Basement & Garage Junk Removal · Cambridge

Basement and Garage Junk Removal in Cambridge

A full basement in Cambridge is usually a full truck before the garage is opened. The job is planning the loads, not lifting the boxes.

The basement and garage cleanout is the ordinary junk removal job, and Cambridge does it on a bigger scale than most of the Region because of its housing. Galt's century homes have deep basements with several rooms and an attic above the third floor. Preston and Hespeler's post-war houses have basements that were a workshop first and storage second, and garages built when cars were smaller. The newer subdivisions off Franklin and in north Hespeler have double garages that filled with bikes, strollers and hockey gear within a decade.

The moment it has to go

Nobody clears a basement because it is Tuesday. It happens when something changes: the house is going on the market and the realtor has said the basement has to read as space; a renovation is starting and the contractor needs it empty by Monday; a parent is downsizing to an apartment; a grown child is finally taking or abandoning the boxes; a flood or a sewer backup has ruined the bottom layer of everything. Each of those has a date attached, and the crew works to it.

What is usually down there

• The workbench and everything under it. Offcuts, jars of screws, a broken table saw, paint cans by the dozen. The paint is hazardous waste and goes to the Region's depot, not on the truck; the crew sets it by the door for you.
• Furniture that came down and never went back up. A sectional from the last living room, a dinette set, a hide-a-bed, the crib. Good pieces go to donation.
• The old kitchen. Cabinets that were going to become garage storage. They never do.
• Appliances. The chest freezer, the bar fridge, a dehumidifier that died. Refrigerant items go to the right facility.
• Boxes. Books, clothing, papers, dishes, the contents of a previous move. Documents and photographs are set aside; the rest is sorted for donation or recycling.
• In the garage: tires, ladders, a snowblower, bikes, lumber, the lawn furniture with the cracked slats, and the pile that has been at the back since the house was bought.

Galt basements and the stair problem

Century-home basements in Galt are reached by a steep, narrow stair, often with a turn, and sometimes only through an exterior hatch. Everything that went down in pieces comes up in pieces, and what went down whole gets cut. The crew plans the loads around the stair and sends enough people that nobody is carrying a freezer alone. Where the basement has flooded — and the older streets near the Grand and the Speed have seen it — wet material is heavier, and mould on the bottom layer is a reason to say so when booking so the crew brings masks and bags rather than discovering it.

Preston and Hespeler: the side door and the driveway

Post-war houses are easier. A side door opens onto the basement stair, the driveway takes the truck, and the garage is a straight carry. These jobs are volume rather than access, and the useful question at the quote is how many loads: a full basement and a full garage together is usually two, and the crew plans the second trip rather than pretending it fits in one.

Sorting as it loads

Metal, electronics, appliances, clean wood, reusable furniture and true garbage each go somewhere different at the Region's facilities, and mixed loads cost more. The crew sorts in the basement, not at the scale. The Region of Waterloo sets what its sites accept, and the crew works to the current rules. If you have the time, pre-sorting — electronics in one corner, metal in another, donations boxed — speeds the job and is reflected in the number.

What stays and what the crew will not take

Tag anything staying and it stays. Anything hazardous — paint, solvents, fuel, propane, pool chemicals, pesticides, old oil, car batteries — is set by the door for you to take to the Region's hazardous waste program. Ontario lists the categories at Ontario.ca. A furnace or water heater still connected is a trade's job to disconnect first. And the crew will not clear a basement in a rental without the landlord confirming the contents are abandoned.

After the haul

The space is left swept. If a renovation is starting, the contractor can walk in Monday. If the house is going on the market, the photographer can shoot it. If you are moving, the movers only have to touch what is actually going, which is the point.

Frequently asked questions

Serving Cambridge and surrounding areas. Contact us for a no-obligation quote specific to your property.