Most homeowners pay about $1,000 to $7,000 to have a deck torn down and hauled away, or roughly $5 to $15 per square foot. Small, ground-level decks land at the bottom of that range. Tall, large or multi-level decks land at the top. Sheds are cheaper: most standard wood sheds cost $500 to $1,500 to take down and haul off. The numbers below come from published cost guides, and we explain what moves them and where the haul-away part of the bill comes from.
TL;DR
- Professional deck removal averages $5 to $15 per square foot. A small ground-level deck is often $600 to $1,000, while a large elevated deck costs more.
- A tear-down quote and a haul-away price are two separate jobs. Make sure every quote says who carries the debris off and who pays the dump fee.
- Shed removal typically runs $250 to $3,000, depending on size, material and whether there is a concrete slab.
- If a crew or you do the demolition, a junk removal pickup priced by truck volume can be cheaper than renting a dumpster for smaller decks.
- Pinky’s Junk Removal hauls the debris away in Hampton Roads, VA and Berks County, PA, with volume pricing from $164 to $698.
Table of Contents
- What deck removal costs in 2026
- What changes the price of a deck removal
- Demolition and haul-away are two jobs
- Doing the demolition yourself
- Dumpster or junk removal pickup?
- Shed removal cost
- Where Pinky’s fits
- How to get your best price
- Book the pickup
- FAQ
- Sources
What deck removal costs in 2026
Published guides agree on a per-square-foot range with wide edges. Unit Rate AI prices residential deck demolition at $5.01 per square foot, including removal of decking, railings, framing, posts and small footings, plus loading and hauling. Its build-up includes $3.28 per square foot for labor and $0.86 for equipment and disposal. That is a baseline for a plain, accessible deck. Real quotes from local contractors tend to come in higher once access, height and disposal fees are added.
For a small, Decks.com says to plan on paying a contractor $600 to $1,000 for a small ground-level deck, and notes that a large elevated deck will likely cost more.
Here is how that looks by size, using the $5 to $15 per square foot range as the guide:
| Deck size | Typical area | Rough range at $5 to $15 per sq ft |
|---|---|---|
| Small | 10×10 (100 sq ft) | $500 to $1,500 |
| Medium | 12×16 (192 sq ft) | $960 to $2,880 |
| Standard | 14×20 (280 sq ft) | $1,400 to $4,200 |
| Large | 16×24 (384 sq ft) | $1,920 to $5,760 |
These are our own multiplications of the published per-foot range, not quotes. A flat, ground-level 10×10 will usually sit at the low end. A second-story deck with a staircase and a railing will push toward the high end.
A Pennsylvania example
Local labor rates matter. A 2026 DeckMath estimate for a 320-square-foot, low-height deck in Pennsylvania totals $1,969 to $3,158. Its high-end breakdown is $2,331 for labor, $425 for dumpster and tipping, and $165 for a demolition permit. It is an illustration for one state, not a national average. Still, it shows how three line items build the total, and why the haul-away piece deserves its own line when you compare quotes.
What changes the price of a deck removal
Two decks of the same size can differ by a thousand dollars or more. These are the factors that do it.
Height and structure
A deck that sits a foot off the ground can be unscrewed and pulled apart quickly. A deck that is 8 or 10 feet up needs scaffolding or ladders, more people and more care. Stairs, built-in benches, pergolas and multi-level layouts all add labor hours.
Material and fasteners
Pressure-treated wood, cedar, composite and PVC all come apart differently. Composite boards are often screwed down and can be lighter, but they bulk up a truck. Old decks fastened with nails or carriage bolts take longer. Rotten framing can be easier to break up but messier to handle.
Footings and posts
Small footings are usually part of the job. Concrete footings that go below grade are a different story. Concrete is heavy, and heavy loads cost more to dispose of. Digging out deep footings and backfilling the holes is often priced as an extra, so ask about it by name.
Access
A gated backyard with a narrow side path means every board gets carried by hand. A driveway next to the deck means a crew can load straight into a truck. Crews price that difference in, and it is one reason the same deck gets very different quotes.
Permits and repairs
Some towns want a permit for demolition, and the DeckMath example above carries $165 for one. Rules vary by city and county, so call your local building department before work starts. Also ask who fixes the lawn, the siding and the ledger board attachment once the deck is gone. Those repairs are rarely in a base tear-down price.
Disposal
Disposal is the most overlooked piece. Lumber, hardware and sometimes concrete have to go somewhere, and landfills charge by weight or load. Some contractors include it in the quote, some bill it separately, and some leave it to you. That is the biggest reason two quotes of the same headline price are not actually the same price.
Demolition and haul-away are two jobs
A useful way to think about this: deck removal is one job of taking the structure apart and a second job of getting the material off your property. A contractor’s quote may cover both or only the first. If it covers only the first, you are left with a pile of lumber in your yard.
When you collect quotes, ask each one the same questions:
- Does the price include loading and hauling every piece away?
- Is the dump or disposal fee included?
- Are footings removed, and to what depth?
- Who handles the permit, if one is needed?
- Who repairs the lawn or siding afterward?
Written answers let you compare prices fairly. A lower price that leaves out hauling is not lower once you add a pickup or a dumpster.
Doing the demolition yourself
Taking the deck apart yourself removes most of the labor cost, but it does not remove the disposal cost. Decks.com says DIY removal has two direct costs, a trailer or trash tub rental and the dump fee, and estimates homeowners could save about half of the professional price.
Savings come with trade-offs. You need tools, a few free weekends, safe handling of old nails and screws, and a place to stack boards. Raised decks add a fall risk. If you are thinking about the project as a whole, including the rebuild, deck replacement costs in Maryland show what a contractor-led project looks like once you factor in footings and local code surprises.
