The short answer
Priced by volume: quarter $241, three-eighths $338, half $431, five-eighths $513, three-quarters $587, seven-eighths $661, full $732.
A German Village half-double basement, which is a small footprint, is often a quarter to a half. A Clintonville foursquare or a Victorian Village double with a full-footprint basement is usually a half to a full load. Add the heavy singles: cast iron radiator $123 each, chest freezer $146, water heater $131, washer $133, dryer $128.
Carry-up from the basement is included. There is no stair charge in any Columbus neighborhood, and that is the whole point of this page.
What a Columbus century basement is actually like
Not a crawl space and not a finished rec room. A real dug cellar under the whole house, built when the house went up between roughly the 1880s and the 1920s, and used continuously ever since.
The standard features:
- Stairs built narrow and steep, often open-riser, usually with a turn at the bottom and a low header you duck under.
- Stone or brick foundation walls in the oldest German Village and Italian Village houses, poured or block in the slightly newer Clintonville and Old North stock.
- Low headroom. Six feet and change is common, and then the ductwork drops below that.
- A coal chute or an exterior hatch, bricked over in most houses, still usable in a few.
- A floor drain and, if you are lucky, a sump crock.
All of which means whatever is down there has been down there a long time, because getting it out is genuinely hard.
The stairwell is the job
A sofa that went down before the stairwell was rebuilt does not come up the way it went down. The same is true of pool tables, workbenches and anything assembled in place.
Three things solve it, and all are inside the flat price.
Breakdown. Furniture comes apart. A three-piece sectional at $185 comes out in three pieces; particleboard shelving comes out as boards.
Straps and two people. A cast iron radiator at $123 is a strap job, not a lift.
The exterior hatch, where one still exists. Some German Village and Merion Village houses retain a usable outside basement entry, which turns a hard job into an easy one. Mention it in the booking notes if you have one.
What we will not do is force a piece through a doorway at the cost of the door frame. If it genuinely will not fit, it comes apart.
What comes out of them
| Item | Flat price |
|---|---|
| Cast iron radiator | $123 |
| Freezer (chest) | $146 |
| Water heater (tank) | $131 |
| Washer / dryer | $133 / $128 |
| Dehumidifier | $77 |
| Carpet (rolled) | $68 |
| Bookcase, particleboard / flat-pack | $100 |
| Box of books | $45 |
| Storage cabinet | $74 |
| Bathtub (cast iron) | $185 |
| Toilet (detached) | $64 |
| Construction debris | $120 |
A very common Columbus combination: the old laundry pair, the second fridge, a dehumidifier and three radiators from a steam-to-forced-air conversion. That is $133 + $128 + $164 + $77 + (3 x $123 = $369) = $871. Once a list runs that long, price it against a full truckload at $732 and take the cheaper one.
Radiators, tubs and the rehab pile
The older Columbus neighborhoods are in a long rehab cycle. Italian Village, Olde Towne East, Franklinton, Old North, King-Lincoln. Every one of those projects produces the same basement pile: cast iron radiators pulled when the heating changed, a cast iron tub from the bathroom gut, a detached toilet, plaster and lath in bags, and offcuts of old-growth trim somebody was going to reuse.
Prices: radiator $123, cast iron tub $185, fiberglass tub $90, detached toilet $64, construction debris $120, bathroom vanity $69. Bagged plaster prices on the debris scale: 10 bags $132, 15 bags $196, 20 bags $259, 25 bags $322.
A word of warning that is specific to houses this old: anything involving plaster, old paint or pipe insulation in a pre-1978 Columbus home should be assessed for lead and asbestos before it is disturbed. That is a contractor's job, not a hauler's, and it is worth knowing before demolition rather than after.
Access, street by street
German Village. Brick streets, permit-only parking, small lots, and a historic district that is not enthusiastic about a dumpster out front for a week. The rear service alleys are the answer, and they work.
Victorian Village and Italian Village. Similar, with slightly more room and better alley access behind most of the doubles.
Clintonville and Beechwold. Driveways, side entries, alley garages on many streets. Straightforward.
Olde Towne East and King-Lincoln. Big houses, deep lots, alleys behind most blocks. The basements here are among the largest in the city.
Merion Village and Schumacher Place. Narrow, alley-served, and the basement stairs are the tightest we see.
Access changes the plan. It does not change the price.
Do it before you finish the basement
A lot of these cleanouts are the first step in a project: waterproofing, a new panel, framing out a family room. Clearing to the walls first is worth doing properly, because your contractor needs to see the foundation, the joists, the drain and the main stack. A basement you can walk gets a real quote. A basement with a path through storage gets a padded one.
The same applies if you are selling. Central Ohio buyers walk basements and look for water lines on the block. Let them see the wall.
What is included
- Two people, all the loading, and the truck.
- Carry-up from the basement, however narrow the stairs.
- Breakdown of anything that will not fit the stairwell whole.
- Disposal, transfer and recycling, with refrigerant recovered properly.
- Broom sweep of the slab.
No stair charge, no long-carry fee, no surcharge for an alley approach or a tight brick street.
Frequently asked questions
Do you charge extra for basement stairs in a century home?
No. Carry-up from any floor is in the flat price. Narrow, steep, open-riser stairs with a turn at the bottom are the standard Columbus basement and we price them the same as a garage.
How much is a full basement cleanout?
Usually $431 for a half truckload to $732 for a full load, plus the heavy singles like a $146 chest freezer or $123 radiators.
What if the sofa will not come back up the stairs?
It comes apart. That is included, and it is routine in the older doubles where the piece was carried down before a stairwell was rebuilt.
Can you take cast iron radiators?
Yes, $123 each. They come out on straps rather than by lifting, and they are one of the most common items in rehabbing Italian Village and Olde Towne East houses.
What about plaster and old paint?
Bagged plaster prices on the debris scale, 10 bags $132 up to 25 bags $322. Anything in a pre-1978 house that might involve lead or asbestos should be assessed by a contractor before it is disturbed.