Shed clearance in Drumcondra

The back gate is the way out

A lot of Drumcondra's terraced and semi-detached houses have a lane running behind the back gardens, and a gate at the bottom of the garden that opens onto it. If the shed sits near that gate, the back gate is the shortest, cleanest way to get everything out, and the house stays out of it entirely.

The gate is often the first thing we have to deal with. Back gates that haven't been opened for years tend to stick, swell, rust or disappear behind ivy. A quick check before we arrive saves time:

• Does it open? Try it. If it's stiff, a few minutes' work usually frees it.
• Is there a key? Old padlocks rust shut. Cut one off if the key is lost.
• How wide is it? Shed panels and bikes need a clear opening.
• What's on the other side? Bins, parked cars or a neighbour's gate can narrow the lane.

Our van usually waits at the end of the lane or on the road nearby, and we carry from the gate. If there's no gate at all, we use the house instead, with floors covered all the way.

Old bikes, tools and the things in between

Drumcondra sheds are often small and full, and the same things turn up in most of them. Bikes are near the top of the list: children's bikes that were outgrown years ago, an adult bike with flat tyres and a seized chain, frames without wheels and wheels without frames.

Then there are the tools. Spades, rakes and shears with broken handles, a hedge trimmer that stopped working, boxes of nails, a rusted wheelbarrow, and a lawnmower for a lawn that's since been paved. Add in folding chairs, a barbecue, plant pots and the odd piece of furniture, and the shed is full.

As it all comes out, we sort it. Rideable bikes and usable tools go aside for someone else to use, where possible. Scrap metal is recycled, and what's left goes to licensed facilities. If a bike or a set of tools is earmarked for someone in the family, tell us and we'll leave it out.

Shed clearance: what we take on

That walk-through shows a packed shed before clearance, with tools, a lawnmower and shelving: a very typical load.

When the shed itself has to go

Plenty of Drumcondra sheds are older than the people using them. Once the roof leaks, the floor goes soft and the door hangs off its hinges, a clear-out alone won't save it, and the best thing is to take it down.

We take apart timber, metal and plastic sheds. The roof comes off first, then the walls in panels or sheets, then the floor. Glass is removed whole where possible, and nails, screws and splinters are picked up from the area afterwards. If there's electricity to the shed, it needs to be disconnected by an electrician first. The base usually stays, ready for a new shed, a patio or a planting bed.

If the roof is made of corrugated cement sheets, it may contain asbestos. We don't break those up or remove them, and a specialist contractor has to handle them first.

Rentals, family homes and the rest of the house

Drumcondra has a lot of rented houses, many of them let to students near DCU's St Patrick's Campus. Sheds in rentals collect what tenants leave behind over the years: bikes, broken furniture, bags of clothes and boxes nobody claimed. Landlords clearing between tenancies can add the shed to the job; see our page on rental and student houses in Drumcondra.

In a family home, the shed is often one part of a bigger clear-out. The loft might be next; see attic clearance in Drumcondra. For the garage at the end of the garden, see garage clear-outs in Drumcondra, and for a whole house, house clearance in Drumcondra.

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The day before we come

A few small jobs on your side make the clearance faster, especially when everything is going out the back gate:

1. Open the gate and leave it unlocked, or leave the key somewhere we can find it.
2. Bring the wheelie bins in from the lane, if they live outside the gate.
3. Run the mower dry and empty any fuel cans yourself, because we can't take petrol, paint, oils or chemicals.
4. Put a bit of tape on anything that's staying, like a good bike or a set of tools.
5. Let the neighbours know if you share the lane, so nobody parks across the end of it that morning.

If you can't be there, that's fine. Leave the gate and the shed open, send us a photo of what's staying, and we'll message you on WhatsApp when it's done.

Price and permit

We price from photos, and the figure is agreed before you book. What changes it is the contents, whether the shed is coming down, its size and condition, and the route: a back gate near the shed is quicker than a long carry through the house. Our permit as an authorised waste carrier is NWCPO-25-13287-01, and our insurance covers every job.

If you'd like to keep the shed and just have it emptied, see our contents-only shed clear-out. For the wider picture, see our main shed clearance page, or the shed clearance guide if you're weighing up doing it yourself.