Tear down and haul away residential decks, patios, and porches — premium demo pricing most junk removal operators leave on the table.
Last updated: Mar 2026
Pricing
Pricing considerations for the job size, materials and access requirements.
$500–$1,000
Full teardown of decking, railings, and stairs
All debris loaded and hauled to disposal
Site raked clean with post holes filled flush
Posts cut at ground level (standard)
Multi-level construction, ledger board attached to house requiring careful siding protection, composite or Trex material that doubles cutting time, or elevated decks over 3 feet that demand top-down sequencing.
$1,000–$1,800
Full demolition of deck surface, framing, and substructure
Railing systems and stairway removal included
All debris hauled — typically 1.5 to 2 truck loads
Site left clean and level, ready for landscaping or rebuild
Elevated decks 4+ feet off grade requiring careful sequential teardown, concrete pier footings that need jackhammering, built-in features like benches, planter boxes, or pergola attachments that add 1–2 hours of labor.
$1,800–$2,500+
Multi-hour demolition spanning 5–8 hours on site
Multiple truck loads (2–3 loads typical for 400+ sq ft)
Footing removal if included in scope
Full site cleanup including debris sweep and post-hole backfill
Wrap-around designs exceeding 500 sq ft, multi-level decks with separate stairway systems, heavy 6×6 timber construction with deep concrete piers, or decks with integrated hot tubs, outdoor kitchens, or electrical that require disconnection before demo begins.
Checklist
Deck size, height, attachment method, and footing type are the critical variables that drive your quote. Miss any one of these and you will underprice the job by $200–$500.
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Add stairway landings separately — a 4×4 landing adds 16 sq ft. A standard 12×16 deck is 192 sq ft, which falls in the medium tier.
Elevated decks 4+ feet off grade require top-down demo sequencing and sometimes scaffolding or a spotter below, adding 1–2 hours of crew time.
Composite or Trex weighs 30–40% more per board, dulls blades faster, and may not qualify for C&D recycling rates. Cedar and redwood are lighter but still go MSW if treated.
Removing it risks pulling siding, exposing sheathing, or cracking stucco. Always photograph before and after. Budget 30–45 minutes for careful ledger removal.
Concrete footings buried 24–36 inches require a jackhammer or shovel work at $50–$100 per footing. Count every footing during the site visit and price accordingly.
Any live electrical must be disconnected at the breaker by the homeowner or a licensed electrician before you start.
A backyard deck with a narrow side gate means wheelbarrow runs that add 45–90 minutes. Factor access difficulty into your quote — tight access costs $150–$300 extra in labor.
Field operations
Use 9-inch demo blades rated for wood with nails — you will go through 3–5 blades per large deck.
Set blade depth to board thickness to avoid cutting into joists you still need for stability during teardown.
A 36-inch wrecking bar gives you the torque to pop joist hangers and lag bolts without destroying your shoulders.
An 8-pounder gives enough force without being too heavy for overhead swings on elevated decks.
A 35-lb electric demo hammer breaks 12-inch diameter concrete footings in 5–10 minutes each. Rent for $65–$85/day if you do not own one.
Carry a set of T25 and #3 square bits because those are the two most common deck screw drives.
A 4.5-inch grinder with a metal cutoff disc handles 95% of deck hardware.
A gorilla cart hauls 1,200 lbs per trip vs 300 lbs in a standard wheelbarrow — cuts your debris hauling trips by 60%.
Loose 12-foot boards on the highway are a DOT citation and a liability nightmare — strap every load.
ANSI-rated safety glasses — mandatory during all cutting and prying operations, nail fragments are the #1 eye injury on demo sites
Cut-resistant work gloves (ANSI level A4 minimum) — splintered pressure-treated wood causes infections if it breaks skin
Steel-toe boots with puncture-resistant soles — nails sticking out of boards will go through standard work boots
Hard hat — mandatory on elevated deck demo where boards and hardware fall from above
Hearing protection (NRR 25+ earplugs or muffs) — recip saws and grinders exceed 95 dB, which causes permanent hearing damage in under 15 minutes
Workflow
Execute the job safely and efficiently every time.
