House Clearance by the Numbers: Costs, Volumes and Timescales

House clearance is one of those jobs most people only arrange once or twice, so it is hard to know what is normal. How much should it cost? How long will it take? How much of the contents can be reused rather than thrown away? A few simple figures make it much easier to plan a clearance and compare quotes.

What a clearance costs

Prices depend on how much there is to clear, how easy the property is to access and how much sorting is needed. As a guide, these are the kinds of ranges quoted for probate and bereavement clearance in Cardiff:

• Studio or one-bedroom flat: around £300 to £600
• Two-bedroom house: around £600 to £1,200
• Three-bedroom house: around £1,200 to £2,000
• Four-bedroom house: from around £2,000 to £3,500 or more

Plotting these ranges against the number of rooms shows that cost rises roughly in line with the size of the property, but access matters too. Flats with stairs and no lift, long carries to the van and lofts full of boxes all add time.

How long it takes

• Small flat: often around half a day
• Three-bedroom house: typically one to two days
• Large family home: two to three days

Single items move much faster. A bulky item collection for a sofa, mattress or fridge freezer can often be booked within a day or two of sending photos for a quote.

Skip or clearance team?

A typical builder's skip holds around 6 to 8 cubic yards, but you have to load it yourself, a skip on the road needs a council permit, and some items such as mattresses, fridges and electricals usually cannot go in. A clearance team loads everything for you and takes it away the same day. For green waste in particular, an overgrown garden clearance avoids a skip sitting on the drive for days while you fill it.

Where it all goes

A good clearance company sorts items by destination rather than sending everything to landfill:

1. Auction: antiques, collectables and quality furniture.
2. Charity: clean, undamaged furniture and household goods.
3. Recycling: metal, wood, cardboard, garden waste and electricals.
4. Disposal: only what cannot be reused or recycled.

Figures worth charting

1. Cost per room: to compare quotes on a like-for-like basis.
2. Days from enquiry to clearance: how quickly a company can start.
3. Share reused or recycled: the proportion kept out of landfill.
4. Items set aside for the family: a useful check on care taken with personal belongings.

A clear set of numbers turns a stressful job into a manageable one. For more on charting house clearance and cleaning services, see our house clearance category.