Part H · the register

Fall Leaf Pickup Can Decide Where Your Old Shingles Wait in Kirkwood

A city leaf or bulk pickup date can set how long old shingles sit at the curb, so ask the public works desk before the tear-off is booked.

When a Kirkwood roof comes off, the old shingles, underlayment, flashing scraps and nails have to go somewhere before the new material arrives. Some of that load ends up in a roll-off container parked on the driveway or the street. Some of it ends up in a pile at the curb, waiting for the city or a hauler. Which of those happens to your house depends on things you can check before the tear-off is booked, and the one people most often skip is the collection calendar on your street.

If the city runs a fall leaf pickup or a bulk item pickup on your block, that calendar decides how long a tear-off pile can sit at the curb and what it can be mixed with. Wet leaves and old shingles together are a poor combination for a crew to stage and a poor combination for the hauler. A pile that lands just after a pickup can wait a week or more, and during that week it takes up parking space, sits in the rain, and gets walked around by people heading to the sidewalk. None of that is a reason to avoid a fall reroof. It is a reason to ask the question before the crew sets its schedule.

Town roofing

Start with the city, not the roofer. The public works or sanitation desk can tell you what the city collects from your street, on what days, and whether roofing material is accepted in the bulk pickup at all. Many municipalities separate construction debris from household bulk items, so a yes on one does not mean a yes on the other. Ask the desk to answer in writing or by email if you can, and keep the reply with the proposal. If the desk says roofing material is not accepted at the curb, the tear-off debris has to be hauled by a company that takes it, and the bid needs to say so.

Next, check the timing against the roof date. Kirkwood's fall weather changes quickly, and a tear-off that starts during a wet week can leave a pile of soaked shingles waiting for a pickup that comes a few days later. Wet shingles are heavier than dry ones, and a pile that sits in the rain can stick together on the curb. Ask the roofer whether the crew will cover the pile at night and whether they will stage it on a tarp, and get both answers in writing.

Finally, measure the space the pile needs. A full tear-off on a typical single-family house fills more curb length than many homeowners expect, and the pile has to stay clear of the mailbox, the fire hydrant, any parked car that will not move, and the path people use to reach the sidewalk. Put a tape on the curb, note the distance to the nearest driveway apron, and send that measurement to the roofer with the address. The roofer can then say whether the pile fits or whether the crew needs a container instead.

What it costs

The cost of moving the old roof out is not the same thing as the cost of the new roof, and bids often blur the two. The line that matters is whether the bid includes hauling the material from the house to a legal disposal site, or only the labor to tear it off and load it. If the bid says tear-off and disposal, the roofer is responsible for the material from the moment it leaves the roof. If the bid says tear-off only, the homeowner may be left with a curb pile that the crew has no obligation to move.

Curb pickup and container service are different charges. A city bulk pickup may carry a fee, and the rules differ by municipality and by the service you have. A private hauler charges for pickup and for disposal weight. A container rented for the job is priced by size and by how long it sits. None of these numbers belongs in a roof bid as a guess. Ask the roofer to name which of the three is in the price, and ask what happens if the pile misses its pickup. A missed pickup means either a second trip, which someone has to pay for, or a pile that waits longer, which means more exposure to rain and more space taken on the street.

Ask also whether the bid counts a return visit for the pile. Some crews finish the roof and leave the debris for a pickup scheduled after they are gone. If that pickup is a week away, the homeowner should know whether the crew will come back to stage the pile for loading, and whether that visit is inside the price or priced separately. Write the answer into the proposal, not into a phone call.

What to ask

Before you pick a roofer or a start date, put these questions to the roofer in writing, and get the city's answer to the first one before you accept any bid.

1. Does the city collect roofing shingles at the curb on my street, or does the material need a container or a hauler that accepts construction debris?
2. Which collection day does the tear-off pile wait for, and how many days can it sit before that pickup?
3. Does my bid include hauling the old roof to a legal disposal site, or does the crew only load it at the curb?
4. If the pile misses its pickup, who calls for a second pickup, and who pays for it?
5. Where will the pile sit relative to my driveway apron, mailbox, parked cars and the sidewalk, and does the crew agree to that spot in writing?
6. If rain is forecast while the pile is out, what does the crew do with it, and who covers it?

Keep the answers with the signed proposal and the city reply. If a roofer cannot name the disposal line or the pickup day, the bid is not finished, whatever the total says. Keys Roofing can talk through the disposal and staging lines for a Kirkwood address at (314) 220-2333, and the written scope with photos and measurements goes into your hands before the first shingle comes off.