Skip bin size calculator
Pick your project and enter a few measurements. You’ll see roughly how much waste it makes, what any tiles, concrete or soil weigh, and the skip size that fits both.
How the calculator works it out
It adds up the loose volume of everything coming out, works out the weight of any tiles, concrete or soil, then finds the smallest skip that holds the volume filled level with the top edge and stays inside the published heavy-load limit. Where one skip isn’t enough, it suggests the fewest skips.
Figures the skip size calculator uses
| What | Figure | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Concrete, tiles and mortar in place | 2.4 t/m³ | Holcim Australia: about 2,400 kg per m³, the default design value in AS3600. We use it for tiles and mortar too (our assumption). |
| Broken concrete in a pile | 1.5 t/m³ | EPA Victoria Publication 2040, Table 3 (stockpiled concrete). |
| Room broken concrete or tiles take | 1.6 × the room in place | Our arithmetic from the two figures above: 2.4 ÷ 1.5. |
| Soil | 1.8 t/m³ | EPA Victoria Publication 2040, Table 3. EPA’s 1.8 t/m³ is for stockpiled soil; we apply it to the volume dug (our assumption; wet clay can weigh more). |
| Room dug soil takes | 1.3 × the hole | Landscape Design Institute: bulking factor for low-plasticity clay. Sandy soil bulks less. The weight calculator uses the same factor for soil measured in the ground. |
| Wall tiles | 15 mm thick | Ours: tile plus the adhesive or render that comes off with it. Walls of a square room: 4 × √floor area × tile height. |
| Floor tiles | 30 mm thick | Ours: tile plus the bed under it. |
| Bath | 0.574 m³ | Ours: 1.7 × 0.75 × 0.45 m, as a whole bath. |
| Vanity | 0.352 m³ | Ours: 0.9 × 0.46 × 0.85 m. |
| Toilet | 0.224 m³ | Ours: 0.4 × 0.7 × 0.8 m. |
| Shower screen and tray | 0.2 m³ | Ours: 1.0 × 2.0 × 0.1 m, laid flat. |
| Base cabinets with benchtop | 0.54 m³ a metre | Ours: 0.6 m deep × 0.9 m high, as whole units. Broken down flat, they take less. |
| Wall cabinets | 0.245 m³ a metre | Ours: 0.35 m deep × 0.7 m high. |
| Tall pantry or oven unit | 0.756 m³ each | Ours: 0.6 × 0.6 × 2.1 m. |
| Splashback tiles | 15 mm thick | Ours, as for wall tiles. |
| Bedroom | 2.264 m³ | Ours: a bed base (2.03 × 1.53 × 0.4 m), a chest of drawers (0.9 × 0.45 × 1.1 m), two bedside tables (0.45 × 0.4 × 0.6 m) and six 60-litre boxes or bags. |
| Living or dining room | 2.943 m³ | Ours: a three-seat sofa (2.0 × 0.9 × 0.85 m), an armchair (0.9 m each way), a coffee table (1.2 × 0.6 × 0.45 m) and six 60-litre boxes or bags. |
| Study, laundry or kitchen cupboards | 1.046 m³ | Ours: ten 60-litre boxes or bags and a small cabinet (0.9 × 0.45 × 1.1 m). |
| Queen mattress | 0.777 m³ | Ours: 2.03 × 1.53 × 0.25 m. |
| Garage, shed or garden | area × depth | Your own picture: everything spread evenly over the floor or garden, and how deep it would be. |
| Decking boards | 22 mm of timber a m² | Ours: a 22 mm board. |
| Deck frame | 0.014 m³ of timber a m² | Ours: 90 × 45 mm joists 450 mm apart and 90 × 90 mm bearers 1.8 m apart. |
| Paling fence, 1.8 m high | 0.048 m³ of timber a metre | Ours: 12 mm palings overlapping by a quarter, three 75 × 50 mm rails, and a 100 × 100 mm post every 2.4 m. |
| Loose timber in a skip | 3 × the solid timber | Ours: lengths don’t stack neatly. Cutting them shorter saves room. |
| Post footings | 0.018 m³ of concrete a metre | Ours: a 300 mm round footing, 600 mm deep, for each post 2.4 m apart. |
Estimates, not industry standards: the item sizes, tile thicknesses and the allowance for loose timber are our own, from simple geometry you can check; the densities and the bulking factor are as EPA Victoria, Holcim Australia and the Landscape Design Institute publish them. Skip sizes and heavy-load limits are Yarra Valley Skip Bins’ published figures; other companies’ differ. Checked 6 October 2026.
