After a bad storm rolls through the Lowcountry, the cleanup is its own kind of work. You're pulling soaked drywall, ruined furniture, and ripped-up flooring out to the curb, and a pile that size doesn't fit in your regular trash cans or a couple of pickup loads. A roll-off dumpster in the driveway gives you one place to throw everything as you go, so the work moves at the pace of your hands and not the pace of trips to the dump.
We rent dumpsters here in Charleston, and storm season is when the phone gets busy. Here's how to think about it if you're staring down a flooded house or a yard full of downed limbs.
What disaster cleanup actually puts on the curb
Flood and wind damage tends to come in two waves. First is the wet interior stuff: drywall, insulation, carpet and pad, baseboards, cabinets, furniture, and anything that soaked up water and has to come out before mold sets in. That material is bulky but not especially heavy once it drains, so it fills a dumpster by volume more than by weight.
The second wave is the yard. Snapped branches, whole limbs, fence sections, and brush from cleanup all add up fast after a Charleston storm. Wood and yard debris go in the same household-style dumpster as the interior demo, which keeps it simple.
A few things don't belong in any roll-off, storm or not. Batteries, chemicals, and electronics can't go in, so set those aside for proper drop-off. If you're unsure about an item, check what goes in a dumpster before you toss it.
Picking a size when you don't know how big the mess is
The hard part after a disaster is guessing volume. You can't always see how much wet material is behind the walls until you start pulling it out. A couple of rules of thumb help.
For a full gut of an average room or a small flooded house, the larger sizes carry the bulk without you stacking it to the brim. For limb cleanup, a fence repair, or a single room that took on water, something smaller usually does it. If you genuinely can't tell, start with a size that feels a little big. It's easier to have room left over than to fill up halfway through and stop.
There's one size split worth knowing. If your storm damage includes heavy material like a busted concrete walkway, brick, roofing shingles, or hauled-out dirt and sod, that goes in the 7-yard, which is the only size built for dense, heavy loads. Everything else, the drywall and furniture and brush, goes in the 13-yard or one of the bigger boxes. You can't mix heavy debris into the larger sizes, so if you've got both kinds of mess, plan on keeping them separate. Looking at all our dumpster sizes side by side makes the choice easier.
Roofing and shingles after wind damage
Charleston wind does a number on roofs, and a re-roof or a patch job leaves a heavy pile of old shingles behind. Shingles are dense, so they belong in the 7-yard along with the other heavy material. If a roofer is doing the work, ask them whether they're hauling the tear-off themselves or whether you're providing the dumpster. Either way, keep shingles out of the larger boxes.
Keeping a recovery job moving
When you're cleaning up after a storm, the worst thing is a dumpster that fills before the job is done. On bigger jobs we can swap a full box for an empty one so you keep working. Rentals run from a single day up to a month, which gives you room if the cleanup drags out or you're waiting on an insurance adjuster before you can finish.
A couple of practical tips from doing this a while:
Load the heavy, flat stuff first and lay it across the floor of the dumpster. It packs tighter and you get more in. Break down anything bulky so you're not throwing air into the box. And keep a clear path for the truck. After a storm there's often a downed limb or a parked car in the way, and we need room to set the dumpster and pick it back up.
We're based on James Island and cover Charleston plus the towns around it, so most of the area hit by a given storm is in range. You can check the towns we serve to see if you're in it.
When to call
If a storm just came through and you're looking at a pile, don't wait until the wet material has been sitting for a week. Get the dumpster on site, get the soaked stuff out, and let the house dry. We answer seven days a week, and Tony picks up his own phone, so you'll talk to someone who can actually tell you what size fits your situation.
Call or text us at call or text (843) 800-0689 and we'll get a box in your driveway so you can start digging out.
Need a dumpster in Charleston? Call or text Tony at (843) 800-0689, or order online.
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