Garage, shed and green waste removal in Davidson
The under-house garage that has taken the overflow for years, the shed at the top of the yard, the branches that came down from the bush edge. We clear them together or one at a time, and agree the price on site before we start carrying.
What each job usually holds
Most clear-outs here are a mix of all three. Tell us everything that's going and it's priced as one load.
The garage
- Boxes from the last move, still taped
- Old bikes, prams, cots and camping gear
- The second fridge or chest freezer
- Shelving, old furniture and broken chairs
- Paint tins that are empty and dry
The shed
- Rusted tools, wheelbarrows and pots
- Old timber, offcuts and lattice
- Outdoor furniture past repair
- A metal or timber shed, once it's down
The garden
- Prunings and cut branches
- Limbs dropped from the bush edge
- Bagged leaves, bark and lawn clippings
- Soil, rocks and old sleepers, priced by weight
Not ours to take
- Liquid paint, solvents and pool chemicals
- Gas bottles and fuel
- Fibro sheeting that hasn't been tested
- Trees still standing, and stumps still in the ground
Under-house garages
On Davidson's sloping streets a lot of the split-level houses have the garage underneath, at the bottom of the drive. It's where things go when the house has no other place for them: the boxes from moving in, the kids' bikes, the cot kept for the grandchildren, the tools from a hobby that stopped. When a family has been in the house a long time, the garage alone can fill a truck.
Getting it out means carrying up the drive, which is often steep and sometimes has a car in it that can't be moved. We look at that when we price the job, so the carry is in the number you agree to, not added afterwards.
What helps on the day
- Move what's staying to one side, or mark it with tape
- Tell us if the drive is steep, shared or blocked by a car
- Empty a second fridge or freezer the day before
If the garage is being cleared because a renovation is about to start, it can go on the same trip as the rooms. Renovation rubbish removal
Garden sheds
A shed at the top of the yard is usually the longest carry on the block: across the lawn, down the side path, then up or down the drive. We empty it and take what's inside, from the mower catcher that lost its mower to the timber someone was saving for a project.
The shed itself can go as well. A metal or timber shed that has been taken down is a normal part of a load. Whether we take it down for you depends on how it's built and what it's sitting on, so mention it when you get in touch.
Older sheds and garages were often clad in fibro, the flat or corrugated cement sheeting. A shed from before 1990 falls under the same NSW EPA advice as a house of that age: expect some asbestos until a test says otherwise. Have the sheeting tested before anyone breaks, cuts or moves it.
Even a small shed's walls and roof can add up to more than 10 square metres, and past that, bonded asbestos has to come down with a licensed asbestos contractor, as does any friable asbestos. asbestos.nsw.gov.au is where to look for one. We don't handle asbestos; once the sheeting is gone or tested clear, we take everything else. What to test, and who does what
Green waste from bush-backed blocks
Plenty of Davidson back yards run straight into the bush of Garigal National Park. That brings a steady fall of limbs, bark and leaf litter, and shrubs that need cutting back off the house. Clearing that material away from the house is part of getting a bush-edge block ready for summer.
We take green waste as part of clearing a block, usually on the same trip as the garage or the shed. If your garden needs the same cut every few months, a gardener or a regular green waste service will suit you better, and we'd tell you so.
- Bundle long branches or leave them where they fell; either works
- We take what's on your side of the back fence only
- We don't cut trees down or grind stumps; that's an arborist's work
Where the council cleanup fits. Northern Beaches Council takes two bulky goods bookings per property in 12 months, up to 3 cubic metres each. It won't take garden vegetation, glass, TVs or computers, or anything longer than 1.8 metres. It suits a small tidy-up; a garage and shed cleared together is usually more than one booking holds. The council's list
How the price is worked out
We come and look, then give you one fixed price for the lot: garage, shed and garden together, or just the one you're clearing. It covers the carrying, a sweep where the load stood and the disposal. Nothing runs by the hour, and anything added on the day is agreed before it goes on the truck.
- How much
- The share of the truck the load fills.
- How heavy
- Soil, rock, sleepers and wet prunings weigh far more than boxes.
- The carry
- Up from under the house, or down from a shed at the top of a slope.
- What's decided
- A garage with the keep pile set aside loads faster than one sorted as we go.
Where the rest can go
Garages and sheds hold the things we can't take. They still have somewhere to go.
- Paint, gas bottles, motor oil and household batteries: a Community Recycling Centre
- Pool chemicals, pesticides and solvents: a Household Chemical CleanOut day, run by the NSW EPA with councils
- Fibro that tests positive: a licensed asbestos contractor
Your council's website lists the nearest centre and the next CleanOut date.
Questions about garages, sheds and green waste
Can you do the garage, the shed and the garden in one visit?
Yes, and it's usually the simplest way: one trip, one price. List everything that's going when you enquire, and we'll look at all of it when we come to price it.
Do we have to sort the garage before you come?
No, but decide what stays. Move it to one side or mark it. Anything you're not sure about can go in a separate pile, and we'll leave it for you to decide later.
Will you take old paint tins?
Empty, dry tins, yes. Tins with paint still in them go to a Community Recycling Centre, along with gas bottles and motor oil.
Can you take the shed itself?
A metal or timber shed that's been taken down, yes. Whether we take it down depends on the shed, so ask us. A fibro shed waits until the sheeting has been tested.
The branches came over from the bush behind us. Will you take them?
What's on your side of the fence, yes. The bush behind many Davidson back fences is Garigal National Park, and what's inside the park stays there.
Do you take soil, rocks and old sleepers?
Yes. They're heavy, so they're priced by weight as well as volume. If it's a full landscaping dig-out, a skip is often the better fit, and we'll say so.
We've booked the council cleanup. Can you take what it won't?
Yes. Put out what the council collection accepts, and we'll take the rest: the prunings, the glass, the long timber and the old TV.
Other clearing we do
- Renovation rubbish removalThree loads, booked around the trades.Service
- Household rubbish and single itemsA fridge, a mattress or a TV on its own.Service
- Deceased estate and house clearanceThe whole house, garage included, at the family's pace.Service
- Old eaves sheeting or vinyl underlay? Get it tested first.Fibro, the 10 square metre line, and who removes it.Guide
Tell us about the job
A few lines is plenty. We ring you back, come and look at it, and agree one fixed price before anything is lifted.
No hourly rate, no tip fees on top. The price covers loading, sweeping up and taking it to a licensed facility. If the job changes on the day, we agree the change before we carry on.