Junk removal
Appliance Removal Cost Calculator
Prices appliance removal, where anything with refrigerant has a legal step before disposal.
Result
A planning estimate, not a quote. Access, the age of the equipment, what is found once it is opened up and local labour rates all move the real figure, sometimes a long way.
Get a Free Business AuditHow the calculation works
Hours times crew times rate, plus disposal and the call-out. Appliances are heavy, awkward and often in basements or kitchens rather than at the kerb, so the labour is handling rather than volume. The cost separates into two groups. Ordinary appliances are heavy scrap with a modest disposal cost or sometimes a positive scrap value. Refrigerant-bearing appliances, which means refrigerators, freezers, air conditioners, dehumidifiers and heat pumps, carry a federal requirement that the refrigerant is recovered by a certified technician before the unit is disposed of or scrapped.
What moves the number
- Whether the appliance contains refrigerant, which adds a required recovery step.
- Weight and access, since a fridge out of a basement needs two people and care.
- Whether the unit has scrap value, which can offset the disposal cost.
- Whether disconnection from gas, water or electrical supply is in scope.
Where this one goes wrong
Refrigerant recovery is not optional and not a formality. Federal rules prohibit knowingly venting refrigerant and require recovery by a certified technician before an appliance is disposed of, and that applies to the last person in the chain as well as the first. A hauler taking fridges to a scrap yard without recovery is in a compliance problem, and the yards increasingly will not accept them without evidence. Either hold the certification, or use a facility that performs recovery and price it in. Gas disconnection is the other item to be clear about, since capping a gas supply is licensed work in most places rather than part of a removal.
Before you quote
- Establish refrigerant recovery before taking any cooling appliance.
- Confirm who disconnects gas, and that they are licensed to.
- Check scrap value, which can offset the disposal cost on metal appliances.
Where the rules come from
Questions
About this calculator
Why can't a refrigerator just be taken to the dump?
Because it contains refrigerant, and federal rules require that to be recovered by a certified technician before the appliance is disposed of or scrapped. Venting it is prohibited. Many scrap facilities now refuse units without evidence of recovery, so it is a practical barrier as well as a legal one.
Does removing an appliance include disconnecting it?
Electrical unplugging and a water line to an ice maker are usually straightforward. Disconnecting and capping a gas supply is licensed work in most places and is not part of a general removal, so it needs arranging separately. Worth clarifying before the crew arrives.
Is there any value in an old appliance?
Metal appliances have scrap value, which can offset or occasionally exceed the disposal cost. That is why some removals of washers, dryers and ranges are cheaper than their size suggests. Refrigerant-bearing units carry the recovery cost against that, which usually outweighs the scrap.
The formula
total = hours x people x rate + parts + call-out, then sales tax
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How to use this calculator
- Hours on site (h). Enter your own figure; the page starts at 1.8 h.
- People needed. Enter your own figure; the page starts at 1.
- Labour rate charged ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $90.
- Parts and materials ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $0.
- Call-out or diagnostic fee ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $95.
- Sales tax (%). Leave at zero if you are quoting before tax.
The result updates as you type, so you can try a figure, see what it does to estimated total, and change it back. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere or saved.
A worked example
These are the figures the calculator opens with. Every number in the results column below is produced by the same calculation the page runs, so you can follow it through before putting your own figures in.
What goes in
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Hours on site | 1.8 h |
| People needed | 1 |
| Labour rate charged | $90 |
| Parts and materials | $0 |
| Call-out or diagnostic fee | $95 |
| Sales tax | 0% |
What comes out
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| Estimated total main result | $257 |
| Labour | $162 |
| Before tax | $257 |
| Sales tax | $0 |
About $257: $162 of labour, $0 of parts and a $95 call-out.
How sensitive the answer is
Holding everything else steady and changing only labour rate charged, this is what happens to estimated total. It is worth knowing which of your inputs the answer actually hinges on, and which barely move it.
| Labour rate charged ($) | Estimated total |
|---|---|
| $45 | $176 |
| $68 | $217.40 |
| $90 example above | $257 |
| $135 | $338 |
| $180 | $419 |
Every other input is held at the example value while this one changes, which is not how a real job behaves. Treat it as a guide to which number matters most, not as five separate quotes.
What each figure means
- Hours on site (h)
- Measured in h, between 0 and 400, starting at 1.8 h.
- People needed
- A number, between 0 and 40, starting at 1.
- Labour rate charged ($)
- A money amount, starting at $90.
- Parts and materials ($)
- A money amount, starting at $0.
- Call-out or diagnostic fee ($)
- A money amount, starting at $95.
- Sales tax (%)
- Leave at zero if you are quoting before tax.
What the results tell you
| Result | What it is |
|---|---|
| Estimated total | The headline result. A money figure. |
| Labour | A money figure. |
| Before tax | A money figure. |
| Sales tax | A money figure. |
Estimating is the easy part
The jobs you never hear about cost more than the ones you mis-measure. BDEVY builds the marketing, systems and automation that bring them in.