the Highlands
Renovation & Pop-Top Debris Removal in
the Highlands
LoHi, West Highland, Berkeley and Sunnyside (80211 / 80212) are the busiest teardown blocks in Denver — a pop-top going up next door to a full scrape-off, both throwing off drywall, flooring, cabinets and fixtures faster than any dumpster fills. We haul the construction and demolition debris by the cubic yard at $120, empty the whole house before the demo crew arrives, and work on your build schedule. Every load tarped, C&D diverted, quoted flat from a photo. No Colorado sales tax on the service.
How a debris haul works in the Highlands
1 · Photograph the pile
Snap the debris stacked in the driveway, the garage, or the room mid-demo — or the whole house if it's a pre-scrape clear-out. You get an exact flat price back in seconds, scoped by the cubic yard for debris or as a truck-fill for a full house.
2 · Slot it into the build
Mid-project haul-out, a single pull when demo wraps, or a standing weekly clear — we schedule around your crew and inspections, not the other way around. Same-day is usually open.
3 · We load, tarp & divert
A licensed crew loads it all — you and your framers keep working — tarps the truck, and routes clean wood, metal and reusable cabinets away from the landfill. Disposal receipts kept for your records.
Pop-top, scrape-off, and the two kinds of debris
Nobody talks about renovation the way Denver's Northwest side does. A pop-top means adding a second story to an original bungalow or Denver Square; a scrape-off (or just "scrape") means tearing the house to the dirt and rebuilding, usually as a pair of slot-home duplexes. Both are everywhere in the Highlands, and both generate two distinct jobs. First is the pre-demolition whole-house clear-out — everything the previous owner left behind, cleared so the demo crew starts on an empty shell. Second is the construction and demolition debris itself — the drywall, subfloor, tile, cabinets, trim and old fixtures that come out once the walls open up.
Those are priced differently on purpose. A clear-out is household volume, so it scopes as truck-fill. Debris is about weight: Front Range disposal charges roughly $88 a ton and doubles the fee on any uncovered load, so a bin of demo material tips at a genuine cost that a couch-and-dresser rate would never cover. That's why C&D has its own honest line — $120 per cubic yard — with the tipping weight already built in and the load tarped every time.
How much does renovation debris removal cost here?
Flat and photo-quoted, with debris by the yard and clear-outs by the truck. Disposal, the drive, and the tarp discipline are all in the number.
| Job | Flat price |
|---|---|
| Minimum job (a small pull) | $75 |
| Renovation / demo debris (per cubic yard) | $120 |
| Yard / branch debris (per cubic yard) | $119 |
| Whole-house clear-out — truck-fill (1/4) | $241 |
| Truck-fill (1/2) | $431 |
| Truck-fill (3/4) | $587 |
| Whole-house — truck-fill (full) | $732 |
| Refrigerator pulled during a reno | $164 |
| Water heater | $131 |
$75 minimum. Disposal included; every load tarped. A big scrape runs multiple trucks — we quote the whole job flat before we start. No Colorado sales tax on the service — the flat quote is all-in.
For context, hauling a full construction dumpster in metro Denver commonly runs several hundred dollars once weight overages and swap fees are added, and a rented bin sits on your permit-limited street for days. Our cubic-yard debris pricing is quoted from your photo before the truck rolls, weight included, and it leaves the same day.
4 ways to clear renovation debris in Denver
| Option | Cost | Speed | Catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Denver Large Item Pickup | Free | Up to ~9 weeks | Curbside household bulk only — construction debris, concrete and brick are excluded outright |
| Rent a construction dumpster | ~$350–$650+ | Days on site | Weight overage fees, a permit for street placement, and you load every board yourself |
| Traditional full-service hauler | ~$550–$900+ per truck | 1–3 days | Priced by volume, often confirmed only on site; heavy-debris and uncovered-load upcharges common |
| JunkRabbit | $120/yd, or truck-fill from $241 | Same day | None — flat photo price, we load it, tarped and diverted, on your build schedule |
Does Denver pick up construction debris?
No — and this is the reason a pop-top or scrape-off needs a real hauler. The City & County of Denver's free Large Item Pickup (scheduled through Denver 311 · 720-913-1311) is built for household bulk set at the curb: it runs only about once every nine weeks, caps at five large items, and specifically excludes construction and demolition debris — concrete, brick, dirt, drywall and tile — along with appliances, electronics and tires. In other words, essentially nothing a renovation produces is eligible, and no framing inspection or draw schedule survives a nine-week wait for a curbside slot that won't take the material anyway. That gap is exactly our lane: we scope the C&D by the yard, take the appliances and e-waste the city won't (Colorado bans TVs and computers from the landfill entirely), tarp it, and haul it to the Denver Arapahoe Disposal Site and the metro transfer stations on your timeline.
What we haul on a Highlands renovation
- Demolition debris — drywall, subfloor and flooring, tile, plaster, framing offcuts; priced by the cubic yard, tarped.
- Cabinets, counters & fixtures — old kitchens and baths pulled during a remodel; reusable pieces routed to ReStore.
