Project guide · published prices
Dumpster for a flooring tear-out
For a tile tear-out, order the 10 yard: $375 delivered with 1 ton included and heavy debris accepted at no handling charge. Tile with its thinset runs 4 to 5 pounds per square foot, so 1,000 square feet is over 2 tons and the box is weight-limited long before it is full. Hardwood, laminate and carpet are light: a 15 yard for a whole house. Call (407) 860-8640.
Our pick for this job
10 yard$375 delivered · 1 ton of disposal and 7 days included
Call (407) 860-8640 if the pile does not match the description; the size question takes two minutes.
Which size, by flooring type?
Flooring is the clearest case on the site of material deciding the box before volume does. Tile, stone and the mortar under them are heavy debris; wood, laminate, vinyl and carpet are bulk. The table gives planning weights per square foot as the material comes up, including the thinset, pad or underlayment that comes with it.
| Flooring | Planning weight | 1,000 sq ft weighs | Size |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ceramic or porcelain tile on thinset | 4 to 5 lb per sq ft | 2 to 2.5 tons | 10 yard, loaded partway |
| Tile on a mortar (mud) bed, older homes | 10 to 15 lb per sq ft | 5 to 7.5 tons | Two or three 10 yards, or a swap |
| Natural stone, marble, travertine | 6 to 8 lb per sq ft | 3 to 4 tons | 10 yard, loaded partway |
| Hardwood, solid or engineered | 2 to 3 lb per sq ft | 1 to 1.5 tons | 15 yard |
| Laminate or vinyl plank with underlayment | 1 to 2 lb per sq ft | About a ton or less | 15 yard |
| Carpet and pad | Under 1 lb per sq ft | Under half a ton | 10 yard or 15 yard, by bulk |
Why tile goes in the smallest box
Run the numbers on a typical Orlando job: 1,200 square feet of tile through the kitchen, living room and hall. At 4.5 pounds a square foot that is 5,400 pounds, 2.7 tons, and it takes up perhaps four cubic yards once it is broken. In a 20 yard it would fill a fifth of the box, cost the $150 heavy-debris handling charge that applies in any size over 10, and sit at the bottom of a container the truck may not be able to lift safely if the rest gets loaded on top. In a 10 yard it is a partly filled box with no handling charge, well within what the truck lifts, and the only extra is weight: 2.7 tons against a 1 ton allowance is 1.7 tons over at $83 per ton, about $141. That is the honest number, and it is the cheapest way to move 5,400 pounds of tile in this city. A mud-bed floor from the 1960s or 70s doubles or triples the weight, and the answer becomes two 10 yards or a 10 yard with a swap when the first is at the line, never a bigger box. The weight guide explains the lifting and road limits that sit behind all of this.
What does a flooring dumpster cost, all in?
Delivery, pickup, 7 days and the tonnage shown are in every price. On a tile job, weight is the line that moves and the scale ticket sets it; on a wood or carpet job, nothing usually moves at all. Any overage is billed to the card on file after the landfill weighs the load.
| Job | Box | Weight | All in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 400 sq ft of tile, one room | 10 yard, $375 | Under 1 ton | $375 |
| 1,200 sq ft of tile on thinset | 10 yard, $375 | About 2.7 tons, 1.7 over | About $516 |
| 1,200 sq ft of tile on a mortar bed | Two 10 yards, $750 | About 6 tons, 4 over across both | About $1,082 |
| 1,500 sq ft of hardwood | 15 yard, $450 | Under 1.75 tons | $450 |
| Whole house of carpet and pad | 15 yard, $450 | Under a ton | $450 |
| Tile in the kitchen, carpet everywhere else | 10 yard plus a 15 yard | Heavy in the 10, bulk in the 15 | $825 |
What from a floor cannot go in?
Tile, thinset, mortar, backer board, hardwood, laminate, vinyl, carpet, pad, tack strip, baseboard and the old subfloor sheets all go in. Two things to stop for.
- Asbestos: 9-by-9-inch vinyl floor tiles and the black mastic under them, common in homes built before about 1980, often contain it, and asbestos is on the refused list. Have a suspect floor tested before anyone starts scraping; if it is positive, it goes through an abatement contractor, not the dumpster
- Adhesive removers, solvents and the leftover cans of floor finish: flammable, refused at the landfill, and the county's household hazardous waste program takes them
- Nothing above the marked fill line, which on a tile job is never the issue; the weight arrives first
How long does a tear-out take?
Tile with a demolition hammer comes up at a few hundred square feet an hour; a mud bed is slower and louder. Most whole-house tile tear-outs are a two-day job for a crew and a long weekend for a homeowner. Carpet is an afternoon. The 7-day rental covers any of them, and for a floor being replaced room by room over a couple of weeks, the box stays at $30 a day up to 30 days, or the first box goes and a second arrives when the next room starts. Order for the morning the demo starts; a request in by 2pm is usually delivered the same day inside the core area.
Loading, placement and ordering
Load tile flat across the whole floor of the box, not piled against one end; a balanced box is one the truck lifts without drama, and a 10 yard with two tons in one corner is not. Buckets and a wheelbarrow are the tools; the 10 yard's 3.5-foot side is low enough to tip a wheelbarrow over. Carpet rolls and hardwood stack on top. Set the box on the driveway at the door nearest the rooms being stripped, with a straight approach of about 34 feet for the truck and plywood under the rails on pavers. To order, call (407) 860-8640 or use the quote form with the square footage and the floor type; the answer to "is there a mortar bed" is the one that changes the plan. Every fee is on the pricing page. The roof replacement page is the other job on this site where the box is weight-limited before it is full; the two should never share a container.
Questions people ask
What size dumpster for a tile floor removal?
The 10 yard, $375 with 1 ton included, loaded partway. Tile with thinset is 4 to 5 pounds a square foot, so weight limits the load long before volume does.
How much does 1,000 square feet of tile weigh?
About 2 to 2.5 tons on thinset, and 5 tons or more on an old mortar bed. Over the 1 ton allowance, weight is $83 per ton from the landfill scale ticket.
Can I put tile in a 20-yard dumpster?
You can, but it costs more: heavy debris in any box over 10 yards carries a $150 handling charge, and a large box with tile in the bottom is the load the truck struggles to lift. The 10 yard is the right box.
What size dumpster for hardwood or carpet?
A 15 yard for a whole house of hardwood, laminate or carpet, $450 with 1.75 tons included; these floors are bulk, not weight.
Can old vinyl floor tile go in the dumpster?
Only if it is not asbestos. Pre-1980 9-by-9 vinyl tile and its black mastic often are, and asbestos is refused. Test first.
Get a quote, or book it now
A quote costs nothing. Booking takes two minutes and is confirmed by phone. Or just call.
Same-day and next-day dumpster delivery available. Same-day requests must be in by 2:00pm and are subject to availability.