Game plan

So here's my idea and id like any feedback.

So I have my grandmas garage which is about 750 sq feet and I'm planning to fill it to the door with shred. Since prices are so low right now Ill hold onto it until they rise back up, or until I can't fit anymore. Than I'll get a 40yd dumpster from my yard dropped off and fill it up. My questions are how would I avoid theft? Do your yards have lids on the dumpsters they deliver? And how much weight should I expect a full 40yarder of normal everyday scrap such as appliances, bikes, weigh machines, duct work, random piping, chairs, and so on. Thanks a lot.

First, where is your grandmother (In general?) Is she in a populated area, or at the end of a long, private gravel road?

See how much the yard will charge for a container? Depending on your area, if the price is high, you may be better off to just buy a cheap trailer for the job. The price for a container out here is $100. If your grandmother's on a private farm, I'd be inclined to pile it up out back before I'd pay $100 for a container. If she's in town though, that won't work, obviously.

See what the yard would charge for a container? That's step #1.

Yep $100 for a container is like 5000 lbs of shred at $.02 lb. Price of the container will make or break this deal.

First off its free if I can fill it. Also I have no doubt it will be stolen if I leave an open ended container out there. And she is in a suburb and I can only use the garage not the yard, but it's plenty of space. And dumpster would be placed on driveway. And for sure won't give it for .02. Lowest id take is .08, so it'll be a waiting game.

I don't like this idea at all. I think you could better utilize the place storing better things than Shred. (Computers, Aluminum) Pretty much anything other than steel.

I would concentrate on what is the best material you can put in that garage to hold on too.

The density of the load will dictate the weight. I have seen 40 yrd. dumpster hold 10 - 15 tons of # 1 tubing, angle iron, and beams. I have seen them hold roughly four tons of household items.

The height of such a container (8 ft.) limits loading by hand unless it has a drop gate. Make sure if you go this route, you get one with a gate. Not all tubs have gates. Still at one point or another you will have to shut the gate and then everything has to be thrown over the top.

Next sort your metal to maximize the load. Putting all flat metal on the bottom will allow more in the load. In Omaha you can sort your shred and unprepared in the container to get more money. Most yards allow at least two different types of metal in the same container. Just make sure you are there when they weigh it and unload it.

As far as theft out of the container, it should not be a problem as long as it does not contain non ferrous. It will be too much work for shred.

If the yard will provide the container for free, great deal. If not you might want to consider your truck and purchasing a trailer as mentioned above. Good Luck.

It the container is free then it does not matter the price of steel even if it was $.01 a pound, you only have to load it and they take it away and pay you! This is a good idea!

^ He has a point. If the container is free. You can't lose.

Definitely. Some of the fee for us is due to the "We're in Wyoming" factor. The yard is 50 miles away.

If the container's free, I'd do it. You won't lose anything there. If they charge a fair amount (Like out here), I wouldn't. I can buy a pickup bed trailer for $200 that will haul 1 ton. I can take as long as I want to load it, and I can sell it if I desire.

Of course, I have plenty of rural space. Your results may vary.

If you're sitting on prices to quadruple, you'll need a storage plan for the interim. That day may be a ways off.

Home insurance will probably be revoked if metal is in driveway. I live somewhat rural 5 acres cant see my yard. I had over 6 tons stored behind my barn in a pile. My insurance came to the house and saw it. They gave me 1 week to clean it up or else home insurance would be revoked. I would say your plan is not viable and a good one. To many chances and risks for little reward. Just drive it in as you get it. I have many trailers I haul with one then load another one when full i drive it to the yard.

I have never had insurance on my place as there is none available for a private yard such as mine. The county tax assessor only sees trees, cat tails, a pond with a state number assigned it and the only "improvement" is a very wide and built up driveway that I put in not long after I bought the property. I could get high priced special insurance, but that is not a option in reality.

If a person wants to pile up things and have many old vehicles, you need ROOM that you own. As I had problems before I had my place when I rented and stored things elsewhere.

The towns around me have gotten all weird with the make the town beautiful crap so that they can draw some money into the community they claim.

In this type of biz. If you want to grow BIGGER you have to have the room to expand and camouflage.lol...

your plan is flawed for one basic reason. steel prices are not down, this is the new norm! $10+/ 100 was a bubble, it has burst! it will be YEARS before you see such high prices again.

Look at your localities high price in Oct-Nov 2014, divide that by 2. expect that to be your new normal price come summer and for it to stay there for years

unless you can horde steel for 20 years, sell it as you get it

V/r HT1

Originally Posted by HT1

your plan is flawed for one basic reason. steel prices are not down, this is the new norm! $10+/ 100 was a bubble, it has burst! it will be YEARS before you see such high prices again.

Look at your localities high price in Oct-Nov 2014, divide that by 2. expect that to be your new normal price come summer and for it to stay there for years

unless you can horde steel for 20 years, sell it as you get it

V/r HT1

What do you base this on?
We like facts. To me steel has never been "high" priced. Iam already seeing price increase.
So if you got some solid info please share.

When I bought my property 30 years ago this year the scrap metal price was $5.00 a ton.
Then it went up to $8.00 a ton
Then it went up to $20.00 a ton
Then the next big rise was $80.00 a ton
Then $120.00 a ton
Then down and up and down and up....

I "predict" that there will be another BIG rise in the scrap prices in the "near future" as there is WAR on the minds of those that "run things". War makes money flow and gives the people spending dough.

China has a reason for hoarding all that copper and other metals. A BIG part of whats needed for the war machine.

C. Dream- The state of MN makes your pond have a number??? I knew they were big into regulating and cataloging things but they have all the ponds in the state in a database??

Originally Posted by DakotaRog

C. Dream- The state of MN makes your pond have a number??? I knew they were big into regulating and cataloging things but they have all the ponds in the state in a database??

I found out a few years back when I had the county EPA trying once again to give me a hard time as someone had complained about my place. A game warden came to my place with a county guy that was in charge of soil and water and such for the county. He had a BIG plat book that showed what type of soil and such that I had around my place. The plat of my property had a number on the one wet area(pond) in a back corner of the property. It has to do with the Minn DNR I believe. As I have so called State property and public hunting all around my area.

What this was all about is that the water table had come up and I had a couple of vehicles and a few other things sitting on "the wrong type of soil", simply put. So I was told that I had so long to move the things up into the woods where the "soil" wasn't "nature based",lol Those are my words as what I was told is that I couldn't have ANYTHING on those areas as they were considered wetlands. The areas in question ONLY gets damp in the spring and soon dries out solid enough to drive on with weight.

I asked the soil guy if I could still have my raised bed garden there and he said that was fine, but that I couldn't add dirt or take it away, basically.

They took water samples and the tests must of been good as I never heard another peep out of them once I moved the vehicles and other things up into the woods.

I found it odd that the wet spot in the back corner of my property was "wet" enough to have a number for it on a map or plat.

I suppose that is what happens when you have people that have papers claiming the are smart on such things.

The wetlands protection act is not very well thought out as with most things of that NATURE.