Pick right and you pay once, load once, and never think about it again. Pick wrong and you're either paying for a second haul or paying to ship air. Here's how we size projects on the phone every day.
The three sizes we run
| Bin | Dimensions | Capacity notes |
|---|---|---|
| 10-yard lowboy | 16 ft × 8 ft × 2 ft | No weight limit on clean concrete and dirt; ~2 tons for general refuse; ~3 pickup loads |
| 25-yard roll-off | 20 ft × 8 ft × 4 ft | 3 tons of disposal included; ~7–8 pickup loads |
| 40-yard roll-off | 20 ft × 8 ft × 6 ft | 4 tons of disposal included; ~12 pickup loads |
Match your project to a size
| Project | Right bin | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Garage or attic cleanout | 10 or 25-yard | One-car garage of clutter fits a 10; a packed two-car or hoarder-level cleanout wants the 25 |
| Kitchen remodel | 25-yard | Cabinets, counters, flooring, and drywall add up to 15–25 cubic yards fast |
| Bathroom remodel | 10 or 25-yard | One bathroom fits a 10; multiple baths or added drywall pushes to the 25 |
| Whole-house cleanout | 25 or 40-yard | Furniture and appliances are bulky; estates with decades of contents want the 40 |
| Roof tear-off | 10-yard lowboy | Shingles are brutally heavy: a 2,000 sq ft single layer weighs roughly 2–3 tons |
| Landscaping / yard debris | 25-yard | Branches and green waste are bulky but light. Soil and rock go in the lowboy instead |
| Concrete, dirt, asphalt, brick | 10-yard lowboy only | See the weight trap below, and our full heavy debris guide |
| Construction / demolition | 40-yard | Framing, strip-outs, and commercial jobs generate volume; swaps keep the site clear |
| ADU or garage conversion | Phased: 10 + 25 | Different phases produce different debris. Full breakdown in our ADU guide |
The weight trap
Dumpster sizes are measured in volume, but disposal is billed by weight. That mismatch is the number one way first-time renters get burned. A 25-yard bin filled even a third deep with broken concrete is far past its 3-ton allowance, and overage in the LA market runs $60 to $115 per extra ton.
The rule: heavy, dense material — concrete, dirt, rock, asphalt, tile, roofing — goes in the low-walled 10-yard lowboy. Bulky, light material — furniture, drywall, wood, junk — goes in the tall 25 or 40. If your project produces both, run a lowboy for the heavy phase and a roll-off for everything else. It's cheaper than one overweight bin.
Two more things worth checking
- Space. The 25 and 40-yard bins are 20 feet long and need roughly 60 feet of straight approach for the truck. Tight driveway? The 16-foot lowboy's 2-foot walls also keep sightlines clear.
- Placement. Driveway placement needs no permit anywhere we deliver. Street placement usually does — here's how LA permits work.
When in doubt, describe the job
Sixty seconds on the phone beats an hour of internet research. Tell us what you're demoing, roughly how many rooms or square feet, and what the debris is. We size projects like yours every single day, and we'll tell you honestly if the smaller bin will do — no upsell.
Ready for a straight answer on your project?
Call us, describe the job, and we'll tell you exactly what you need and what it costs. No hidden fees, ever. We call back within 60 minutes.
818-509-1352
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Frequently asked questions
- What is the most common dumpster size for home projects?
- The 25-yard roll-off. It handles most kitchen and bath remodels, garage and estate cleanouts, and mixed construction debris, and it still fits on a standard driveway. When in doubt between two sizes, most homeowners do fine with the 25.
- What size dumpster do I need for a kitchen remodel?
- A full kitchen tear-out with cabinets, countertops, flooring, and drywall typically produces 15 to 25 cubic yards of debris, which is exactly what the 25-yard bin is for. A light refresh with cabinet refacing may fit a 10-yard.
- How many pickup truck loads fit in each dumpster?
- Roughly 3 loads in a 10-yard, 7 to 8 in a 25-yard, and 12 in a 40-yard. If you're guessing your debris in truck loads, that conversion gets you close.
- What if I pick the wrong size?
- Too small and you pay for a second haul or a swap. Too big and you paid for air. This is why we ask about your project on the phone instead of just taking an order. Describing the job takes 60 seconds and usually saves money.