In short
- Garages are sold by truck share; one Ottawa list climbs from $265 (quarter) to $695 (full).
- One Ottawa mover shows a full garage at about $560: three hours of crew time plus around 600 kg at $180 a tonne.
- Paint cans, propane tanks and tires carry item fees at some firms, from $5 to $25 each.
- Disposal at Trail Road: $43.20 up to 250 kg, then $172.70 per tonne for households.
Typical prices in Ottawa
| Job | Typical range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Quarter load | $265–365 | Two Ottawa firms’ lists, before tax at one |
| Half load | $425–529 | Two Ottawa firms’ lists |
| Full load | $695–719 | Two Ottawa firms’ lists |
| Full garage or small basement, 3 hours, about 600 kg | about $560 | One mover’s example at $150/h plus $180/t |
| Paint can | $5–10 each | Two Ottawa firms’ item fees |
| Propane tank | $15–25 each | Two Ottawa firms’ item fees |
| Landfill, household garbage | $172.70/t | City of Ottawa 2026 rate, $43.20 minimum under 250 kg |
Sources. Seen 29.10.2026: Mighty Mouse, Ottawa pricing guide (loads, $5 paint, $25 propane); Junk Ninja, pricing; JunkPal, pricing ($10 paint, $15–20 propane, tires); MIT Moving, junk removal Ottawa (garage example); City of Ottawa, Rates for the Trail Waste Facility Landfill; City of Ottawa, Curbside garbage collection. The company that calls you sets its own price.
What a garage cleanout usually holds
A garage collects what the house will not: tools, paint, tires, sports gear, shelving, cardboard, half a bathroom reno and a freezer that no longer runs. Haulers price the whole pile as a share of the truck. What changes the number is how much sits at floor level and how much of it is dense or fee-bearing.
Items that usually pull the price up are fridges and freezers, mattresses, tires, paint and propane. Ottawa firms list item fees for several of them, shown in the table above.
Price models in Ottawa
Mighty Mouse prints its steps as quarter $265, half $425, three-quarter $605 and full $695, and its pickups start at $175. Another firm prints $329, $529, $669 and $719 for the same steps, before tax. A third publishes ranges: $150–250 for 1–2 items, $300–450 for half a load, $700–900 for a complete room or garage.
A mover that bills the hour shows a full garage or small basement as three hours and about 600 kg, near $560. That works out as $450 of crew time at $150 an hour plus $180 a tonne for the weight at the scale. Dense loads such as concrete, tile or soil are better priced by weight. Compare more by size on prices by truckload.
Where the garage load goes
Household loads at Trail Road pay $172.70 for each tonne past 250 kg; lighter loads pay the $43.20 floor. Bring recyclables mixed into the garbage and the rate doubles. The landfill no longer takes glass, metal, plastic, paper or cardboard packaging, which belongs in the provincial recycling program. Ask the company whether the dump fee is inside its price or billed on top.
What the haulers will not carry is a separate list: see items haulers cannot take and what haulers take.
Bulky items at the curb
Each bulky piece uses one of the three curbside slots in a two-week cycle. A garage full of shelving, a bike frame and a workbench passes that count in a day. The City says cardboard boxes are recyclable and belong in the fibres bin, not in the garbage.
When to book
Garages get cleared in spring, when the snow leaves the driveway, and in the weeks before a move or a sale. In winter, a crew needs the driveway clear and the path to the door dry. Say in the request if the garage has to be empty by a closing date.
Check the written quote for
- the share of the truck or the hours it covers,
- the minimum charge and whether tax is included,
- item fees for paint, propane, tires, batteries,
- who sorts, and where recycling and reuse items go,
- what happens if the load is larger than the photos suggested.
Basements and sheds have their own pages: basement cleanout and shed and deck removal. The choice between a bin and a crew is in bin rental or junk pickup.
Who you are dealing with
Garage requests go from us to one independent hauling company, and that company does the rest: the phone call, the look at your driveway photo, the quote and the crew. Ask on the call which price model it uses and what it adds for the paint, tires and propane in your pile.
Questions to ask the company
- Which of your three models fits this garage: truck share, crew hours or scale weight?
- What do you charge for paint, propane, batteries and tires in the pile?
- Do you sort what can be reused or recycled, and where does the rest go?
- Does the crew need the garage door open, or can the load come out through a side door?
- If the garage is bigger than the photos show, how is the price updated?
Have this ready for the call
- Photos from the doorway and from each corner, with the shelving and the floor visible
- A list of the items that carry fees: paint, propane, car batteries, tires, fluorescent tubes
- A clear path from the garage to the driveway and a place for the truck to stop
- Items that stay: the car, tools you are keeping, anything marked for family
- Whether a freezer or a fridge stands in the garage, and if it is plugged in
Questions people ask
How many truckloads is a typical two-car garage?
The price lists we read give no volume for a full garage. They run from a quarter to a full load, and one mover’s example puts a full garage near 600 kg and three hours of crew time. Send photos, and the company tells you the share of the truck it expects.
Can I put garage items in the City's yellow bags?
Only ordinary garbage. Yellow bags extend the three-item limit for household waste, and a workbench or shelving unit cannot be bagged at all. Paint, propane and similar items fall outside ordinary garbage; ask the hauler how it handles them.
Do tires cost extra?
Some firms add a fee: JunkPal lists $15 per tire without a rim and $25 with a rim. The City’s Trail Road landfill takes up to 10 passenger and light-truck tires a day free.
What about old paint cans?
They are listed as extra items. Mighty Mouse charges $5 per paint can and JunkPal $10 per gallon and $25 per five-gallon pail. Count them and mention dried and liquid cans in the request.
Do you need the garage door to work?
A crew can carry through a side door, but a stuck overhead door slows the job. Tell the company if the door is jammed, if the opener is broken or if the garage is attached with a step into the house, since each changes how the load moves.
Should I rent a bin for a garage?
A bin fits a slow clear-out spread over a week, if the driveway has room for it. A crew fits a garage that has to be empty in one afternoon. The bin or pickup comparison sets out costs for both.