Remove furniture, planters, grills, and any homeowner belongings from the deck surface. This takes 15–30 minutes but prevents damage claims and electrical hazards.
This eliminates obstructions, reduces trip hazards during demo, and gives your crew clear working space. Railings usually pop off with a pry bar and a few lag bolt removals — budget 30–60 minutes for a standard deck.
Cut into 4–6 foot sections using the circular saw for easier loading and stacking. Work from the far end toward your staging area so you never carry debris across unfinished sections. Stack boards near the truck access path to minimize handling.
Remove the beam and any blocking. Detach the ledger board from the house last — work carefully to avoid pulling siding or damaging the house sheathing. Photograph the ledger area before and after removal. Budget 45–90 minutes for framing teardown on a medium deck.
If footing removal is in scope, dig around the concrete pier and use a demo hammer to break it up, or rock it loose with the wrecking bar for shallow footings. Backfill all post holes with dirt and tamp level. A 200 sq ft deck typically has 6–9 footings — that is 1–2 hours of additional labor at the $50–$100 per footing add-on rate.
Clean wood goes to C&D recycling at $25–$55/ton. Treated and composite go to MSW at $40–$80/ton. Metal connectors, joist hangers, and bolts go in a separate bucket for scrap metal revenue. Sorting during load saves $30–$75 in disposal costs per job versus dumping everything at MSW rates.
Fill any post holes or footing cavities with topsoil and tamp level. Walk the site with the homeowner, point out the ledger area condition, and confirm satisfaction before leaving. Collect payment on site.
Disposal
Pressure-treated lumber is typically excluded from C&D recycling and must go to MSW. Call ahead to confirm your local facility's rules — some facilities charge a surcharge if they find treated wood in a C&D load, which can wipe out your savings.
$25–$55/ton
MSW rates run 40–80% higher than C&D, which is exactly why sorting on the truck bed during loading pays for itself. A typical medium deck produces 1.5–2.5 tons of debris — that is a $30–$75 savings by routing clean wood separately.
$40–$80/ton
A medium deck yields 15–40 lbs of mixed steel and galvanized metal. At current scrap rates you will net $10–$30 per deck — not huge, but it is free money that adds up across 50 deck jobs per season.
Revenue of $10–$30per deck
Safety & compliance
Walk away from these. The margin isn’t worth the risk.
Red Flags — Decline or Reprice
Profitability
55–70% gross margins on standard wood deck demolition when disposal is sorted properly — a $1,200 medium deck job costs you $360–$540 in labor, fuel, and disposal, leaving $660–$840 gross profit per job
C&D disposal for clean untreated wood runs $25–$55/ton versus $40–$80/ton at MSW — sorting on site saves $30–$75 per job, which compounds to $1,500–$3,750 per season across 50 deck jobs
Very few residential junk removal operators offer demolition services — this low competition gives you pricing power at $5–$10+ per square foot while general contractors charge $8–$15 for the same work
Add-on services like footing removal ($50–$100 per footing), hot tub removal ($350–$800), grading ($100–$300), and lattice removal ($75–$150) increase the average ticket by 20–40% with minimal incremental cost
Seasonal demand peaks from March through October — deck demo leads naturally cluster with spring renovation projects, giving you 6–8 months of steady premium job flow before winter slowdown
Risk management
Primary claim triggers are damage to house siding during ledger board removal, broken windows from flying debris, and landscaping destruction from falling lumber. Document the existing condition of the house exterior and adjacent landscaping with timestamped photos before every job.
Roughly 15–20% of standard junk removal GL policies exclude structural demolition work, which means any deck demo claim gets flat-out denied. Call your agent, ask specifically about demolition coverage, and get written confirmation. Switching to a demo-inclusive policy typically costs $200–$400/year more.
Elevated deck demo above 4 feet has significant fall risk and flying debris hazards. Workers comp classification code 5645 (wrecking/demolition) carries higher premiums than standard junk removal — expect $8–$14 per $100 of payroll versus $4–$7 for regular hauling.
