Practical garage cleanout tips that get results. The zone system, how to handle hazardous items, what to toss vs. keep, and when to call for help.
After the Storm: What Insurance Covers and What It Doesn't
Atlanta gets hit with strong storms every spring and fall, straight-line winds, hail, the occasional tornado on the metro edges, and the routine summer pop-up storms that drop branches across yards. Most homeowner insurance policies cover damage to the house and structures (roof, fence, shed) but they do not always cover the cost of removing the resulting yard debris. Read your policy section called 'debris removal' carefully. Often there is a sub-limit (typically 5% of the dwelling coverage) and a separate deductible. For most south Atlanta homeowners after a routine storm, the cost of debris removal lands below the deductible and ends up out of pocket.
What Counts as Yard Waste
Yard waste, in the disposal-facility sense, means organic vegetative debris: tree branches, brush, leaves, grass clippings, pine straw, root balls. Atlanta-area composting and mulching facilities take all of it. What does NOT count as yard waste: pressure-treated lumber from fences (must go to landfill), composite decking, metal fence posts, vinyl siding, roof shingles, drywall, and anything painted or stained. After a storm, these are commonly mixed in the debris pile. We separate as we load, you do not need to do that yourself.
Curbside Pickup vs. Professional Haul-Away
Most south Atlanta municipalities run yard waste pickup as part of regular sanitation service, but the rules differ. Atlanta requires brush to be cut to manageable lengths and tied in bundles. DeKalb County and Clayton County have similar requirements, with weight and length limits per item. Fayette County offers limited pickup. If your yard waste pile is larger than what curbside accepts in a single week or two, or if you have a job to do quickly (before listing the house, before a family event, before HOA citation), professional removal is the path. We send a truck, a crew loads everything, and you have your yard back in two to four hours.
Fence and Outbuilding Debris
Storms knock down fences and damage sheds. Once the fence is on the ground, the next call is to a contractor for replacement, but the debris from the old fence has to be cleared first. That debris is part yard waste (any wood from posts), part scrap (metal posts, hinges, hardware), part landfill (pressure-treated boards, vinyl panels). We handle all of it as a single haul. Same for storm-damaged sheds, we can demolish what's left, separate the materials, and haul. See our light demolition service for that work.
Pricing Yard Waste Jobs
Yard waste is priced like all our work: by volume. Most post-storm jobs land between quarter-load ($370) and three-quarter load ($650). A bad storm with multiple downed trees can take a full truck ($725) and occasionally two. Estate-sized properties with hundreds of feet of fence line can run multiple full loads.
Seasonal Patterns
Spring storms (March-May) produce the largest yard waste volume in the south Atlanta metro, fresh growth gets stripped from trees and branches break off. Fall storms (September-October) bring leaves down with branches. Summer storms tend to be more isolated but more violent. We staff for the seasonal spikes so same-day pickup stays available even during high-call weeks.
Frequently Asked Questions
Real Stories, Real Results
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