Knowing that you’ve got the right size dumpster for a roof tear-off gives you peace of mind, making the rest of your project easier. To pick out the right size dumpster for a roof tear-off, you have to give some thought to what kind of materials will be going in the dumpster.
Dumpster Size and a Roof Tear Off is All About Materials
When you’re thinking about making sure you have the right size dumpster for a roof tear-off, you may be thinking the dumpster is going to be full of shingles and plywood. That’s true, there’s certainly going to be a lot of shingles and maybe some wood. But, depending on your roof, your dumpster is probably going to be full of quite a few other materials as well.
Start With the Shingles
Before you know what size dumpster you need, you’ve got to understand a little about the size of your roof and what it’s made of. To get moving in the right direction, and makes the most sense to start with your shingles first.
Oftentimes, when it comes to a roof tear off it’s tempting to think in terms of the roof’s length and width. But, shingles can be very heavy. Shingles are the first line of defense for your roof. They’re built to be sturdy and designed to stand up to whatever mother nature can dish out. Typically, when it comes to hauling away a roof, weight limits are likely to factor in before cubic yards.
A 10 ft. x 10 ft. grid of shingles is called a square in the roofing trade. Once you figure out how many square ft. of shingles you’re doing away with, you need to know what type of shingles are on the roof. The weight of a square of shingles can vary tremendously depending on the kind of material they’re made of.
Three-tab Shingles typically range from 150-250 pounds per square, architectural shingles can weigh roughly 300-400 pounds per square.
Don’t forget, your roof might have more than one layer of shingles. Finding a roof with more than one layer of shingles is not uncommon. It’s a good idea to take off a small patch of shingles to see what’s lurking underneath before you order a dumpster.
To get a rough estimate of the shingle weight you’ll be dealing with following this simple formula.
Average total weight = Square footage x Type of shingle x Number of layers on the roof
Some dumpster rental companies may limit the size of the dumpster you can use for shingles. As we mentioned before, piles of shingles can really tip the scales. Believe it or not, a big container full of shingles could wind up being too much for the truck to haul away.
One last pointer on shingles. Many haulers may require you to “clean load” the dumpster. This means all that should be in the dumpster are shingles. No other roof debris is allowed. This rule is typically put in place to make recycling old shingles a simpler process.
Recycled shingles can be turned into asphalt for pavement or roads. As usual, see when you start to fill up your dumpster, recycling shingles is a great way to put the landfills on a diet.
More Than Just Shingles
When you tear off a roof, you’ll probably have quite a bit of nail and roofing paper to get rid of. Don’t let the name fool you. Roofing paper can pack on the pounds when you add it to a dumpster. It has quite a bit of asphalt in it, so it’s not the same as throwing 100 ft. strips of paper into a dumpster. Depending on the damage to the roof, you might have to replace plywood decking as well. Plywood can take a big bite out of your dumpster’s weight limit. A 4 x 8 ft. of 1/2 inch thick plywood weighs in on average at about 48 pounds.
If flashing and gutters have to go you may find yourself over your limit but only halfway done with your tear-off. It’s a good idea to take a little bit of time and plan ahead to figure out what kind of materials you’re working with as well as what stays and what goes.
Making the Call
Once you have a solid idea of the square footage you’ll be tearing off and the materials that will be hauled away, it’s time to call the dumpster rental company in St. Louis if you are in that area and see what they have to offer. Most of the time, it’s a safe bet to go with a 10 or 20-yard dumpster. But, every job is different. As the old saying goes, measure twice cut once.
