Bungalow basement cleanouts in Irvington and Broad Ripple

The short answer

Useful per-item numbers for below-grade work: carpet removal per room $71, rolled carpet $68, dehumidifier $77, chest freezer $146, water heater $131, cast iron radiator $123, large junk pile $208. Minimum visit $75.

Why the basement, specifically

The 1910s-to-1930s bungalows and foursquares that make up Irvington, Broad Ripple, Meridian-Kessler, Garfield Park, Bates-Hendricks and the near northside were built with a deep full basement, because Indiana's frost line is deep and you have to get the footings below it anyway.

That gives a two-bedroom house an entire extra floor of storage that nobody planned to use as storage. Over eighty years, and often three or four owners, that floor fills up. Then a family sells, or downsizes, or finally finishes the basement, and it all has to come back up a staircase that was built for a coal chute era.

The stairs

Indianapolis bungalow basement stairs share a personality: steep rise, shallow tread, an open stringer, a low header at the top that catches anyone over six feet, and frequently a ninety-degree turn at the bottom onto a concrete floor.

Every armful comes up those stairs one at a time. That is the whole job, and it is why a basement that looks like a half load from the top of the steps takes longer than a garage of the same volume.

What it is not is a surcharge. There is no stair fee, no below-grade fee and no long-carry fee. A chest freezer that went down there in 1978 comes up on straps for the published $146.

Water, and what it ruins

Central Indiana sits on heavy clay. Clay does not drain — it holds water against an eighty-year-old block or limestone foundation and pushes. Add a spring storm that drops two inches in an hour, or a power cut that takes the sump pump out for a night, and the basement takes on water.

What that destroys, reliably:

• Cardboard. Everything stored in boxes on the floor. Books, photos, holiday decorations, tax records.
• Particleboard. Shelving, cheap dressers, flat-pack cabinets. They swell and never recover.
• Carpet and pad in a finished basement. Once wet, it has to come out. Carpet removal is priced per room at $71.
• Drywall from the bottom up. A finished lower level that took water usually needs the bottom two feet cut out regardless of how quickly it dried.
• Upholstery. A sofa in a damp basement absorbs the smell permanently. That is why so many donation attempts fail here.

If the water event was recent and the material is still wet, say so when you book so the crew brings the right kit. It does not change the price.

Mold, and when to stop

Surface spotting on a concrete wall is normal in an Indianapolis basement and is not a reason to halt a cleanout. Visible growth spreading across drywall, insulation or ceiling joists is different, and so is anything that smells strongly after a flooding event.

In that case get a remediation contractor in before general removal continues. Same rule for suspected asbestos, which shows up in pre-war Indianapolis houses as wrapped gray insulation on old boiler pipes and ductwork. Do not disturb it, do not add it to a pile, and do not let anyone tell you it is fine to bag.

What is always down there

After enough of these, the inventory is predictable:

• A chest or upright freezer, usually still running. $146 or $149.
• The previous water heater, still sitting beside the current one. $131.
• A workbench, shop shelving and a coffee can of mixed hardware. Storage cabinet $74.
• Cast iron radiators taken out when the house went to forced air and never removed. $123 each.
• Rolled carpet from a room redone in 2006. $68.
• The dehumidifier that has run every summer since. $77.
• Kids' furniture, a crib, a bunk bed. Crib $67, bunk bed $123.

A representative Irvington basement: chest freezer $146 + water heater $131 + dehumidifier $77 + rolled carpet $68 + large junk pile $208 = $630. Above the three-quarter rung of $587, so you take $587.

Getting it out of the house

Two exits, and it is worth knowing which you have.

The interior stair up into the kitchen or a back hall, then out the back door and down the porch steps. Slower, and it means everything travels through your living space, so expect the crew to lay down protection.

The exterior hatch. Plenty of Indianapolis bungalows have a sloped cellar door on the side or rear of the house. If yours does and it still opens, it is a far better route — straight out to the yard and across to the alley. Worth checking the hinges before pickup day, because a lot of them have not been opened since the Clinton administration.

Most of these houses also have a rear alley, which means the truck can sit close to the back of the property rather than out front. That shortens the carry considerably.

Booking it

Two busy windows. Spring, once the first wet basement of the year has happened — that is usually March or April here and everybody calls in the same two weeks. And late summer, when houses go on the market and agents want the basement empty before photos.

An empty Irvington basement makes a house look like it has a basement. A full one makes it look like it has a problem.

Frequently asked questions