Scrap pickup is free, demolition is not.

So I run into this all the time, people wanting me to do a lot of work for a little bit of scrap. Examples:
Please tear the aluminum siding off of my house and you can keep the aluminum in exchange.
Please tear down my steel shed for the steel.
Please remove my steel above-ground swimming pool for the metal.
Please take my piano because the sound board is worth scrap metal money.

I have finally come up with the title to this post as my answer.

I'm sorry, scrap metal removal is free, but demolition is not.

I also run into this sometimes. I know after 5 years, about how long it will take. You always get the guys and woman trying to low ball you to little to nothing.

I simply tell them "I understand. If you happen to change your mind, let us know"

I don't play their BS game. They either want to pay or not.

Removal of a huge tree for free firewood always makes me laugh...and have often wondered if the destroyed house is part of the free firewood deal?

We'll do demolition for free, if the money is there.

We always approach every call, every job the same way.

In the end it just depends on what your time is worth.

Example, often times we'll just try to make our minimum of $20-$25 an hour. Of coarse, in the scrap business you'll often make far, far more per hour. However, we won't introduce fees unless the project will bring our profits down any less than that.

We try to make $25 an hour, including drive time, AFTER gas and materials like grinding discs, sawzall blades, cutting gas etc.

If there's demo involved, but the return in the scrap will still earn us our minimum profit ($25 an hour AFTER expenses and including drive time), no fee.

If it's going to take myself and one other person, an hour worth of driving, an hour worth of demo and loading: We're looking at; $20 in fuel + $50 in drive time + $50 in loading/demo time, which = $120 we have to cover in scrap. If we feel there's only $50 in scrap, we'll charge $70. If we feel there's $100 in scrap, we'll charge $20. That's essentially how it works and when explained to the customer, they'll understand.

"Hey, we're coming down with a big truck, a big trailer, and 2 guys so there has to be enough scrap to cover our costs otherwise we have to charge a small fee."

Here's a little tip for you guys, works great sometimes. If they don't like the fee, throw this at them.

"Well, if you can get more weight together, we can lower the fee or you might even qualify for a free removal. Have a look around for other items you want to get rid of or ASK YOUR NEIGHBORS if they have anything they might want to get rid of as well. If you can get together about xxxx more pounds worth of metal, you'll qualify for the free removal."

Originally Posted by Libertytow

Here is my ?'s are you guy insured Admin i hear what your saying but $25 an hour still feels low to me when i have a $16k a year policy looming over my head

Demo started @ $60 an hour door to door here on the flip side we bring in billy goat vacs and a bobcat if needed

Yeah, Liberty, those seem more in line with my prices.

Originally Posted by Libertytow

Demo started @ $60 an hour door to door here on the flip side we bring in billy goat vacs and a bobcat if needed

Hey! What did I ever do to you?

Originally Posted by billygoat

Hey! What did I ever do to you?

Um, I think he's saying YOU SUCK! LOL

Yep, fully insured

Sometimes you have to pay for your leanings Now you know to charge for a mobile home.

Two more shed removal calls today alone, wanting to exchange the metal for the teardown. Smhs.