- Pre-demolition whole-house clear-outs — everything left behind before a teardown, so the demo crew hits a clean shell.
- Appliances & e-waste — a dead fridge, a pulled water heater, old wiring; TVs and electronics diverted to an e-cycler.
- Carpet, trim, doors & windows — the finish material that comes out in a gut, bundled and hauled.
- New-build move-in leftovers — packaging, foam, cardboard and the old furniture the new duplex replaced.
What happens to the debris after we load it
A renovation isn't all landfill. We divert first: clean dimensional lumber, metal and cardboard go to recyclers, and intact cabinets, doors, sinks and light fixtures go to Habitat for Humanity ReStore, where they're resold to fund local builds — with a donation receipt on request. The genuinely spent material is disposed responsibly at the Denver-Arapahoe Disposal Site or a transfer station, and because we're a licensed Denver waste hauler we keep the disposal receipts for at least a year, which is useful if your project is documenting construction-waste diversion. Every truck leaves tarped — the safe, legal way to haul, and the reason your bill never catches the doubled uncovered-load fee.
When Highlands crews and owners call us
- Before the scrape — a whole-house clear-out so the demo crew starts on an empty shell.
- Mid-pop-top — a haul-out between phases to keep a tight LoHi lot workable.
- Kitchen or bath gut — the old cabinets, tile and fixtures out in one flat-priced pull.
- Punch-list cleanup — the final debris and packaging before the finish walk-through or listing photos.
- New-duplex move-in — packaging and the old furniture cleared after closing on a just-built slot home.
Why Highlands builders choose JunkRabbit
- Debris priced by the yard, weight built in — $120/yd, quoted from a photo, no surprise tip fees at the end.
- On your schedule — mid-project, single pull, or standing weekly; same-day when a crew's open.
- Tarped & licensed — a licensed Denver hauler, every load covered, disposal receipts kept.
- No tax surprise — Colorado doesn't tax the service, so the flat quote is the whole number.
What Highlands customers say
"Popped the top on our West Highland Square and the demo buried the driveway in drywall and old cabinets. They scoped it by the yard, tarped the load, and had it gone the same afternoon. The price on the photo was the price."
"I build slot homes in Berkeley and Sunnyside and use them for every pre-scrape clear-out. They empty the whole house on my schedule at a flat price, so my demo crew starts on a clean shell. No dumpster sitting on the lot for a week."
"Kitchen gut in LoHi — old cabinets, tile, and a dead fridge. One flat-priced pull, they even took the cabinets to ReStore. Way cleaner than the bin quote I got, and no tax tacked on."
Renovation debris & cleanouts nearby
Frequently asked questions
How much does renovation debris removal cost in the Highlands?
Demolition and renovation debris is priced by volume at $120 per cubic yard, because drywall, tile, flooring and cabinets tip far heavier than household junk. A pre-demolition whole-house clear-out is usually cheaper scoped as truck-fill: $241 a quarter, $431 a half, $587 three-quarters, $732 full, with multiple trucks for a big scrape. The $75 minimum applies to a small pull, disposal is included, and there's no Colorado sales tax on the service.
What renovation debris do you take, and what won't you take?
We take drywall, subfloor and flooring, tile, old cabinets and countertops, fixtures, trim, doors, windows, framing offcuts, packaging and the old furniture and appliances a remodel displaces. We don't handle hazardous material — wet paint, solvents, asbestos, or anything flagged for abatement — which needs a licensed abatement contractor. Bagged, dried-out paint cans we can take; liquids we can't.
Can you work on a contractor's schedule during a pop-top or scrape-off?
Yes — that's the core of this job. We'll do a mid-project haul-out to keep the site clear between phases, a single big pull once demo wraps, or a standing weekly clear on a longer build. Send a photo of the pile whenever it's ready and we quote it flat before the truck rolls, so it drops straight into your job budget.
Why is construction debris priced by the yard instead of a flat item rate?
Because it's about weight, not shape. Front Range disposal charges by the ton — roughly $88 — and doubles the fee for any uncovered load, so a truck of demo debris tips at a real cost. Pricing it at $120 per cubic yard keeps the quote honest and predictable instead of hiding the weight inside a furniture rate.
Do you clear the whole house before a teardown?
Yes. Before a scrape-off we empty the entire structure — leftover furniture, appliances, carpet, closets and a full basement of forgotten storage — so the demo crew walks into a clean shell. It's scoped as truck-fill from photos, flat-priced up front, disposal included.
Where does the debris actually go?
We tarp every load and divert what we can — clean wood, metal and cardboard to recyclers, usable fixtures and cabinets to Habitat for Humanity ReStore where they're resellable — and the rest goes to the Denver Arapahoe Disposal Site or a metro transfer station. As a licensed Denver waste hauler we keep the disposal receipts, which matters if your project is tracking construction-waste diversion.
Ready to Get It Gone?
Send a photo and get one flat price back in seconds — carry-out, hauling and disposal are all in it.
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