Straight answers, before you hire anyone
These are the questions people actually ask when a parent’s house needs emptying, a remodel hits a wall, or a container is sitting in the driveway costing money. We answer them here in full, including the times the answer is that you don’t need us.
Junk removal & cleanouts
Clearing Out an Inherited House
A step-by-step plan for executors clearing an inherited house in the Bay Area: what order to work in, whether to hold an estate sale first, and what a full cleanout costs.
Helping a Parent Clear a Hoarded Home
How to clear a hoarded house for an elderly parent without a fight, what safety risks to check first, and how many truckloads a full home actually takes.
Dumpster vs. Crew: What You Actually Pay For
Roll-off dumpster or a hauling crew? Real Bay Area numbers on both, why you pay for space you never use with a container, and what to do when your HOA says 48 hours.
How to Vet a Junk Removal Company
The five questions worth asking before you hire a junk removal company, the insurance to require, and what actually goes wrong with a Marketplace hauler.
Turnovers and Pre-Listing Cleanouts
For agents and property managers: how fast a house goes from full to photo-ready, what to do about a tenant’s abandoned belongings, and how the billing works.
Demolition
Tear Down, Remodel, or Convert?
Tear down, remodel, or convert the garage to an ADU? Real Bay Area demolition costs, and how to get the number early enough to budget with.
Permits, Load-Bearing Walls, and Doing It Legally
What Bay Area cities require before a wall or a structure comes down, whether you can pull it yourself, and what unpermitted demolition costs later.
You Started the Demo and Hit a Problem
Wiring in the wall, rot under the subfloor, a slab that won’t break, more debris than you can haul. What to do right now, and how fast someone can finish it.
Asbestos Testing Before You Demo an Older House
What needs testing in a pre-1980 home, how long lab results take, who is licensed to remove asbestos in California, and how the demolition schedule works around it.
Interior Demolition for GCs and Property Managers
Selective interior demolition for GCs and property managers: schedule, containment in occupied buildings, and what to check before hiring a C-21 sub.
Servant King Junk Removal & Demolition · CSLB C-21 #1142322 · Serving the SF Peninsula, San Jose and the Tri-Valley.