Deck Removal in Chicopee, MA

A deck comes off in a set order. Railings, then boards, then joists, then the ledger board against the house, then the posts and whatever is holding them in the ground.

Most of the price is size and height. A ground level twelve by twelve is a few hours. A raised deck off a second floor door with stairs down to the yard is a bigger job with more people, because everything comes down before it goes anywhere.

Expect $500 to $1,500 for most residential decks. Concrete footings add to it, since pulling them means digging and they are heavy. Say whether they are coming out when you book.

The ledger board is the part that matters

Where the deck attaches to the house, there is a ledger board bolted to the framing. Taking that off exposes the wall, and how the siding and flashing were done underneath decides whether you have a small patch or a real repair. A crew that pulls the ledger and leaves an open wall in November has done you no favors. Agree beforehand what happens to that wall.

Treated lumber cannot be burned or chipped

Almost all deck framing and decking is pressure treated, which means the wood carries preservative chemicals. It cannot be composted, chipped or burned, and burning it is genuinely dangerous. It travels as construction debris to a facility set up for it.

Massachusetts pulled wood out of disposal on 1 July 2006 under 310 CMR 19.017, so it does not simply go to a landfill either. That routing is why deck material costs more per load than household junk.

Anything built before roughly 2004 may be treated with the older arsenic based preservative. It does not change how it is handled by a hauler, and it is a very good reason not to cut it up in your own yard, not to burn it, and not to keep the boards for a garden bed.

Composite is a separate conversation

Composite decking is wood fiber and plastic, and most facilities cannot recycle it. It goes to disposal. It is also heavier than it looks. If your boards are composite and the frame is wood, that is two materials on two routes and it is worth saying which is which when you book.