Roofing

Sizing a Dumpster for a Roof Tear-Off

Roofing is where sizing goes wrong most often, and in this town it is usually a hidden second layer — or slate nobody mentioned.

The one number that matters: squares

Roofers measure in squares. One square is 100 square feet of roof surface. A typical house across Quincy and Adams County runs somewhere between 18 and 30 squares — the older city houses at the lower end, the newer suburban builds higher, and the large nineteenth-century homes considerably above both.

If you do not know your square count, your roofer does, and it is the first thing to ask.

What a square of roofing weighs

Most residential roofs here are composition shingle, which keeps the arithmetic simple — until you find two layers, or slate.

Composition sizing table

Add a size if the decking is coming off too, and step right down to a 10 yard with swaps for slate or clay tile.

The second layer problem

The most common sizing mistake on roofing work anywhere, and common here because of when this housing was built and re-roofed.

A great many houses across Quincy have had a second layer of composition laid directly over the original rather than a full tear-off. It was normal, permitted practice for decades. It also roughly doubles the tear-off weight.

How to check before you book:

• Look at the rake edge from the ground. A double layer usually shows as a noticeably thicker band at the roof edge.
• Look at the flashing and drip edge. Two layers often sit proud of them.
• Ask your roofer to confirm at inspection. They will know within a minute of getting up there.

If it turns up on the day, call us. A swap mid-job is far cheaper than an overloaded container that cannot legally be hauled, and the crew keeps working while the truck is on its way.

⚠️ Slate and clay tile on the older houses

The local wrinkle, and it is a big one.

Quincy built substantial houses in the nineteenth century and some of them were roofed accordingly. Slate in particular turns up on the finer properties, and it changes every number on this page.

Three practical points:

• Say so when you book. It changes the recommendation immediately.
• Slate has salvage value. Sound slates are wanted for repairs on other historic roofs, and a roofer who works on these houses will usually know who buys them. That is weight out of the container and money back.
• Do not judge by eye. A container half full of slate is at its limit while there is obvious space above the rail — the same trap as plaster.

If the property is in a historic district, check what review applies before changing a roof covering — more on that here.

Ice dams and soft decking

You do not know the condition of the decking until the shingles are off, and it is the single most common reason a roofing container runs over.

Illinois winters produce real ice damming at the eaves — snow melts higher up the roof where the attic is warmer, runs down, and refreezes at the cold overhang. Water then backs up under the shingles rather than running off.

• The eaves are where damage concentrates. Expect soft decking in the first few feet above the wall line.
• Fascia and soffit often need work at the same time — extra material in the container.
• Plywood and OSB run 40 to 60 pounds a sheet. Widespread replacement adds a ton or more.
• Older houses may have plank decking rather than sheet — dimensional boards across the rafters, heavier again per square foot, and common in the older Quincy neighborhoods.
• Attic ventilation is usually the underlying cause, and if it is not fixed the new roof will do the same thing.

If your roof has had ice dams, assume decking replacement is likely rather than possible, and size accordingly.

Storm and insurance work

A meaningful share of roofing work here is storm-driven — wind, hail and the aftermath of a hard freeze.

• Photograph everything before anything moves. The adjuster will want it, and once the shingles are in a container they are gone.
• Do not dispose of damaged material until the claim is settled unless your adjuster has confirmed you can.
• Check whether your policy covers debris removal — it is often a separate line.
• Book early after a major event. Every roofer and every hauler in the area is busy the same fortnight and containers genuinely run out.
• Separate fencing, gutters and siding if the same storm took those down — different streams and different weights.
• Emergency tarping is different from clearing up. Do it, and keep the receipts.

Placement, canopy and the nail problem

Roofing containers need to sit close to the house, and here there are three recurring constraints.

Overhead branches. Twenty-two feet of clear height to raise the bed, and the mature canopy over the older Quincy streets is genuinely low. On a job with a mid-course swap that has to work twice.

Driveway width and grade. In the older neighborhoods a 15 yard with a swap is often the workable shape where a 20 will not place — and the bluff neighborhoods add slope to the problem.

Winter. Snow banks narrow the drive, and an open container through a snowfall gains real weight — a tear-off is exactly the material that soaks. Ask for a cover if the job runs across several days.

Everywhere: boards go under the rails as standard, and a tear-off sheds an enormous quantity of nails. A magnet sweep of the drive and the street at the end is twenty minutes well spent, and it is the single most common complaint homeowners have about roofing work.