After enough years hauling roll-offs around Easton and the rest of Northampton County, you start to notice a pattern. The single question that trips up almost every homeowner and contractor isn't price, and it isn't scheduling. It's size. People call me and say, "I've got a project, how big of a dumpster do I need?" and half the time they've already talked themselves into the wrong answer.
So let's fix that. This is the guide I wish I could hand every customer before they book. We'll walk through the four sizes we run most, break down real projects room by room, talk about the difference between weight and volume (the part almost nobody gets right), and cover the stuff that actually matters on a tight Lehigh Valley street where you can't just plop a 30-yarder wherever you feel like it.
The four sizes, in plain English
Roll-off dumpsters are measured in cubic yards. That number tells you the volume the container holds, not the weight it can carry. Keep that distinction in your back pocket, because it comes back to bite folks later. Here's how the common sizes shake out.
10-yard dumpster
Roughly 12 to 14 feet long, 8 feet wide, and about 3.5 to 4 feet tall. It holds about the volume of three or four pickup truck loads. This is the little workhorse. It fits in a single parking space and slides into a short driveway without eating your whole yard. People underestimate it because it looks small, but for heavy, dense debris it's often exactly right. A 10-yarder is the pick for a single-room cleanout, a small bathroom gut, or a modest concrete or dirt job where weight caps out fast.
15-yard dumpster
A middle child that a lot of companies skip, and I think that's a mistake. Around 16 feet long with taller walls than the 10. It's the sweet spot for a mid-size renovation or a garage that got out of hand. If a 10 feels tight but a 20 feels like you're paying for air, the 15 usually splits the difference cleanly.
20-yard dumpster
This is our most-booked size, and for good reason. About 20 feet long, 8 feet wide, roughly 4.5 feet of wall height. It swallows a surprising amount of material while still fitting on most residential driveways. A single-layer roof tear-off, a full kitchen remodel, a big deck removal, a good chunk of a whole-home cleanout — the 20 handles all of it. If you're genuinely unsure and your driveway can take it, the 20-yard dumpster is the safe default. You rarely regret the extra room.
30-yard dumpster
The big one. Around 22 feet long and 6 feet tall. This is a new-construction, major-addition, or full-property-cleanout container. It's a lot of steel, and it needs real space to drop and to swing the door open. On the wide-lot properties out toward Forks Township or Palmer, no problem. On a Southside Easton row-home block, we need to have a conversation first.
Estimating by project: a room-by-room walk-through
Cubic yards are abstract. Projects are not. Let's translate.
Bathroom remodel
A standard bathroom gut — vanity, toilet, tub or shower surround, tile, drywall, flooring — is a 10-yard job nine times out of ten. Bathrooms are small, so the volume stays low. The catch is tile and cast-iron. Old mortar-bed tile and a vintage cast-iron tub are shockingly heavy, and a fully-loaded small dumpster can hit its weight limit while it still looks half empty. If your Easton twin has original 1950s tile, plan for weight, not just space.
Kitchen remodel
Kitchens produce more volume than bathrooms: cabinets, countertops, appliances, flooring, sometimes a wall or two. A typical kitchen gut lands in the 15-to-20-yard range. Go 20 if you're also pulling flooring throughout an open-concept first floor, or if the old cabinets are solid wood rather than particleboard. Countertops matter too — a slab of granite or old laminate over plywood adds weight in a hurry.
Whole-home cleanout
This is the one people misjudge the most. An estate cleanout or a move-out where the whole house empties out — furniture, boxes, closets, basement, attic, garage — is almost always a 20 or a 30. Households hold far more than anyone expects until it's all sitting in the driveway. For a two-to-three bedroom home packed with decades of stuff, I steer people to the 30. For a lighter clean or a smaller place, a 20 does it. Cleanouts are mostly bulky and light, so you fill the volume long before you approach any weight limit — which means sizing up costs you very little and saves you a second haul. Our residential dumpster rental service was practically built around these jobs.
Roof tear-off
Roofing is a weight game, full stop. Asphalt shingles are dense. A single "square" of shingles (100 square feet) weighs anywhere from 250 to 400 pounds, and a second or third layer stacks that up fast. A typical single-layer tear-off on an average Lehigh Valley home fits comfortably in a 20-yard by volume, but we'll often put a weight-conscious limit on it or recommend a 10 or 15 dedicated to roofing so you never blow past the tonnage. Never fill a big dumpster to the brim with shingles — it can become too heavy to legally or safely haul, and that's a problem for everyone.
Deck removal
Old pressure-treated lumber is bulky and moderately heavy. A standard backyard deck — say 12 by 16 — usually fits a 15 or 20. The wildcard is concrete footings. If you're pulling the footings too, that concrete weight adds up quick and might argue for keeping a separate small container for the heavy stuff. Deck boards are long, so break them down; they pack far tighter cut than tossed in whole.
Weight versus volume: the part that surprises people
Here's the core idea. Every dumpster has two limits: how much it can hold (volume, the cubic-yard number) and how much it can weigh (tonnage, set by what the truck and the road can legally carry). You hit whichever limit comes first.
Light, bulky debris — furniture, drywall, packing material, deck lumber, general household junk — fills the volume long before it gets heavy. For those jobs, pick your size purely on how much space the stuff takes up, and don't be shy about going bigger.