Whichever way you go, the practical middle path is common: you or a handyman do the demolition, and you hire a hauler for the pile.
Dumpster or junk removal pickup?
There are two main ways to get demolition debris away from your home when you are not hauling it yourself.
A rented dumpster. DeckMath lists 2026 dumpster base rentals of $365 for 10 cubic yards, $425 for 20, $495 for 30 and $580 for 40, with overage tipping at a stated national-average $65 per ton. You load it yourself, it sits in your driveway for days, and you may need a street permit if there is no driveway space.
A junk removal crew. The same source says a junk-removal flat-fee route is generally cheaper for decks under 300 square feet, while dumpsters get more favorable on larger projects. A crew shows up, loads the boards and drives away, so you skip the loading, the driveway blockage and the waiting.
A quick rule of thumb: for a small or medium deck, price a pickup first. For a big deck with concrete, price both.
Shed removal cost
Shed removal is a close cousin of deck removal and follows the same logic. Angi puts professional shed removal at $250 to $3,000, depending on shed size and foundation type, and gives a range of $3.50 to $11.50 per square foot. Many companies set a minimum flat fee starting around $250, so a very small shed can cost more per foot than that range suggests.
A separate calculator estimates most standard wood-shed removals at $500 to $1,500 when demolition and debris hauling are included. It says small sheds can cost as little as $200, and large sheds on concrete slabs can pass $3,500.
What moves shed prices:
- Size. An 8×10 garden shed and a 12×20 workshop are different jobs.
- Material. Metal sheds fold flat and are quick to take apart. Wood and heavy resin take longer.
- Foundation. A shed on skids or blocks lifts off. A poured slab means concrete to break up and haul.
- Contents. Old paint, fuel and chemicals need special handling. Empty the shed first, and ask any hauler how they treat hazardous items.
- Utilities. If the shed has wiring, Angi notes that a licensed electrician should disconnect it before demolition.
When a shed is demolished and hauled in one visit, the price is simpler to compare. When the tear-down is priced separately from hauling, add the two together before judging a quote.
Where Pinky’s fits
We are a junk removal company, so we handle the haul-away part of the job: the pile of lumber, railings, old shed panels and the junk that was stored in them. We do not publish a deck-specific price. Our pricing is by load, and you can see it on our pricing page.
What we publish today:
- Single item pickups start from $48.
- Volume pricing, by how much of the truck your debris fills, runs $164 to $698.
- Bedload pricing for heavy debris such as concrete and dirt runs $286 to $698.
- Car tire surcharge is $15 each and truck tire surcharge is $30 each.
- Labor surcharge is $100 per hour per person when a job needs extra hands.
Heavy debris like broken footings falls under bedload pricing, which is why we suggest telling us about concrete when you book. Our renovation and construction debris page explains how we handle this kind of load.
Our view on deck debris
We get calls from people who have just finished a deck teardown and are staring at a mountain of boards. They often assumed the demolition quote covered hauling, and it did not. Our advice is to decide who carries the debris away before the first board comes up.
We price by the space your debris takes in the truck, so you can estimate the cost with a rough idea of the pile. We tell you the price upfront and we show up on time, and we aim to do it right the first time. As a locally owned, family-run company, we also care where the material goes, and we donate and recycle whenever possible.
If your deck came down in the same weekend as a garage or shed cleanout, put everything in one pile. One pickup is almost always simpler than two.
David
How to get your best price
A few habits tend to lower the final bill, whoever does the work.
- Measure first. Length times width gives square footage, and add stairs and any second level. Any quote starts there.
- Take photos. Show height, access path and footings. Clear photos let a hauler estimate the load fast.
- Separate materials. Keep wood in one stack and concrete in another. Heavy debris is priced differently from light debris.
- Clear the path. Move planters, grills and furniture so crews do not spend paid time on it.
- Combine jobs. If the shed, the old patio furniture and the garage piles are going too, book them together.
- Compare complete scopes. Line up quotes by what is included: demolition, hauling, dump fee, footings and cleanup.
Book the pickup
If your deck or shed is coming down, or already down, we can take the debris. We serve Hampton Roads, VA (Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Hampton and Newport News) and Berks County, PA (Reading, Wyomissing, Sinking Spring and West Lawn), with same-day and next-day service available. When you call 1-800-41-PINKY, a local person answers.
See our volume and bedload pricing or schedule a pickup and tell us what is in the pile. Your price is clear before we start.
FAQ
How much does it cost to remove a 12×12 deck?
A 12×12 deck is 144 square feet. At the published $5 to $15 per square foot, that is roughly $720 to $2,160 for professional removal. A low deck with easy access will land near the bottom of that range, and a raised deck with stairs will cost more.
Is deck removal cheaper if I haul the debris myself?
Usually, yes for labor, but disposal still costs money. Decks.com says you pay for a trailer or tub rental plus dump fees, and estimates savings of about half of the professional price. Your time and the physical work are the real trade-off.
Do I need a permit to remove a deck?
It depends on your city or county. One 2026 Pennsylvania estimate included $165 for a demolition permit, but many places do not require one for small decks. Call your local building department before starting.
What does shed removal usually cost?
Angi gives a range of $250 to $3,000 for professional shed removal. Another calculator puts most standard wood sheds at $500 to $1,500 with hauling included. Slabs, size and hazardous contents push the price up.
Can a junk removal company take deck lumber?
Yes. At Pinky’s we haul away deck lumber, railings, shed panels and the items stored inside them. Concrete footings fall under bedload pricing, so mention them when you book.