Operator tips
Railings → deck boards → joists → beams → posts → footings.
This sequence keeps the structural skeleton intact as long as possible, which means the deck supports your crew's weight throughout the demo. Reversing this order is how decks collapse mid-job.
Before you touch the ledger, take 5–10 close-up photos of the attachment point, surrounding siding, and any existing flashing or…
…damage. If the homeowner claims you cracked their siding or caused water intrusion 6 months later, your timestamped photos are your defense against a $2,000–$4,000 repair claim.
Keep untreated framing lumber on one side of the truck bed and pressure-treated or composite material on the other.
This 2-minute habit during loading saves you $30–$75 per job in disposal costs because clean wood goes to C&D at half the MSW rate. Over 50 deck jobs per season, that is $1,500–$3,750 in savings.
About 25% of deck removal leads have a hot tub sitting on the deck.
Quote both together for a package price — you are already on site with the right crew and tools. A $1,400 deck plus $550 hot tub package nets you $1,950 on one visit versus two separate mobilizations.
Nail-embedded pressure-treated lumber destroys demolition blades fast.
A 200 sq ft deck with ring-shank nails will chew through 3–5 blades at $3–$5 each. Carry a 10-pack on every deck job so your crew never stalls mid-demo waiting on a supply run that costs you an hour of labor.
Deck removal costs $500–$2,500+ depending on size and complexity. Small decks under 150 sq ft run $500–$1,000. Medium decks from 150–300 sq ft cost $1,000–$1,800. Large decks over 300 sq ft start at $1,800 and go up from there. Concrete footing removal adds $50–$100 per footing. Composite or Trex decks cost 15–25% more due to heavier material and higher disposal fees. Most operators price at $5–$10 per square foot.
A standard 200 sq ft wood deck takes a 2-person crew 3–5 hours including teardown, loading, and site cleanup. Large decks over 300 sq ft or elevated decks above 4 feet take 5–8 hours with a 3–4 person crew. Add 1–2 hours if footing removal is in scope. Composite decks take roughly 20% longer than wood because the material is heavier to handle and harder to cut.
Most junk removal operators offer concrete footing removal as an add-on service at $50–$100 per footing. A typical deck has 6–9 footings buried 24–36 inches deep. The base option is cutting posts at ground level and leaving footings in place. Full footing removal requires a demo hammer or extensive digging, which adds 1–2 hours of labor. Always price footings as a separate line item.
Yes, composite and Trex decks follow the same demolition workflow as wood decks. The key differences are weight — composite boards weigh 30–40% more per linear foot — and disposal cost, since composite material does not qualify for C&D recycling rates at most facilities. Expect to pay MSW landfill rates of $40–$80/ton for composite debris. Price composite deck removal 15–25% higher than equivalent wood decks to cover the extra labor and disposal cost.
Standard commercial GL policies cover deck demolition in most cases, but 15–20% of junk removal GL policies contain a demolition exclusion endorsement that will result in denied claims. Call your insurance agent and specifically ask whether structural demolition is covered. If not, adding demolition coverage typically costs $200–$400 per year extra. Workers comp is required for employees, and elevated deck work over 4 feet carries higher premium rates under demolition classification codes.
Resources
Teardown workflow for wood and metal sheds — similar crew size, tools, and C&D disposal routing as deck demo jobs.
25% of deck leads include a hot tub. Learn the disconnect, demo, and haul process to bundle both into one high-ticket visit.
Another high-margin outdoor demo service using the same power tools and C&D disposal workflow you already run for decks.
Record disposal cost, tons, the dump site and a receipt photo in the driver app.
Starter at $149/mo, Growth at $299/mo — no per-user fees, no contracts. See which plan fits your demo operation.
ScaleYourJunk assigns the right crew with the right tools to every deck demolition job. Track dump fees, sort C&D versus MSW disposal costs, and see real profitability per demo job — not guesses.
Included in Starter ($149/mo) and Growth ($299/mo). Annual billing is available.
