The southwest side of the Birmingham metro has taken its share of severe weather. Pleasant Grove, Hueytown, Concord, McDonald Chapel, and the neighborhoods around them have all been through cleanup that lasted weeks rather than days.
If you are looking at a yard full of debris right now, here is a practical order of operations.
First, separate what the city will take from what it will not
This is the step that saves the most money, and most people skip it.
After a significant weather event, municipalities in Jefferson County usually run a vegetative debris collection. Tree limbs, brush, and yard waste piled at the curb get picked up, sometimes over several passes, sometimes over a long stretch of weeks. That service is typically free.
What those collections generally do not take is construction and demolition material. Roofing, fencing, siding, insulation, drywall, carpet, damaged furniture, and anything from inside the house are usually your responsibility.
So the first job is two piles: vegetation at the curb for the city, and everything else staged for a container.
Collection rules and timelines vary by city and by event. Check your city’s announcement before you build the pile, because a mixed pile often gets skipped entirely.
What goes in the dumpster
The container is for the structural and household side of the damage:
Roofing shingles, felt, and damaged decking
Fence panels, posts, and gates
Siding, soffit, and trim
Wet drywall and insulation
Carpet, padding, and flooring
Damaged furniture and mattresses
Shed debris and outbuilding wreckage
Water-damaged household contents
Storm loads are usually mixed and bulky, which means volume runs out before weight does. A 25-yard or 30-yard container is usually the right call. If the damage is limited to a roof or a fence line, a 20-yard will do it.
Document everything before it goes in the box
If you are filing an insurance claim, photograph the damage before you start moving material, and photograph it again as you load. Wide shots of the property, close shots of the damage, and pictures of the loaded container.
Keep the dumpster rental receipt. Debris removal is often a covered expense, and adjusters ask for documentation of what was hauled.
Do not throw away damaged items your adjuster has not seen yet. Stage them where they can be photographed rather than loading them the first afternoon.
Working safely in a damaged yard
Storm cleanup causes injuries, and most of them are avoidable.
Treat every downed line as live and call the utility. Do not clear brush near one.
Leave tension limbs and hung-up trees to a tree service. A limb under load moves fast and unpredictably when it is cut.
Wear boots with a puncture plate. Roofing nails are everywhere after a storm.
Do not put anything in a dumpster that came out of a flooded area without gloves and a mask. Wet drywall and insulation grow mold fast in Alabama humidity.
Do not walk on a damaged roof to tarp it. That is a job for someone with a harness.
Load the container the smart way
Flat material like fence panels and siding should go in first, laid down, filling the floor. Bulky material goes on top. If you throw a mattress in first, you have lost a third of the container.
Break down what you can. Fence sections come apart faster than they look like they will.
Keep the load level with the top rail. Debris hanging over the sides means the driver cannot legally haul it, and after a storm the schedule is tight enough that a bounced pickup can cost you days.
Booking during a busy week
Everyone calls at once after a storm. That is unavoidable, and we will not pretend otherwise. What helps:
Call early, even if you are not ready to load yet
Be flexible on the delivery day if you can
Tell us what the debris is, so we send the right size the first time
Have a clear drop location ready, with the driveway approach cleared
Dumpster Daddy delivers throughout Bessemer, Hueytown, Pleasant Grove, Midfield, Fairfield, McCalla, and the wider Birmingham metro. We have run storm weeks before and we schedule for them.
If you are dealing with storm damage, call 205-447-8044 or look at our residential dumpster rentals to see what fits.
