Choosing guide

What Size Skip Do I Need? A Plain-English Guide

How to choose the right skip size, from 2-yard mini to 40-yard RoRo, with a bin-bag and weight guide so you do not over or under order.

The skip sizes we supply

We offer six standard skip sizes measured in cubic yards: 2, 3, 4, 6, 8 and 12 yard. For large commercial and civil engineering projects we also supply 20 and 40 yard Roll-on Roll-off (RoRo) containers. One cubic yard holds roughly 10 black bin bags of loose waste, so a 6 yard skip takes around 60 bin bags.

Mini and midi skips (2 to 4 yard)

A 2 yard mini skip suits a bathroom strip-out, a small kitchen clearance or a few days of garden tidying. It holds around 20 bin bags and fits in a standard parking space with room to spare. A 3 yard midi is the next step up, popular for loft clearances and single-room refurbishments. A 4 yard skip handles most kitchen or bathroom renovations and is the most common size for domestic jobs in Oxfordshire and Wiltshire. All three can usually sit on a driveway without a council permit.

Builder's skips (6 and 8 yard)

A 6 yard skip is the standard builder's skip. It holds around 60 bin bags and suits a whole-house clearance, a larger renovation or a first fix on a new build plot. An 8 yard skip gives you extra room if you are dealing with bulky materials such as timber framing, plasterboard off-cuts or old furniture alongside rubble. Both sizes are around 1.2 metres tall when full to the permitted level, so they are easy to load without a ramp.

Large and RoRo skips (12, 20 and 40 yard)

A 12 yard skip is the largest we deliver on standard lorries. It works well for commercial shop fits, major extensions or full property clearances. RoRo containers at 20 or 40 yards are open-topped and loaded by tipping lorry rather than crane arm. They are best suited to plant-level access on construction sites or large industrial clearances where you will fill a container quickly and want it swapped out rather than left on a road.

Weight limits and heavy waste

Size is only half the picture. Every skip has a weight limit set by the lorry's legal payload. Heavy inert materials, soil, concrete, bricks and tiles are the main culprits. A 4 yard skip filled entirely with soil can easily exceed 3 tonnes and go over the lorry's limit even though it looks half empty. If your job involves significant volumes of soil or hardcore, a 2 or 3 yard skip filled only to the level load line is often safer and cheaper than a larger skip you cannot legally fill. We can advise on this when you call or book.

A rough guide by job type

• Small garden tidy or single-room declutter: 2 yard mini
• Bathroom or kitchen strip-out (tiles, units, no soil): 3 or 4 yard midi
• Full house clearance or loft conversion waste: 6 yard builder's skip
• Extension or large renovation with mixed waste: 8 yard skip
• Whole-site construction clearance or commercial fit-out: 12 yard or RoRo
• Soil and rubble only from landscaping: 2 or 3 yard filled to the level load line, or ask about grab hire

When in doubt, go one size up

The most common mistake is ordering a skip that is too small. Overfilling a skip past the level load line is illegal, and we cannot take a skip that is loaded above the rim or has items poking over the sides. A swap-out for a larger skip mid-job costs more than choosing the right size at the start. If you are unsure, call us and describe what you are clearing. We have been doing this long enough to give you a straight answer without trying to upsell you.