Dense, heavy debris — concrete, brick, dirt, roofing shingles, tile, plaster — does the opposite. It hits the weight ceiling while the box still looks mostly empty. For those jobs, a smaller dumpster is often the correct call, not because you're cheap but because a big one full of concrete literally cannot be lifted onto the truck. This is why we sometimes tell a customer to rent a 10 for a job that "looks" like a 20. We're not upselling in reverse for fun — we're keeping the load legal and haulable.
Mixing matters too. If you've got a heavy base layer of tile or concrete, put it in first and spread it out, then load the light stuff on top. Don't build a concrete mountain on one end.
Not sure which way your project leans? That's exactly the call we like to get. Reach a real local person at (484) 544-4458 and describe what you're tearing out — we'll size it right the first time and save you a second haul.
When to size up, and when to size down
Size up when your debris is light and bulky, when you're not totally sure how much you'll generate, or when the project might grow (renovations love to grow). The cost difference between a 15 and a 20 is small compared to the cost and hassle of ordering a second dumpster because the first one filled. Extra volume is cheap insurance on a cleanout or a remodel.
Size down when your debris is heavy and dense — concrete, dirt, tile, roofing. Here a smaller container isn't a compromise, it's the right tool. A 10-yarder loaded with clean concrete can hit its weight limit and still have room up top, and that's fine. Trying to cram more in just creates an unhaulable load.
Size down, too, when access is the constraint — which in a lot of the Lehigh Valley, it is.
Lehigh Valley realities: row homes, tight driveways, and street placement
This is where local knowledge earns its keep. Easton and the surrounding boroughs weren't laid out for 22-foot steel containers. A lot of the housing stock is older row homes and twins with narrow shared driveways, street parking, and not much room to maneuver.
A few things we've learned the hard way, so you don't have to:
- Measure your driveway before you book. A 20-yard needs roughly 22 feet of clear length plus room for the truck to back in and lift. A 30 needs more. If you've got a short driveway or a tight turn, the smaller container might be the only thing that physically fits.
- Door swing matters. Most of our containers have a barn door on the end so you can walk debris in instead of heaving it over the wall. But that door needs clearance to open. On a cramped lot, that's another reason to right-size rather than max out.
- Street placement needs a permit. If there's genuinely no room on your property and the dumpster has to sit on a public street, the City of Easton (or your borough) typically requires a permit. We'll walk you through it, but plan the lead time — this is not a same-afternoon thing everywhere.
- Protect your surface. We put boards down under the container so it doesn't chew up your driveway. On older concrete or fresh blacktop, this genuinely matters.
- Overhead and access. Low wires, tree branches, and tight alley entrances all factor in. The truck's arm swings up high when it drops and picks up. When you call, mention anything overhead so we bring the right approach.
None of this is meant to scare you off the bigger sizes. Plenty of Valley properties handle a 30 without blinking. The point is that around here, the right size is a conversation between your project and your parking situation — not just a volume calculation on a spreadsheet.
A quick cheat sheet
- 10 yard: small bathroom gut, single room, concrete/dirt (weight-limited), small cleanouts.
- 15 yard: mid-size remodels, big garage cleanouts, decks, the "in-between" jobs.
- 20 yard: kitchen remodels, single-layer roofs, large decks, most whole-home cleanouts, the safe default.
- 30 yard: new construction, additions, full estate cleanouts, big property clears with room to place it.
Still on the fence? Call it in.
Honestly, the fastest way to get this right is to describe your project to someone who does this every day. Tell us the room, the material, and your driveway, and we'll match you to a size that fits both the debris and the spot it has to sit. We'd rather spend two minutes on the phone than watch you pay for a bin that's too small or one that won't fit. When you're ready, get in touch and we'll take care of the rest — delivery, placement, and pickup, all handled locally.
Founder, Easton Dumpster Rental Group — sharing straight advice from more than 15 years of local hauling experience.
Frequently Asked Questions
What size dumpster do I need for a bathroom remodel?
A standard bathroom gut usually fits a 10-yard dumpster, since bathrooms are small and don't generate much volume. Watch the weight, though - old mortar-bed tile and cast-iron tubs are heavy and can hit the container's weight limit before it looks full. If you're only doing a bathroom, a 10 is almost always the right call.
Is a 20-yard dumpster big enough for a whole-home cleanout?
For a lighter clean or a smaller home, yes, a 20-yard handles it. For a two-to-three bedroom home packed with decades of furniture, boxes and basement clutter, we usually recommend a 30-yard. Household contents take up far more room than people expect, and cleanout debris is bulky but light, so sizing up costs little and saves you a second haul.
Why can't I fill a big dumpster all the way with concrete or shingles?
Because of weight, not space. Concrete, dirt, tile and roofing shingles are extremely dense. A large dumpster filled with them can exceed the legal and safe weight the truck can lift and haul. That's why we often recommend a smaller container for heavy debris - it hits the weight limit at the right point and stays haulable.
Will a dumpster fit in my tight Easton driveway or row-home lot?
Often yes, but measure first. A 20-yard needs about 22 feet of clear length plus room for the truck to back in and lift; a 30 needs more. On narrow row-home lots or short shared driveways, a 10 or 15 may be the only size that physically fits. If there's no room on your property, street placement usually requires a city or borough permit, which we can walk you through.
What's the difference between weight and volume when choosing a size?
Volume is how much the dumpster holds (the cubic-yard number); weight is how much it can legally carry. You hit whichever limit comes first. Light, bulky debris like furniture and drywall fills the volume, so size up. Heavy, dense debris like concrete and roofing hits the weight ceiling early, so a smaller container is the right choice even if it looks half empty.