Rural garages and the buildings around them
Outside Athy town, a garage is rarely the only building. Bungalows and farmhouses across south Kildare usually have a garage plus a workshop, a machinery shed, a lean-to and perhaps an old stone outhouse, and every one of them gets used for storage once its original job is done.
So a "garage clear-out" around Athy can mean anything from a single garage on an estate in town to a full yard of outbuildings on a country property. We price it the same way: photos of each building, inside and out, and one of the driveway or lane, then a fixed price for the whole job.
| Building | What's usually inside | What to tell us |
|---|---|---|
| Garage | Furniture, boxes, bikes, an old freezer, tools | Whether the car needs to stay in |
| Workshop | Benches, tools, crates, timber, parts | Anything very heavy, and how far the carry is |
| Machinery or farm-style shed | Old parts, scrap, wire, gates, tyres | The roof material, and how close the van can get |
| Old outhouse or lean-to | Decades of odds and ends, feed bags, broken furniture | Whether the floor and roof are safe to work under |
Old machinery parts, scrap and tools
Sheds near Athy often hold the parts of machines that are long gone: old tractor and trailer parts, harrow tines, chains, coils of wire, sheet metal, gate hinges and broken tools. Most of it is metal, and metal goes for recycling.
Heavy pieces are where the planning matters. Tell us about anything that would take two or three people to lift. Our box van has a tail lift, which makes loading heavy items much safer than lifting them up by hand, and we bring enough crew for the weight.
Tools and equipment that still work are set aside for reuse where possible. If a family member wants to go through the workshop first, or you'd like to sell the better pieces, do that before we come and we'll clear what's left.
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What we won't take, and where it should go
Farm and rural buildings are where hazardous waste tends to collect, and we don't take it. That's not us being awkward. Hazardous waste has to go through its own licensed routes, and it can't travel with general clearance waste. It includes:
- waste oil, engine oil and fuel, including old jerry cans
- farm chemicals, sprays, dips and drums with chemical residue
- car and tractor batteries
- gas cylinders, which normally go back to the supplier
- asbestos cement sheets, roofing and pipes, which need a specialist contractor
Take these to a civic amenity site or a hazardous waste collection, and we'll clear everything else. Kildare County Council can advise on household hazardous waste, and suppliers can often take back their own containers.
Long driveways, lanes and yards
Country properties come with their own access questions. Long drives are fine. Narrow gateways, soft ground and tight yards are worth a photo, because they decide where the van can park and how far we carry.
- Gateways. If the entrance is narrow or the gate swings into the lane, let us know.
- Soft ground. In wet weather, we park on firm ground and carry the last stretch.
- Livestock. If animals are in an adjoining field or yard, tell us so gates are kept closed.
- Turning. We'd rather reverse in once than get stuck trying to turn in a yard.
Getting the buildings ready
A little preparation makes a big difference on a rural job, especially when there are several buildings and some haven't been opened in a while.
- Find every key. Old padlocks rust, so check them a few days ahead and cut them off if you need to.
- Drain the fuel. Mowers, chainsaws, generators and old engines should be emptied before we arrive.
- Mark what's staying. A strip of tape or a quick photo sent on WhatsApp is enough.
- Check the roofs. If a roof is sagging or a floor is rotten, tell us, so nobody works under something unsafe.
- Move the car and the trailer. A clear yard means a shorter carry and a quicker day.
If you live away and a neighbour or relative is letting us in, that's fine. Send the photos, agree what stays, and we'll keep you posted on WhatsApp as the job goes.
Need a garage or yard cleared near Athy? Photograph each building inside and out, plus the gate and driveway, and send them on WhatsApp with your Eircode. We'll reply with a fixed price, usually the same day.
One price for the whole yard
Every job is priced from photos and confirmed before booking, with no extras on the day. The price reflects the number of van loads, the weight of what's there, how far we carry, and any items with special disposal routes, such as fridges, freezers and tyres. A waste collection permit (NWCPO-25-13287-01) and full insurance cover every clearance we do, in town or out in the country.
Spotless is based in Dublin and covers all of Leinster, and our office number, (059) 865 2981, shares Athy's area code. When the house needs doing too, see house and property clearance in Athy, or our page on rural and farm property clearances around Athy for bigger yards. If you're clearing a relative's home, bereavement clearance in Athy explains how we work with families. Our main garage clear-out and shed clearance pages cover the rest, and house clearance in Kildare covers the wider county. Once a house is empty, we can clean the carpets in Athy as well.
