Selling a house in Melrose? A cleared property photographs better, shows better, and stops a buyer's inspector writing paragraphs about clutter in the mechanical room.
Melrose is dense Victorian housing on a tight street grid, and driveways are often narrow or shared with a neighbor. This is the town where measuring the spot before you book saves the most trouble, and where the smaller containers place best.
Steve owns the trucks and answers the phone. For a Melrose customer that means the price you see when you book is the price you pay, and any question about the job goes to someone who has actually been on it.
Listing prep and move-outs in Melrose
Listing work in Melrose runs on somebody else's calendar. Photos are booked, the open house is set, and the container has to be gone before either. Take the 7-day rather than the 3-day: it is $25 more on every size we run and it buys back the weekend you would otherwise spend watching the clock.
Victorian Melrose
Melrose's downtown was built in the late 1800s and still looks the part, which is why the city's biggest event is called the Victorian Fair. The Chamber of Commerce has run it on a Sunday in September for more than four decades. In July the same stretch of Main Street and Essex Street closes to cars for the Summer Stroll, an evening of live music and sidewalk dining. Ell Pond, a 20-acre L-shaped pond beside Memorial Hall, sits a block from it all.
- Victorian Fair A Sunday in mid-September, downtown. Entertainment, food, civic groups, local businesses and the big-ticket raffle.
- Summer Stroll A Friday evening in late July, Main and Essex Streets. Streets closed to traffic, 6 to 9pm.
Both events close Main Street. The rest of the time the constraint in Melrose is the driveway itself: narrow, shared, or both. Measure the spot before you book.
Dumpster sizes and prices in Melrose
All four roll-off dumpster sizes are available here. Delivery and pickup are included in every price.
| Dumpster | Weight included | From |
|---|---|---|
| 10-Yard Dumpster | 1 ton | $475 |
| 12-Yard Dumpster | 1.25 tons | $525 |
| 15-Yard Dumpster | 1.5 tons | $625 |
| 20-Yard Dumpster | 2 tons | $725 |
Compare all four sizes side by side ›
Between two sizes? The item picker sizes a cleanout from what you are throwing away, and the weight, roofing, drywall and deck calculators do the same for tear-outs, in about a minute and for free.
Access and permits
We need roughly the length of two parked cars plus room for the truck to back straight in, and clear space overhead for the hoist. Most Melrose driveways manage that easily; the ones that do not are usually the short, steep or shared kind, and those are worth flagging.
Melrose requires a Building Department permit for every temporary dumpster, driveways included, on top of the fire department permit the state fire code requires. A street spot also needs permission from the City Engineer, plus a street occupancy permit from the Director of Public Works. Getting the Building Department and fire permits is the customer's responsibility, so apply before delivery day. The dumpster permit guide lists this rule and its source next to every other town we serve.
Loading the container
Load heavy material low and flat, keep everything below the rim, and set aside anything on the prohibited list before you start rather than after. Mattresses, old clothes and linens, tires, paint, electronics, appliances with refrigerant and yard waste all need a different route, and a prohibited item found at the gate carries a $200 fee. The full lists live on the FAQ page.
Asbestos and hazardous material
Asbestos cannot go in the container, and that one is not a fee - no Massachusetts facility can accept it, so a load with it in cannot be tipped anywhere. Worth knowing here, because much of Melrose's housing predates the 1980s. If the building dates from before 1980 and you are disturbing siding, roofing, floor tile, pipe insulation or old plaster, test it before you load anything. A newer building is not automatically clear either - MassDEP identifies suspect material by what it is, not by the year the building went up, so if you are unsure about something, have it tested. What we cannot take ›
Melrose questions
How much does a dumpster cost in Melrose?
Melrose pays the same rates as every town we serve, starting at $475 with delivery, pickup and disposal included. The extras are listed up front: the $19 booking fee, and fees for going over the weight, keeping it longer or loading a prohibited item.
Do I need a permit for a dumpster in Melrose?
On your own driveway you need the fire department's dumpster permit and a Building Department permit. The state fire code requires the first for any dumpster over 6 cubic yards that stays overnight. In Melrose, the Building Department requires a permit for every temporary dumpster, private property included. A dumpster on a street or sidewalk needs permission from the City Engineer, plus a street occupancy permit from the Director of Public Works. Getting the Building Department and fire permits is the customer's responsibility, so apply before delivery day.
Do you serve the whole of Melrose?
Yes, every part of it, from our North Reading yard. If your street is awkward for a truck the size of a moving van, describe it in the placement notes when you book and we will tell you before we load rather than after we arrive.