Storm & monsoon debris cleanup in Golden Valley, AZ

Brandon Woodhouse runs B&H Junk Removal, and storm and monsoon debris cleanup is the job where he hauls off what the weather knocked down in Golden Valley and the rest of Mohave County. Homeowners call once the wind quits, and so do managers with a lot full of it. Text a photo to (559) 479-1199. The difference on a storm call is that nobody planned the pile. It's branches that snapped off, a fence panel lying in the gravel, roofing that ended up in the yard, and whatever blew in from down the road.

He prices it off the photo, and he answers the phone and does the hauling himself. Everything goes out in a pickup truck with a trailer, and a photo matters more here than on a planned job. A storm pile sprawls, and the picture shows him what he's walking into. Sending it to bhjunk2011@gmail.com works the same as texting it. He doesn't guess at it over the phone from a description.

Nothing has to be moved to the street first. Brandon carries it out from the back patio or the gravel behind the shed, which is where the wind tends to stack things anyway. The quote is free, and what comes back is one number for the whole pile rather than a count of branches. Owners and managers both want the yard looking the way it did the day before the storm.

What goes on the truck

• Downed branches and limbs
• Broken fence panels
• Blown-off roofing panels
• A tipped-over shed
• Soaked cardboard and boxes
• Wrecked patio furniture
• Loose trash blown in
• Bent carport framing

Text a photo of yours to (559) 479-1199.

From the full list of what goes on the truck: yard, brush and storm debris.

What's in a storm pile

A monsoon pile isn't sorted and it isn't stacked. It's limbs that came down on the gravel, a shade sail wrapped around a post, roofing panels that peeled off a shed, soaked cardboard that was in the carport, and trash that blew in from three houses over. Half of it is yard waste and half of it is building material, which is what makes a storm pile different from a load somebody stacked on purpose. When it's a trimming pile with no weather behind it, that's branch and brush hauling and it loads a lot cleaner. Brandon sorts the storm pile as he loads it so the parts that can be used again don't ride to the same place as the rest.

What he won't load after a storm

Storms empty out sheds and garages, so the pile usually has a few things he can't touch. Paint, solvents, thinners and household chemicals stay. So does a propane tank, including the patio and camping cylinders that roll out of a shed in a gust, and the same goes for fuel cans, motor oil, antifreeze, car batteries and anything still holding liquid. Pool and spa chemicals knocked off the deck are household hazardous waste.

If a panel off an older roof or wall might have asbestos in it, he leaves it alone, because that takes a licensed abatement contractor. A washer or a fridge still hooked to gas, water or power has to be disconnected first. The rest of what goes on the truck is listed out, and anything the transfer station won't take stays behind, so ask and he'll check.

Where the storm pile ends up

Not all of it is trash, even if it looks that way in a heap. Patio furniture that needs nothing but a hosing off and hand tools out of a flipped shed go to a donation center first if they're still usable. Metal roofing, downspouts, fence posts and the aluminum off a carport get recycled where it can be. What's left after that is real trash, and real trash goes to the landfill. Brandon makes those calls while he's loading, so the pile doesn't have to be sorted out in the driveway before he gets there, and a homeowner who's been picking debris out of the gravel all morning doesn't have to touch it again.

What a storm pile costs

The minimum is $250. Everything above it comes off the photo, as one number for the whole job. People expect a line-item bill on storm work, since the pile is bigger than what they'd usually call about, and that isn't how Brandon quotes it. Text a photo to (559) 479-1199. One shot of the worst corner and one of the whole yard is what he's looking for, and a note about anything buried under the heap helps.

How he digs a storm pile out

He works from the outside of the pile in, because storm debris lands on top of things people still want. Branches come off first, then the panels and sheet goods, then the loose trash underneath. The pickup truck with a trailer gets as close as the driveway allows, and when a gate is blocked or a limb is down across the side yard, he carries out the long way rather than asking anyone to clear a path. Stairs and upstairs balconies get done by hand.

On a rental or a complex he works off one point of contact: the manager marks what stays, a tenant's patio chairs for instance, and he loads the rest. The same arrangement runs on a business property under commercial junk removal.

Mohave County after a monsoon

Mohave County is wide, and that changes how a storm call goes. Brandon is based in Golden Valley, so a pile here is a short run. Dolan Springs, White Hills, Chloride, Oatman and Yucca sit out on their own, and debris in a yard there is a long way from anyone with a trailer. He covers all of it, along with Kingman, Bullhead City, Fort Mohave, Mohave Valley, Lake Havasu City, Laughlin in Nevada and Valle Vista. The rundown of towns he hauls out of has the rest of them. Hours are the same wherever he's driving, Monday through Saturday, 7 to 5, and nothing moves on a Sunday.

How the price works

Text a photo of what needs to go to (559) 479-1199. Brandon texts back one number for the whole job. No hourly rate. Jobs start at $250. More on how pricing works.

Where Brandon does this

All of Mohave County. See every town Brandon covers for storm and monsoon debris cleanup.