Kitchen and bath remodels
Remodel debris: a dumpster for a kitchen or bathroom tear-out
Demo day produces more debris in an afternoon than a family makes in a month. Have the container in place before the first cabinet comes off the wall.
Call hours: Monday to Saturday 8am–8pm, Sunday 8am–1pm (South Bend time)
What a tear-out usually involves
- Kitchen
- Upper and lower cabinets, a countertop, the sink, old flooring and sometimes a wall of drywall or plaster. A 15 or 20-yard container is the common choice.
- Full bathroom
- Vanity, toilet, tub or shower surround, tile and backer board. Tile and mortar are heavy, so a 10-yard is often enough by volume and right for the weight.
- Two rooms at once
- Running both jobs together, or opening walls as well, usually pushes the job to a 20 or a 30.
Plaster weighs more than you think
Many homes around downtown South Bend and the older parts of Mishawaka were built before drywall, with plaster over wood lath. Plaster comes off in heavy chunks, and a bathroom's worth of it can use up a good part of a small container's weight allowance on its own.
Tell the company if walls are coming down, and say whether they're plaster or drywall. That one detail changes the size they suggest more than the size of the room.
If the house was built before 1978, EPA says it is more likely to have lead-based paint. Read up before sanding or breaking painted trim.
Timing the container around the job
Drop it before demo
Have it delivered the day before tear-out so debris goes straight from the room to the container.
Keep it through rough-in
Offcuts, packaging and the old fixtures you pull late tend to show up for a week or two after demo.
Swap rather than overfill
If it fills early, ask for a haul and a fresh container. Debris above the rim can't travel.
Leave these out of the load
Cans of adhesive, thinner and oil-based finishes go to the county's household hazardous waste sites, not the container. If your contractor is hauling the old cabinets away, ask before you rent, so you don't pay for space you won't use. The full list of what can't go in covers the rest.
Book a roll-off for your project
Describe what you're getting rid of. An independent local roll-off company will suggest a container, offer delivery dates and give you its price.
Use this number to rent a roll-off or a portable toilet. South Bend garbage, recycling and bulk pickup questions go to 311.
Call hours: Monday to Saturday 8am–8pm, Sunday 8am–1pm (South Bend time)
Your call may be recorded; see the referral disclosure.