Skip to content
20 Yard Dumpster Rental in Rochester, NY
A 20 yard roll off holds about 20 cubic yards of material, which is roughly eight pickup truck loads and about a third more room than our 15 yard container. It is the container contractors reach for on a roof tear off, a whole floor remodel, a multi room gut or a sizeable demolition, and the one homeowners choose when a project turned out to be bigger than the original plan.
The extra capacity comes mostly from length and wall height rather than width, so a 20 yard sets in the same kinds of spots a 15 yard does. That is the part people get wrong when they assume the larger box will not fit. What changes is the amount of straight run you need behind the truck during the drop, not how wide the container sits once it is down.
Gateway delivers 20 yard containers across Rochester and all of Monroe County. Pricing is flat, with a defined rental window and an included tonnage allowance, so the quote you get on the phone is the quote you work against. Weight over the included allowance is the only line item that can move, and we will tell you the per ton figure before you book.
Call (585) 270-1757 to reserve a 20 yard dumpster or to talk through placement on a tight site.
That additional capacity makes the 20-yard a popular choice for larger home cleanups, businesses, and construction sites. Capable of holding the equivalent of roughly 120 contractor bags, it is a common sight on construction, demolition, and remodeling sites, especially for garage and shed demolition, countertop, carpet, and flooring removal, multi-room remodeling, roofing tear-offs, and large cleanout tasks. Pricing runs by size and by how many days you need it: the 20 yard is $380 plus tax for a one day rental Monday through Thursday, $425 for three days, and $495 for seven days, with one ton of disposal included on every order. Because that is only a small step up from the 15 yard, sizing up is often the better value once a project crosses into renovation or construction territory. Call (585) 270-1757 or book online.01.
When to Step Down to a 15 Yard, and When Not To
Volume and weight are two different limits, and a container is full when it hits either one. That is the whole sizing question. Bulky and light debris, such as siding, insulation, cabinetry, furniture and general construction trash, uses up volume first, and those are the projects where the 20 yard pays for itself. Dense debris, such as plaster, tile, masonry, dirt and soaked carpet, uses up weight first, and on those jobs the added volume of a 20 yard may go unused.
If the material is on the dense side and the scope is modest, the 15 yard dumpster rental may be the better choice, reducing the volume by about 25 percent while keeping the same practical footprint. If you are tearing off shingles, clearing multiple rooms or working through a whole floor, the 20 yard is usually the safer call, because a second haul on a scheduled crew costs more than the difference between sizes.
Already have a 3 yard dumpster bag? Gateway offers pickup service. For a side job that does not justify a roll off at all, you fill the bag on your own schedule and call us to take it away.
Garage projects are the common exception to all of this, because a garage holds an unpredictable mix of light bulk and very heavy items. Our garage cleanout dumpster sizing guide for Rochester homeowners works through that scenario in full, so we will not repeat it here.
02.
Locally Owned, Veteran Owned, Dispatched In House
Gateway is locally owned and veteran owned, and we run our own trucks across Monroe County rather than handing the job to a national broker. That matters most on contractor work, where a delivery that slips by half a day can cost a crew an entire morning. When our dispatcher tells you a window, the dispatcher knows where the truck is and what is ahead of you on the route.
We serve Rochester, Greece, Irondequoit, Henrietta, Brighton, Webster, Pittsford, Fairport, Brockport, North Gates, Honeoye Falls and the surrounding communities, plus Victor, Canandaigua and Manchester. If you are managing more than one address, the same dispatcher handles them all, which makes swap outs and staged deliveries far simpler to coordinate.
Tell us about the site when you book, not when the driver arrives. Narrow shared driveways, sloped approaches, low branches and limited street frontage all have solutions, but they need to be known ahead of time. On commercial and occupied sites we will also work around your parking and access hours if you flag them in advance.
03.
What Happens on Delivery Day
Before the container comes off the bed, the driver lays protective underlayment under the rails. A loaded roll off concentrates enormous weight on a small contact patch, and on a Rochester driveway that has been through years of freeze and thaw the surface fails exactly there. Boards spread that load. In winter we will also talk through whether the chosen spot will still be reachable after a plow pass, since a berm across the apron can block a pickup as effectively as it blocks a delivery.
On pricing, the structure is simple. The 20-yard carries its own flat rate and tonnage allowance for the added capacity; a per-ton overage applies only to weight over the included limit. Nothing is added for fuel, for the boards, or for the drop itself. If you expect the load to run heavy, say so up front and we will tell you what to expect rather than letting you discover it on the invoice.
Call (585) 270-1757 to confirm the rate for your rental length, or compare the one day, three day and seven day options below.
Dumpster Rental Options
20-Yard Dumpster Rental FAQs
About 20 cubic yards, or roughly eight pickup truck loads. In practical terms that covers a full roof tear off on most single family homes, a kitchen and bathroom gut done together, a whole floor of flooring and drywall, or a large cleanout. Remember that the box is full when it reaches either the fill line or the weight allowance, whichever comes first.
Decide by density, not by how full your garage looks. Light and bulky debris such as siding, insulation, cabinetry and furniture fills volume first, which favors the 20 yard. Dense debris such as plaster, tile, masonry and dirt hits the weight limit first, which often makes the 15 yard the smarter buy. When the scope is uncertain and a crew is scheduled, size up.
Yes, and it is one of the most common uses. Asphalt shingles are heavy for their volume, so the limiting factor is almost always tonnage rather than space. Tell us the approximate square footage and how many layers are coming off when you book, and we will confirm whether one container will carry it or whether the job needs a swap out partway through.
Same day delivery is frequently available across Monroe County when you call early, and next day is routine. Winter weather is the honest exception. During a heavy lake effect event deliveries follow the plows, so if a crew is booked and the forecast is unsettled, reserve the container a day or two ahead.
Liquids, paint, fuel, oil, solvents, batteries, tires, appliances containing refrigerant, medical waste and anything classed as hazardous all have to stay out. Construction and demolition debris, roofing, flooring, drywall, cabinetry, furniture, household junk and yard waste are all fine. When in doubt, ask before the item goes in, because one prohibited item can stall the whole load at the transfer station.