing to have loose in wind. And if the hot tub inside the cage is coming out as part of the project, that is $322 and it should go before the new screen goes in, not after.

Kitchens and bathrooms, priced

A typical Bay area bathroom gut: fiberglass bathtub $90, detached toilet $64, bathroom vanity $69, and the tile and drywall as construction debris $120. That is $90 + $64 + $69 + $120 = $343.

With a cast iron tub instead — common in the older bungalows — it is $185 + $64 + $69 + $120 = $438. Cast iron tubs are heavy enough that they are frequently broken up in place; that turns part of the job into masonry-adjacent weight, so flag it when you book.

A kitchen: laminate countertops at $56 per section or stone at $111 per section, a drop-in cooktop at $71, plus the appliances on their own prices — standard fridge $164, electric range $134, dishwasher $109, countertop microwave $30.

Once cabinets, flooring and drywall join in, stop itemizing and buy the truck. A half truck is $431 and a full one $732.

What we cannot take from a renovation

Be straight about this before the job starts, because it affects your schedule.

• Paint, solvents, adhesives, thinners. Household hazardous waste. Your county's HHW collection, not the truck.
• Anything suspected of containing asbestos or lead. Older Tampa housing stock can contain both. Popcorn ceilings and floor tile adhesive in mid-century houses are the usual suspects. If there is any doubt, get it tested and, if positive, abated by a licensed firm before removal. We are not an abatement contractor and we will tell you so.
• Fuel and propane. Same as above.

Everything else — drywall, lumber, tile, cabinetry, flooring, fixtures, framing, screen and aluminum — is what we take.

Staging the debris so it costs less

Four moves that genuinely reduce the price and the time.

• Separate masonry. One pile for concrete, block, tile and stone; another for everything else. Mixed loads price as the heavier category.
• Bag the small stuff. Contractor bags are $41 each, or buy the band — 20 bags $259 is better value than counting individually. Bagged debris also loads far faster.
• Break down what you can. Cabinetry and framing stacked flat takes a fraction of the truck space it does loose.
• Keep it out of the weather. From May to October the afternoon storms will find any pile you leave uncovered, and soaked drywall and carpet weigh substantially more.

Contractors and phased jobs

If you are running a project rather than a single clear-out, the efficient pattern in this metro is a container for the demolition phase and a truck for the finish — the awkward fixtures, the leftover flooring, the old appliances and the pile in the garage that never made it into the roll-off.

Worth knowing for the container half: placing one in the public right-of-way typically requires a permit from your municipality, and the rules differ by jurisdiction. HOA communities out in Wesley Chapel, Lutz and Riverview commonly limit how long one may sit. And paver driveways rut under a loaded roll-off.

For our half, the prices are the same on a Tuesday in February as in a post-storm week: construction debris $120, masonry $219 per quarter truck, half truck $431, full truck $732, minimum visit $75.

Frequently asked questions