When a kitchen demolition (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/demolition) gets underway, it can quickly fill a dumpster with the cabinet doors, drywall fragments, countertop pieces, and cardboard boxes that arrive with new appliances. If you’re living in an occupied house near downtown Wilmington, the logistics of getting rid of all that mess become even more complicated. The space in your driveway, the cars parked on the street, the proximity of neighbors’ houses, and the fact that you still need to get to the backyard all influence the way your debris removal process will work.
Hiring a reputable dumpster rental company in Wilmington, NC, can help you avoid having your trash pile up on your front lawn and interfere with the normal activities of your household. But it all starts before you remove the first cabinet hinge.
Decide Where To Put The Dumpster Before You Start Removing Cabinets
Walk around the site of your project while you still have your kitchen intact. Take the time to measure the width of your driveway, make note of low-hanging tree branches, and identify things your dumpster delivery truck will have to steer clear of, like a brick mailbox or overhead power lines. There are a number of situations where a dumpster can physically fit on a lot but won’t leave enough room for residents to maneuver their own trash cans and grocery carts past a side gate.
For example, the team at Priority Waste Inc. can discuss placement constraints before delivery.
If you have older brick or patterned concrete driveways, you may want to use some wooden planks under the dumpster to protect the surface of your driveway. Wood planks should lie completely flat, not have a raised edge that can catch someone’s boot, and not lift up from underneath the dumpster.
It might seem tempting to put your dumpster on the street if you have a narrow driveway, but you may be parking your dumpster in a public right of way, which could require a permit. Also, if you park your dumpster next to several cars that are parked on the street, this can make it difficult for your family to safely get in and out of your driveway apron, especially if there’s a pickup truck parked in front of you, close to the curb.
Make sure that your family’s daily routes remain accessible. Don’t block the path from your front door to your garage or from your front yard gate to your back door. Having a piece of plywood on your walkway isn’t much help if the dumpster lid swings over that path every time your workers haul out a cabinet box.
Sort Through The Junk As You Take Your Kitchen Apart
Most of the cabinets, drywall, wood trim, and other stuff in a typical kitchen remodel can be placed in your dumpster. But make sure that you understand what your dumpster rental service in Wilmington, NC, will accept before your workers throw out their half-full can of leftover paint from under your sink. Set aside any questionable items in one place, preferably on top of a tarp instead of next to the dumpster. Some things you might have to take care of separately include:
- Paint cans with wet paint, sealants, and adhesives
- Batteries and fluorescent lightbulbs
- Refrigerators and other appliances with hazardous parts
- Tires, gasoline, and compressed gas tanks
- Concrete and brick above the dumpster weight limit
Where you put items inside the dumpster also makes a difference. Lay down wide, flat cabinet faces at the bottom and spread out heavier stuff, rather than stacking everything in one big pile near the dumpster door. Pieces of broken drywall can fill in the gaps in between, and long pieces of molding shouldn’t stick above the rim of the dumpster. If your countertop has one end higher than the fill line, it can’t be picked up, even if your workers tie a bright orange rag around it.
Schedule Dumpster Pickup for the Afternoon and Avoid Weekend Rush Hour
It takes a rainy afternoon to turn a dumpster full of debris into a bag of wet cardboard, sawdust, and water-filled cabinet drawers. So, check the weather forecast (check this link for more), and call for a pickup once you’ve torn out all the cabinets. If you expect a rainy night, make sure that you cover your dumpster according to your rental company’s guidelines and that your tarp doesn’t flap in the wind and hit a neighbor’s fence.
Getting Your Kitchen Remodel Done
Taking the time to properly locate your dumpster, sorting through your junk as you demolish your kitchen, and scheduling timely pickups for your junk will let your renovation workers do their job without interfering with your family’s daily life. When your driveway bricks are protected by wood, you leave room for your family to get past your front door, and every piece of your broken cabinet is below the fill line of your dumpster, so your junk removal won’t add another hassle to your already busy home renovation.