The dumpster was delivered and the guys got to work. Lots of walls are gone, carpet is gone, the custom bookshelf hand-made by the previous own–gone but that didn’t quite fit our TV… gone!

A note on construction waste. Apparently, Greenwaste of Palo Alto has EXCLUSIVE rights to pick up all waste generated in Palo Alto. Because waste service varies so much from company to company and city to city our contractor conveniently left that out of his budget estimate. So I called up as the home owner to order a “debris container” from them. (Customer service is super nice by the way! They are quick to answer questions and service was really easy and fast to set up!)

Of course, because nothing construction related is easy with our lot, we actually don’t have a place for the dumpster on our lot (tall hedges, shared alley, brick walls etc.). Therefore, we had to beg and plead with public works to get an “encroachment permit” in order to park our dumpster on the street. There are LOTS of restrictions on this which are clearly listed on the form. We also had to submit a sketch showing exactly where the dumpster was to be placed and had to demonstrate in the drawing that all the conditions were met. Unlike many nearby cities, Palo Alto REALLY does not want residents parking construction dumpsters on the street. Luckily, our situation was dire enough (a building inspector even drove by the house the confirm!) that they allowed us a permit for a 2-week window.

Two week encroachment Permit Cost: $783

Two week dumpster rental (including refuse pick up): around $1000