The old patio comes up in slabs. Two guys, a jackhammer, and by lunch there’s a pile of broken concrete stacked against the fence in Sherman Oaks. Then somebody asks the question that decides the whole week: what size roll-off do we rent for this?
Most people guess by looking at the pile. That’s the wrong instinct with demolition debris. Concrete, brick, tile, dirt and stucco are dense enough that a bin hits its safe hauling weight while it still looks half empty, and a container the driver can’t legally lift is a container that sits in your driveway until you pay someone to move material out of it by hand. BG’s Big Box Service has been sorting this out for San Fernando Valley homeowners and contractors since 1981, and October is when the calls stack up — hardscape demo runs hard through fall, before the winter rain turns a yard into mud.
Quick Summary: Key Takeaways
- Density decides the size: concrete, dirt, brick and tile reach a bin’s weight limit long before they reach the top rail.
- The 10-yarder is the heavy-debris box: it’s the size built for dense, heavy material, not for bulky household junk.
- Mixing changes the math: rubble plus framing lumber and drywall usually means two bins or two trips, not one bigger one.
- Book the drop, not just the box: BG’s runs one Sun Valley yard covering the Valley, LA County and Ventura County, and fall is the busy stretch.
Weight Beats Volume With Concrete, Brick and Dirt
A cubic yard of broken concrete weighs far more than a cubic yard of old cabinets, and that single fact drives every sizing decision on a demo job. Loose rubble packs tight. Dirt packs tighter, and wet dirt after an early-season rain is heavier still.
That’s why the “how big is the pile” method fails. A 12-by-14 patio slab at four inches thick is a modest-looking heap on the driveway and a serious load on a truck. Demolition is where the tonnage lives, and the EPA reports that demolition accounts for more than 90 percent of the 600 million tons of construction and demolition debris the United States generated in 2018. Your patio is a small piece of a very heavy national pile.
The 10-Yarder Is the Box Built for Dense Loads
For concrete, dirt, brick, tile and stucco, the 10-yard roll-off is the right call. It’s the size BG’s designates for dense, heavy debris specifically because the footprint keeps the weight inside what a roll-off truck can safely take off your street.
Smaller footprint, lower walls, easier to load by wheelbarrow. You’re not lifting rubble over your head, which matters by hour three of a teardown. Ask for it by material rather than by guess — tell the yard “broken concrete and dirt,” and the size conversation resolves itself in about a minute.
Small Teardowns Still Deserve Their Own Bin
Not every demo job needs a full roll-off. A single bathroom floor, a short retaining wall, a few square feet of failed walkway — that’s a 3-yard container, four feet by four feet by six feet, and it slips onto a narrow Valley driveway without eating the whole thing.
The 3-yarder is also the honest answer when a homeowner is doing the work on weekends. You fill it, we take it, and nobody paid for eight yards of air. Renting too big is the second most common mistake after renting too heavy.
Mixing Rubble With Framing Waste Usually Costs You Twice
Here’s where fall renovation jobs go sideways. The patio comes out on Monday, the pergola comes down Wednesday, and now there’s rubble at the bottom of the bin and a tangle of lumber, lattice and torn shade cloth on top.
Bulky waste needs volume. Dense waste needs weight capacity. One container rarely serves both well, and the load that goes over on weight gets refused at the gate. Split it: the heavy material into the smaller box, the light bulky material into a Lowboy 20 — eighteen feet long, four-foot walls, two swing doors at the end so you can walk long pieces straight in rather than hoisting them over the side.
→ Lowboy 20-yard roll-off container
Contractors Sequence Bins Instead of Sizing Up
Crews running a multi-day demo don’t order one enormous container. They order a heavy box for the concrete phase, swap it, then bring in volume for the rebuild waste. It keeps every load legal and keeps the driveway clear.
Contractors running several containers can set up a commercial account, and daily, weekly and monthly rates all exist — which matters on a job where the concrete guy finishes Tuesday and the framer doesn’t start until the following Monday. Plan the swaps around the trades, not around the calendar.
One Sun Valley Yard, Short Runs Across the Valley
BG’s operates out of a single yard on Bradley Avenue in Sun Valley. Short haul distances are the practical reason Valley addresses — Sylmar, Northridge, Studio City, Burbank, Encino — tend to get fast delivery windows, and drivers handle precise drop-off and pickup rather than leaving you to spot the box.
Same trucks reach greater LA County and Ventura County. Send the address through the online estimate form and the yard confirms the window.
→ San Fernando Valley dumpster rentals
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What size dumpster do I need for broken concrete?
A: A 10-yard roll-off. Concrete reaches a safe hauling weight well before it fills a larger container, so the smaller, denser-rated box is the one that ships legally and gets picked up on schedule.
Q: Can I put dirt and concrete in the same dumpster?
A: Usually yes, since both are clean, dense fill material and both are sized the same way. Tell the yard the mix when you book so the load is planned against weight rather than volume.
Q: How much does a dumpster rental cost in the San Fernando Valley?
A: It depends on size and how long you keep it — daily, weekly and monthly rates are all available, and BG’s gives free estimates before you commit. Submit your address and material type through the estimate form for a real number.
Q: What happens if my dumpster is too heavy to pick up?
A: The driver can’t legally haul an overloaded container, so it stays put until material comes out. Sizing by material rather than by the look of the pile is what prevents that call.
Book the Right Box Before the Demo Starts
Order the bin for what you’re throwing away, not for how big the pile looks. Tell us the material and we’ll tell you the size.
BG’s Big Box Service, 8629 Bradley Ave. #A, Sun Valley, CA 91352. Open Monday through Friday, 7am to 6pm, and Saturday, 8am to 4pm. Find us online at bgsbigboxservice.com.