Junk removal from Midtown Victorians and East Sac bungalows

The short answer

Access does not change the number. A Sofa is $126 whether it is in a driveway in Natomas or at the top of a switchback staircase in an 1895 Victorian on the numbered streets. A quarter truck is $241 out of an alley garage behind an East Sac bungalow, same as anywhere else.

There is no stair charge, no walk-up fee, no long-carry fee and no alley-access fee on the price list. What access does change is how long we allow for the job and what gear is on the truck, which is why we ask about it.

What the grid actually looks like from a truck

Sacramento's central grid is an unusual housing stock to work in, and the people who do this for a living can tell you which block they are on by the staircase.

Victorians and Italianates. Boulevard Park, Alkali Flat, Poverty Ridge, Newton Booth and the numbered streets through Midtown. Raised above grade, which means a flight of exterior steps before you even reach the front door. Interior stairs that are steep, narrow and turn at a half-landing with a fixed newel post in the worst possible place.

Craftsman bungalows. East Sacramento, Curtis Park, Land Park, Elmhurst and the Marshall School blocks. Single story, which sounds easy, but with narrow original doorways, a deep front porch and a raised foundation.

Converted flats and duplexes. A huge share of the grid. A single Victorian split into two or three units, with an added external staircase at the back that was designed for people, not for a dresser.

The measurements that matter

Three numbers decide whether a piece comes out in one piece.

• Doorway width. Original doors in these houses are frequently narrower than a modern sofa is deep. Measure the frame, not the door.
• Stair width and the turn. A straight flight will take almost anything on its side. A half-landing turn will not, and that is where most grid staircases turn.
• Ceiling height at the landing. High ceilings help enormously. It is the one thing these houses give you for free.

If a piece went up the stairs, it can usually come down them. The exceptions are the ones that went in before a banister was replaced, before a wall was added in a conversion, or in through a window during the original build.

The alley is usually the answer

Most of the grid and much of East Sac has a service alley behind the lot, and this is the single most useful fact about working here. The front of the property is permit parking, one-way numbered streets, and a low canopy of mature street trees that a box truck cannot clear. The back is an open lane with a gate.

So tell us which one to use. An alley approach usually means a shorter carry than the front door, particularly for anything coming out of the detached garage, which is where most of the load lives anyway.

Two things to check the night before: that the alley gate actually opens, because plenty of them have not in years, and that nobody has parked across the lane.

The detached alley garage

Single bay, built for a car that was six feet wide, and in most cases nobody has parked in it since the 1970s. What is in there instead is a workbench, paint, bicycles, a dryer that was replaced, tenants' leftovers and boxes.

These are small loads by suburban standards. A typical Midtown alley garage is a quarter truck at $241. A worked example: Bicycle $37 + Lawn Mower $65 + Storage Cabinet $74 + Bookcase, Particleboard / Flat-pack $100 + Box of Books $45 = $321. That is above the quarter-truck rate of $241, so it books at $241.

They are also the most common ADU conversion candidate in the city, which is usually why they finally get emptied.

No basements, which changes everything

Sacramento sits on a flood plain and these houses are on raised foundations, not basements. What you get instead is a crawlspace, sometimes with a hatch in a hall floor or a door in the skirting at the side of the house.

Things end up down there anyway. Old plumbing, paint cans, a previous owner's lumber, a rolled carpet. It is low, dark and awkward, but it is a short carry once you are in, and it does not attract a surcharge.

What you also get is an attic, in the two-story Victorians, reached by a pull-down or a hatch. Anything coming out of one needs flagging when you book so the right ladder is on the truck.

Parking, permits and Second Saturday

• Permit blocks. Much of Midtown is permit parking. If the crew has to work the street, a cleared space in front makes the difference between a 40-minute job and a 90-minute one.
• One-ways and bike lanes. The numbered streets are mostly one-way with protected bike lanes, so the truck cannot simply double-park where it likes.
• Street trees. Sacramento's canopy is the best thing about this city and the worst thing about a 15-foot truck. Low branches over the numbered streets are a genuine constraint.
• Second Saturday. Midtown in the evening on the second Saturday of the month is not a loading environment. Book a morning.

What it costs

One sofa and one sleeper sofa out of a two-unit conversion is $126 + $149 = $275, which is above the quarter-truck rate of $241, so it books at $241.

Frequently asked questions