Bulky items and heavy waste
Two things change the answer more than anything else: how bulky the items are, and how heavy.
Heavy waste
- Tiles, concrete, bricks and soil reach a skip’s weight limit long before it looks full.
- Yarra Valley Skip Bins publishes a heavy-load limit of 0.9 t for a 2 m³ skip, up to 2.0 t for a 10 m³ skip.
- Fill level with the top edge, no higher: M Tucker & Sons says “Overfilled bins cannot be transported and will incur a return fee charge of $110.00”.
- For tonnes by material, use the soil and concrete weight calculator.
Bulky items and what stays out
- Break furniture and cabinets down flat, and cut long timber shorter: it saves room.
- Mattresses usually cost extra: Yarra Valley Skip Bins lists $100 each and ASAP Bin Hire $50.
- E-waste (anything with a plug, battery or cord), asbestos, chemicals, paint and gas bottles stay out of the skip.
- See what can go in a skip and hard rubbish for the rest.
Common questions about skip sizes
What size skip do I need for a bathroom renovation?
For a 5 m² bathroom with a bath, vanity, toilet and shower coming out, the calculator suggests a 2 m³ skip if the walls are tiled to about 1.2 m (about 1.8 m³), and a 4 m³ skip if they’re tiled floor to ceiling: the tiles and mortar then weigh about 1.1 tonnes, over the 1.0 t heavy-load limit Yarra Valley Skip Bins publishes for a 3 m³ skip. Tiled walls are what make a bathroom heavy.
What size skip do I need for a kitchen renovation?
Four metres of base cabinets, three metres of wall cabinets, a tall pantry and a small tiled splashback come to about 3.7 m³ as whole units, so a 4 m³ skip. Breaking the cabinets down flat saves room. Appliances are e-waste, so they stay out of the skip.
What size skip for a house clear-out?
A furnished three-bedroom house with two living areas and two other rooms to empty comes to about 14.8 m³ by our room estimates, so 2 × 8 m³ skips. Most clear-outs are less, because some furniture is sold, donated or kept. Mattresses usually cost extra in a skip.
Is the calculator’s answer a quote?
No. It’s an estimate from simple geometry and the published figures in the table on this page, so you can see how big a job is before you ask. The skip company prices the job, and its own sizes and weight limits apply.
Should I go a size up to be safe?
For light waste, size to the volume: a skip is filled level with the top edge, and anything above it means a second skip. For soil, concrete and tiles, weight runs out before space, so check the skip’s weight limit as well as its size. The calculator checks both.
Where the figures come from
The densities, skip sizes, weight limits and charges on this page come from these published pages, checked on 6 October 2026.
- EPA Victoria: Waste Mass Balance Guideline (Publication 2040), Table 3 · State regulator guideline, January 2022; conversion factors for commonly stockpiled waste, tonnes per m³
- Holcim Australia: glossary, density of concrete · Concrete manufacturer’s glossary: about 2,400 kg per m³, “a default design value in AS3600”; no page date
- Landscape Design Institute: calculating volumes and weights in excavation and materials handling · National landscape design body’s technical sheet (2022 revision); bulking factors for dug material
- Yarra Valley Skip Bins: skip bin hire prices · Skip hire business, Dixons Creek (Yarra Ranges); price table by size, waste and weight limit, no visible date, GST not stated
- ASAP Bin Hire: Bayswater skip bins · Skip hire business, Kilsyth; main “Our skip bins” table (the page also shows a second, different price guide), GST not stated
- M Tucker & Sons: skip bins Ringwood · Skip hire business, Mount Evelyn; published hire terms and extra charges (no price table), GST included
- Victorian Government: e-waste ban · State government page, updated 14 March 2024
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