Tucson · Pima County

Hot tub, shed and playset removal in Tucson

None of these fits through a gate in one piece. The price is the cutting and the carrying, and the truck is almost an afterthought.

Hot tubs: the electrician comes before the saw

A spa in a Tucson backyard is wired to a dedicated circuit with a disconnect somewhere near it, and the first step is to have that circuit safely killed and, ideally, the disconnect and the conduit stub capped by an electrician — not by the hauler, whose trade is lifting. Then the tub is drained, which in this climate is a garden hose and an afternoon, or a pump if the drain is buried. What is left is a shell of acrylic over fiberglass and foam, a cabinet of wood or composite, a pump pack, and a great deal of weight in an awkward shape. Most haulers cut the shell into sections on site and carry them out through the side yard; a few can move a small tub whole on a dolly if the gate is wide enough.

At the landfill it is construction debris, and Los Reales accepts it at normal rates. The pump, heater and blower are scrap metal. There is no refrigerant in an ordinary spa, so the $20 appliance fee does not apply; if the tub has a heat pump attached, it might, and the hauler should say so.

Sheds: metal, wood, and the slab underneath

A metal kit shed comes apart with a drill and a pry bar and goes to the landfill or a scrap yard as flat panels; it is a small load and mostly labor. A wood shed built on a frame is heavier, takes longer, and the lumber is construction debris — Brush and Bulky takes lumber only up to five feet long, so cut-down shed framing is one of the few structure pieces that can go to the curb inside the city if the week lines up. Old roofing felt, treated posts and anything with paint that might predate 1980 stays with the debris load.

The question nobody asks until the shed is gone is the slab. A poured concrete pad is inert material, cheap to tip by the ton at Los Reales or at one of the Tank’s land reclamation sites, but breaking it is jackhammer work priced separately, and many people leave it. Decide before the quote, because a hauler pricing the shed is not pricing the pad unless you ask.

Swing sets, trampolines and play structures

A wooden play structure is treated lumber, lag bolts and a slide, and it is anchored more firmly than it looks. Expect the hauler to unbolt what he can and cut the rest, and to pull the anchors or leave the footings, which is worth agreeing in advance if the yard is being landscaped afterward. Trampolines are the easy version: the mat and springs come off, the frame unbolts into tubes, and the whole thing is a quarter truck of steel. Plastic playhouses and slides go with the mixed load.

All of it is priced by the hours, not the space in the truck, so the number moves with how many bolts have rusted solid and how far the side gate is from the structure. A play set in good shape is worth offering on a neighborhood board first; nobody on the donation list picks up outdoor structures, but a family with a truck often will.

What a removal like this costs

These jobs are labor-heavy and volume-light, so the published truck-fraction ranges — $300 to $550 for a half truck, $600 to $900 for a full — are the floor rather than the answer. A spa is commonly quoted as a flat job that includes the cutting; the landfill fee inside it is around $20 to $40, and the rest is two people and a saw for a few hours. A metal shed is often a quarter-truck job; a wood shed a half. Get the quote in writing with the disconnect, the slab and the footings each named as in or out. The cost guide has the ranges and the fee sheet.

Before the crew arrives

• Have the spa circuit disconnected and capped by an electrician; keep the paperwork if you are selling.
• Drain the tub the day before, and drain it somewhere the water will not run onto the neighbor’s lot.
• Empty the shed completely and separate paint, fuel, pool chemicals and propane for the city hazardous-waste drop-off.
• Measure the side-yard gate; it decides whether anything comes out whole.
• Check the HOA rules on where debris can be staged and for how long.

Questions people ask

How much does hot tub removal cost in Tucson?

It is usually quoted as a flat job rather than a truck fraction, because the work is cutting and carrying. Published truck ranges put the equivalent load at roughly a half truck, $300 to $550, and the landfill fee inside that is about $20 to $40. Access — the gate width and the distance to the truck — moves it more than the size of the tub.

Does the hauler disconnect the electrical?

He should not, and a careful one will ask you to have an electrician do it first. Spa circuits are hard-wired and the disconnect and conduit need to be made safe, not just switched off. Ask the electrician to cap the stub if the pad is staying.

Can a shed go out for Brush and Bulky?

Only in pieces, inside the city limits, on your scheduled week. Lumber up to five feet and scrap metal up to five feet are on the accepted list; whole panels, roofing and anything the city classes as construction material are not. Cut down and bundled, a small shed can go that way; a large one is a hauler job.

What happens to the concrete pad?

Whatever you decide before the quote. Breaking a slab is separate work, and the pieces are inert material that Los Reales or the Tank’s land reclamation sites take by the ton. Most people leave the pad if it is level and out of the way, and many buyers never notice it.

Will anyone take a used hot tub for free?

Sometimes a neighbor with a truck and an optimistic streak will. No donation center on the Tucson list accepts spas or outdoor structures. If it holds water and the pump runs, a neighborhood board is worth one post before you pay to have it cut up.

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Where this service is available

TucsonOro ValleyMaranaSahuaritaVailCatalina FoothillsGreen Valley

Insured local companies serving Tucson and Pima County; travel to outlying areas is usually included in the estimate — ask.

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