Dumpster Rental in Portage Park
The heart of the Bungalow Belt. Brick bungalows on standard lots, nearly all with a rear alley garage and a narrow strip of driveway beside the house.
(619) 658-9555Northwest Side · 60641The middle of the Bungalow Belt
If you want to see what a Chicago bungalow block looks like in its purest form, this is where to stand. Portage Park is brick bungalow after brick bungalow, built to a consistent pattern in the 1910s and 20s, on standard lots, with an alley garage behind every one.
That consistency is genuinely useful. Because the buildings are so alike, we can be more specific on the phone here than almost anywhere in the city. An attic build-out is a 10 or 15 yard. A dormer is a 15, or a 20 if the roof is coming off with it. A basement finish is a 10 if it is mostly concrete and a 15 if it is mostly clearance. A garage replacement is a 20 for the structure plus a clean 10 for the slab.
You will notice those numbers run small. That is the other consistency: the driveway strip beside a Portage Park bungalow was laid out for a 1920s car and is frequently narrower than a container is wide.
Measure the strip before you ring
This is the most useful thirty seconds you can spend on a bungalow job, and almost nobody does it.
Walk down the side of the house with a tape and measure the concrete at its narrowest point — not where it meets the street, but where the gate posts, the neighbour's fence or the gas meter pinch it. That number decides whether a container can go on private ground at all, which in turn decides whether a permit is in play.
A 10 yard will fit most strips. A 20 will not fit many. If the strip is out, the next option is usually the apron or pad in front of the garage, which is wider, closer to the alley for the truck, and keeps the front of the house clear. That is where we end up on a good share of Portage Park jobs and it is generally the best placement available.
If neither works, the alley itself is the answer, and then the permit is ours to hold rather than yours to chase. Portage Park alleys are mostly standard width and in decent condition, so a 15 or 20 sits comfortably. How alley placement works →
Attics, dormers and a hundred years of storage
The bungalow attic is the project that defines this neighbourhood, and it is consistently underestimated for a simple reason: you cannot see most of it from the hatch.
Before any construction debris, there is whatever has been up there since the family moved in — and in Portage Park that is frequently the same family for a very long time. Then the old insulation, usually blown-in and usually decades old, which is voluminous and unpleasant and needs bagging rather than shovelling loose. Then knob-and-tube wiring if it is still there. Then the actual demolition: old subfloor, kneewalls, and whatever a previous owner half-finished in the 1960s and gave up on. Panelling is the classic find.
And all of it goes down one narrow stair, which is the real constraint. Break material down in the attic, bag what you can, stage it at ground level, then load the container in one organised pass. Loading in dribs and drabs wastes about a third of the box.
A 10 yard covers a clean attic clearance. A full build-out that includes storage, insulation and demolition is a 15, and occasionally two trips. More on bungalow projects →
Where the container goes in Portage Park
In Portage Park it is usually the driveway strip, the garage apron, or the alley. All three are common here and they have different answers. Private ground needs no permit at all; the alley does, and that permit is ours. Measure the strip at its narrowest point before you ring. More on permits and placement →
What we deliver to Portage Park
Roof tear-off
Flat roofs, tar and gravel, and pitched tear-offs by the square.
Chicago flat roofs mean tar and gravel, which is far heavier than shingle.
Read more →
Concrete & dirt
Clean-load containers for walks, pads, garage slabs and soil.
Chicago common brick is salvageable and worth separating before anything is loaded.
Read more →
Winter & snow routes
Overnight parking bans, two-inch routes and January alleys.
December to April the overnight ban runs on arterials whether or not it has snowed.
Read more →What people in Portage Park ask us
Will a container fit beside my bungalow?
Measure the strip at its narrowest point first — where the gate posts, the neighbour's fence or the meter pinch it. A 10 yard fits most strips; a 20 fits few. It was laid out for a 1920s car.
Where is the best spot on a bungalow lot?
Usually the apron or pad in front of the alley garage. It is wider than the strip, closer to the alley for the truck, still private ground so no permit, and it keeps the front of the house clear.
What size for finishing the attic?
A 10 yard for a clean clearance, a 15 if you are taking out old insulation and doing demolition too. The storage already up there is usually half the volume and almost nobody counts it.
Do I need a permit on my own driveway?
No. Private property needs no public way permit anywhere in Chicago, which is one of the real advantages of working in the Bungalow Belt.
Other neighborhoods we cover
Container delivery in Portage Park
Tell us the cross streets, what is coming out and where it should sit. Size, placement and the permit answer in one call.
(619) 658-9555Serving Portage Park · 60641