Junk removal when your house is on the city steps

The short answer

If your house on the South Side Slopes, Mt. Washington, Troy Hill, Polish Hill, Beechview or Carrick is reached by public steps, junk removal works the same way as anywhere else, at the same flat price. The crew carries items from inside, down the steps and out to the truck, with no stairs fee. A sofa is $126, a queen mattress $103, a standard fridge $164 and a quarter truck of mixed junk $241. Tell us about the steps when you send your photo so the crew arrives prepared.

A city built on steps

Pittsburgh's geography is unusual. The City has 90 neighborhoods spread over ridges, hollows and river bluffs, and to connect them it built 800 sets of public stairways with 44,645 treads between them. On the steepest slopes, some streets are stairways, with houses lining them and no road access at the front door. In other places, a house sits on a hillside lot above or below the street, with a private flight of steps up to the porch. Neighborhoods such as the South Side Slopes, Mt. Washington, Troy Hill, Spring Garden, Polish Hill, Beechview and Carrick are full of them. For residents, the steps are simply how you get home. For anything heavy, they are the whole problem. Getting a sofa, a mattress or a refrigerator up or down a long flight of public steps takes a plan, good equipment and more than one person, and it is the reason many hillside residents put off clearing things for years.

Why the curb is harder here

The City's free bulk pickup accepts many large items, with a limit of two per week, set out at the curb between 6 p.m. the night before and 6 a.m. on collection day. On a hillside street, "the curb" can be a long way from the front door. Before the truck can collect anything, someone has to carry it down every step. For a recliner or a dresser, that is a two-person job with straps; for a sleeper sofa or a washer, it is heavy and risky. Once it is down, there may be little space to leave it without blocking the sidewalk or the bottom of the stairway, where neighbors walk. The City also refuses TVs, freon appliances, construction waste and tires, so the old fridge and the tube TV still need another route. For hillside residents, the free option often saves money but costs a day and a sore back.

How a crew handles the steps

A careful stairway carry starts with a plan before anything is lifted. That means looking at the steps from the truck to the door, the turns and landings, the handrails and the surface, especially in wet or icy weather. Furniture gets wrapped or padded where it might scrape. Heavy pieces are carried with straps and a steady pace, usually with one person below and one above, and stopped at landings to rest. Appliances are strapped to a hand truck that can be walked down step by step. Items that are too large for a turn may need to be taken apart. A mixed load of boxes and bags goes down in many smaller trips. None of that changes the flat price. JunkRabbit charges no stairs fee and no walk-up fee, and the crew carries items from anywhere in the home, any floor, to the truck. Mention the steps in your photo request so they bring the right equipment.

Winter and the slippy season

From December through March, Pittsburgh steps can be slippy, to use the local word. Ice on stairways is a serious hazard for anyone carrying weight. If you book in winter, a few steps help a great deal. Clear and salt your private steps and the walk to the stairway before the arrival window. Choose a window in late morning or midday, when any overnight ice has had a chance to soften, especially on north-facing slopes. If a heavy snowfall is forecast, consider moving the date. The crew will assess conditions on arrival, and safety comes first for everyone. In milder months, the main issue is rain, so cover anything that will wait on the porch. Whatever the season, JunkRabbit works 7 days a week from 8am to midnight, so it is easy to pick a time that suits the weather and your schedule. Same-day pickup is available when you book by 4 PM.

Flat prices, steps included

A living room clear-out of a sofa and recliner is $126 + $98 = $224. A bedroom of a mattress set and dresser is $143 + $126 = $269. A basement fridge and washer are $164 + $133 = $297. Every price includes the carry down the steps.

What to photograph for a hillside quote

A good photo request makes a stairway job smooth. Take a photo of each item where it sits, with something for scale if it is unusually large. Then take two or three photos of the route: the interior stairs, the front door and porch, and the outside steps from the top and the bottom. If the steps are a public stairway, note roughly how many flights there are and whether there are landings. Note where a truck can stop at the bottom; on narrow hillside streets, parked cars can limit that, and the crew may need to stop briefly. If your house is reached from an upper street instead, say which side is easier. With that, you get a flat price before you book, and it only changes if you approve the change. Vetted, insured local haulers do the work, and you choose a 2-hour arrival window, so you know when to have the door open.

Frequently asked questions