Every yard eventually accumulates a structure that has outlived its purpose — a shed with a soft floor, a deck with a board that broke under someone, a pool that has not held water in two seasons, a swing set the kids outgrew a decade ago. Here is what each one costs to make disappear.
2026 prices in this market
| Structure | Typical cost | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Metal shed, 8x10 | $400 – $600 | 2 – 3 hrs |
| Wood shed, 10x12, with floor | $600 – $900 | 3 – 5 hrs |
| Large wood shed / small barn, 12x20+ | $900 – $1,800 | 1 day |
| Ground-level deck, ~120 sq ft | $500 – $800 | 3 – 5 hrs |
| Raised deck with stairs, ~300 sq ft | $900 – $1,400 | 1 day |
| Above-ground pool, 18–24 ft round | $400 – $900 | 3 – 6 hrs |
| Wooden playset / swing set | $250 – $600 | 2 – 4 hrs |
| Trampoline | $100 – $225 | 1 hr |
| Chain-link or wood fence | $8 – $18 per linear ft | Varies |
| Hot tub | $350 – $750 | 2 – 4 hrs |
| Add: remove concrete pad or footings | +$150 – $600 | +2 – 4 hrs |
| Add: contents still inside the shed | +$100 – $400 | +1 hr |
Want it gone this week?
Monroe & Toledo Junk Removal hauls furniture, appliances, hot tubs, cleanouts and construction debris across Monroe County, Michigan and Lucas County, Ohio — flat price quoted before we start, and we carry it out of wherever it sits. Call (419) 848-2258 for a free quote.
What a real quote includes
The word that matters is haul-away. Demolition is the fast half; disposal is the expensive half, and it is where cheap quotes hide. A complete quote should cover:
- Demolition of the structure itself
- Hauling every piece off site — not stacking it at the curb or behind the garage
- The floor, skids, framing and hardware, not just the visible walls and roof
- Raking the site for nails, screws and debris afterward
- Disposal fees, which for construction and demolition debris are charged at a different rate than household waste
Ask directly whether the pad, footings or base material are included. They usually are not by default, and that is fine — you just want to know before demolition day rather than after.
Permits
Rules differ across the two dozen cities and townships in Monroe and Lucas County, so the only correct answer is to call your local building department. That said, the general shape of it:
- Small accessory structures — sheds, playsets, ground-level decks — frequently need no permit to remove.
- Detached garages and anything with a foundation usually do.
- Anything with electrical service, gas or plumbing run to it almost always does, and that service has to be properly disconnected first.
- Some townships want a demolition notice even when no permit is required.
- If the property is in a historic district — and parts of Monroe and Toledo are — expect additional review.
It is a five-minute phone call and it removes the only genuinely bad outcome, which is a stop-work order halfway through.
Timing, which matters more here than price
Outdoor demolition in this climate has a real season, and it is shorter than people plan for. From December into March the ground is frozen or waterlogged, snow sits on shed roofs, and ice around a pool or hot tub pad makes carrying heavy sections genuinely unsafe. Right after the thaw the ground is soft enough that a truck can rut a yard.
The practical windows are late April through June and September through October. Those weeks book out, and they book out early, because everyone in Monroe County and Lucas County reaches the same conclusion about their backyard at the same time each spring. If a structure has been failing since last summer, calling in March gets you a date; calling in June gets you a wait.
Should you do it yourself?
Demolition is the easy part — disposal is not. A 10x12 wood shed produces roughly two to three pickup loads of debris, and construction and demolition waste is charged at a different rate than household trash at the transfer station. Most people who start a DIY shed teardown finish the demolition in a Saturday and then have a debris pile in the yard for a month.
Two more things worth knowing before you start: sheds built before about 1980 may have asbestos in the roofing or siding materials, which is a licensed abatement job rather than a weekend project, and old decks are frequently built from CCA-treated lumber — do not burn it, ever, and wear a mask when cutting.
What the yard looks like afterward
Set expectations now: there will be a bare patch. A shed pad leaves compacted, dead ground; a pool leaves a perfect dead circle; a deck leaves footings and shaded, thin grass. None of that fixes itself. Plan on topsoil and seed, and if you are doing this in fall, know that seeding in October in this climate is a coin flip — spring demolition gives the grass a full season to recover.
The bottom line
Budget $400–$1,100 for a shed, $500–$1,400 for a deck, and $400–$900 for an above-ground pool, all including haul-away. Confirm the quote covers disposal and the floor or base, make the five-minute permit call, and book in the shoulder season — the calendar is the constraint here, not the price.