Garage Clearance – How Can I Clear My Garage?
Many homeowners in the UK end up using their garage as a place to store all kinds of things that they don’t have room for but think that they might need later.
In fact, the RAC conducted a survey where over 50% of participants said that they never parked their car in their garage because it was too full of other items.
Like in the before and after images below.
Often this can include old furniture, appliances, garden equipment, bicycles, gym equipment, trampolines, camping equipment, and general heavy-duty items like machinery that just won’t fit anywhere else.
Eventually, the garage can end up being so full of all kinds of stuff (and junk) that it’s just too overwhelming to even think about clearing out, and so the problem gets left, and left (and added to) until there’s no other option but to sort it out and clear it all away.
We’re sure you know what we mean, we all do it!
When you get to this point you need to think carefully about your options, and the costs associated with each option.
One way you could approach it is the DIY or do-it-yourself approach, where you could make several trips in your vehicle to the local tip to get rid of as much as possible, and then hire a skip to put the rest in.
This isn’t ideal because things that can be recycled will end up in landfill.
You also need to price up the total costs (including any disposal fees, skip costs, etc) and the time it will take you to complete the job.
Another option is to hire a specialist garage clearance company like Keke Waste Disposal to do all the hard work and heavy lifting for you.
In this way you don’t have to:
- Break your back lifting lots of heavy objects.
- You don’t need to concern yourself with what is and isn’t allowed to be disposed of in certain places (like petrol, oil, paint, chemicals, etc).
- You can be sure that everything that can be recycled goes to an approved recycling centre.
If you are wondering, how can I de-clutter my garage quickly, then an approved garage clearance company like Keke is definitely the way to go.
How Long Does It Take To Clean Out A Garage?
If you do it yourself then it could take a long time, several days.
This is because of the numerous trips to the tip, places where things can be recycled, disposing of toxic and dangerous materials, etc.
If you hire a professional clearance service like Keke Waste Disposal, then, generally speaking, the average garage clearance doesn’t take too long, probably around half a day but that, of course, depends on how much there is to be cleared, and what is to be disposed of.
Some people want a complete garage clearance service, so the garage is totally empty, and everything is disposed of, while others want to keep some of the items and remove the others.
Either is totally fine with us, just tell us which items you want us to clear, and which you want to keep, and we’ll do the rest.
Sometimes we go to garage clearances and the owner can’t be present.
In this case, simply mark the items you want to keep (or be removed) with stickers or labels, and we’ll do the rest for you.
Items That We Can Clear From Your Garage
We can remove most items without any problem, for example:
- Car parts, panels, engines, and jacks.
- Tools and tool kits.
- Garden equipment such as mowers, clippers, rotavators, chainsaws and other general garden tools like shovels, spades, rakes, etc.
- Garden furniture such as chairs, tables, loungers, patio heaters, etc.
- Machinery like lathes, grinders, winches, etc.
- All kinds of household furniture.
- Storage such as racks, shelves, boxes, pallets, etc.
- General waste like cardboard, carpets, glass, plastics, etc.
Since our pricing (see below) is based on the number of loads and time, there are some bulky and heavy items that can increase the costs of a garage clearance, such as:
- Tyres, wheels, and rims.
- Tins of paint.
- Garden or building rubble, especially concrete items, bricks, concrete posts, etc.
- Heavy metal items like steel girders or beams or other steelwork, old lintels, beams, joists, etc.
- Garage Clearances Often Contain Dangerous Items.
Whether you decide to use Keke or do it yourself, there are lots of very common hazardous and toxic (dangerous or possibly could cause contamination) substances and items often found in a garage clear out that you need to think carefully about.
These include:
- Paints, stains, varnishes, etc
- Weed killer
- Aerosols
- Asbestos
- Petrol or other fuels and oil
- Tyres
- Flammable materials and liquids (e.g., butane, propane, etc)
- Waste that contains mould
- Other bio-hazardous materials like human waste or animal waste.
With these kinds of dangerous and potentially toxic clearance items, you must make sure that you adhere to all government, environmental, and council guidelines, otherwise, you may incur a hefty fine.
How Much Does It Cost To Clear A Garage?
It’s very difficult to give an “average cost” because garages differ markedly in size and of course the amount, physical volume, and weight of the items to be removed.
Add on top of that any special requirements for hazardous materials and you can imagine prices vary quite wildly.
Since we don’t like to give people nasty surprises on cost (we prefer nice surprises), it’s better if you contact us for a free, no-obligation quote so we can accurately price your clearance.
Another thing that will have an impact on price is your location.
Different councils and authorities charge different rates for the disposal of different items, and without knowing where you live and what you need clearing, we would literally be throwing darts at a dartboard, in the dark while wearing a blindfold.
Having said that, a straightforward garage clear-out that takes half a day hasn’t got lots of super heavy items or hazardous materials won’t cost as much as you think.
Whereas a double garage packed to the roof with all kinds of problematic items that takes 2 days to clear properly and legally will clearly cost significantly more than that.
We hope you understand that unless we know what you need, we can’t give you an accurate price.
At Keke we aim to offer a highly efficient, professional service at the most affordable prices possible, so please don’t be afraid to ask for a no-obligation quote.
You can always say no, and we aren’t pushy salesmen who will keep pestering you, we’re here to help and if we’re not the right choice for you then that’s perfectly okay.
