Skip Hire Blog

If you are going to be loading your skip with heavy waste using a wheelbarrow, for example, we would recommened asking for a skip with a drop down door if you want to make life a little bit easier for yourself.

They are not always available (because they are more expensive to buy than a normal skip, although the hire price is the same at Topskips) but it is worth asking when you call us on 08000 82 10 82 if you think you will need one for your job.

The alternative is a plank or a skip ramp.

What are Roll/on Roll/off Skips? Well, this was a fair question from a customer as we mention Roll/on Roll/off Skips (also known as ROROs or Rolonofs) on our domestic skip hire page - although these are maninly used for very large commercial waste jobs.

A RORO skip is one of those skips that doesn't look like a skip because really it's a container that can roll on and off the back of a large lorry or wagon.

A roll on roll off is an industrial sized skip container available in several sizes from 20 cubic yard to a 48 cu yd. (commonly 40 yards). The function of these skips is to hold large amounts of waste that domestic skips are incapable of. Depending on the amount of waste, they can be a cost effective solution to site clearance.

The dimensions are as follows:

20 cu yd RORO skip – suitable for inert, heavy material, like soil, rubble, brick

HEIGHT
6’ 1” (1.85 m)
LENGTH
20’ (6.1m)
WIDTH
7’9” (2.4m)

40 cu yd RORO skip – suitable for light waste: timber, plastic, glass metal etc

HEIGHT
8’ 2” (2.51m)
LENGTH
20’ (6.1m)
WIDTH
7’9” (2.4m)

The wagons that transport these skips are:

HEIGHT
14’ (4.26m)
LENGTH
32’ (9.75m)
WIDTH
9’ (2.74m)

Fully loaded the wagons can weigh up to 32 tonnes. Solid ground and an access clearance of about 11 feet (4m) would be needed to site these skips.

If you want to order ROROs from Topskips, you can view our business users page here, fill out our online account application here, or call us for a no-obligation quote on 08000 82 10 80.

Do we do a 4 ton skip? Well, not exactly (since the EU ruling), but we do do a 4 cubic yard skip (or Midi Skip). The term "4 ton skip" or "4 tonne skip" (for those born after 1974) is slang within the construction industry, especially around the Liverpool and Blackburn areas of the UK, for a 4 cubic yard skip (which in itself is slang because it should really be a 4 cubic metre skip, but why push water uphill?)

You can get a clear idea of skips sizes provided by topskips here (if you want to read and listen) or here (if you want to watch skips on video).

Can an oven be thrown in a skip? A good questions, especially as it would be easy to think that ovens fall under the same disposal rules as fridges (if only because they're large metal things in the kitchen :-))

The answer is: yes, they can because they are usually all metal, and metal is good for recycling.

Call us if you need more assistance on 08000 82 10 82 , or watch a video explaining what can't go in a skip at Topskips TV or email us with any further questions about skip hire here.

Is there a discount on skip hire for soil? Four people asked me that the other day, and the short answer is: sometimes.

The places who do normally have aggregate parts to their business (i.e. if a MRF Materials Recycling Facility has a business selling aggregates to the construction industry out the back door, then sometimes a discount for soil can be negotiated).

This is the exception rather than the rule. The majority of companies just tip it and charge the same as they would if the skip was filled with mixed waste. It really depends on:

1. Where the skip is to be picked up from
2. How much soil (a single skip is unlikely to attract a discount ever)

If you want to find out if a discount is applicable for your soil waste, call us on freephone 08000 82 10 82 or email us

out of office hours. Thanks.

A frequent request at Topskips is for mini skip hire prices, which is interesting in that most enquirieis we get are from people who don't actually know what size a mini skip is - but the phrase "mini skip" has entered the vocabulary in much the same way as "mini cab" relates to private hire taxis, especially in the London region.

In the skip hire industry a "mini skip" is actually a very small skip of about 2 cubic yard capacity. Ironically, very few of these are available in London for skip hire, where the 4,6 and 8 cubic yard "midi skip" and small and large "builders skip" are far more common.

For full dimensions, explanations and audio explaining their uses, go to our skip hire sizes page.

If you need a more visual representation so you can see how these skip sizes relate to the size of people you can view our skip hire videos at Topskips TV.

It's possibly the most important question when trying to decide what will solve your waste problem.

If you need a visual representation of the most common sizes of skips to help you decide, you can watch videos of skips at TopSkips TV, or you can listen to audio descriptions of skip sizes at our Skip Sizes page here.

Please leave us a comment to let us know if this was useful to you.

It does happen occasionally that a skip hire company will drop a skip off and then (seemingly) never pick it up again; although not if you order through Topskips.

If you are a person experiencing this problem, even if you have never been a Topskips customer, give us a call and we'll see if we can help you - because it may be the case that the company you hired from is a friend of ours or a subscriber to our magazine "The Skip", or is a partner of ours.

Basically, it might be possible that we could have some influence to help get your unwanted skip removed asap because we know what a pain it can be when a skip hire company won't take the skip away.

Just call freephone 08000 82 10 82 (0830-1730, Mon-Fri) or

. Quote this blog entry (in case you get through to someone who happens to have not read the memo) and tell them Mark Attwood said we might be able to help.

It's a good question, asked by many: What can go in a skip? The best way of answering this is what can I not put in a skip, and I've prepared the answer to that on Topskips TV. Just go take a look at that or read the How to Use Your Skip Guide for the answers.

Let me know if this post was useful to you by leaving a comment below. Thanks.

This was asked of me today - the answer can be found here or, if you want to see a six yard skip in action you can watch our video at Topskips TV

This video shows the size and uses of the 10 cubic yard Maxi Skip available for hire from topskips.com. This is generally the largest skip used for houshold jobs.

You can book this skip 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year on our safe and secure server here, or call our friendly skip hire experts on freephone 08000 82 10 82 Mon-Fri 8.30am-5.30pm.

This video shows our most popular skip for hire - the 8 cubic yard large Builder Skip.

Your can book this skip anytime on our safe and secure server here, or call our friendly skip hire experts for a quote on freephone UK:08000 82 10 82Mon-Fri 8.30am - 5.30pm.

This is a short and simple explanation of the size and useage of the 6 cubic yard small Builder Skip available for hire across the UK from Topskips.com

Book this skip online here or call our friendly skip hire experts on freephone 08000 82 10 82 Mon-Fri 8.30am-5.30pm

This is a short and simple explanation of the size and useage of the 4 cubic yard Midi Skip available for hire across the UK from Topskips.com

Book this skip online here or call our friendly skip hire experts on Free phone 08000 82 10 82 Mon-Fri 8.30am-5.30pm

This is a short and simple explanation of the size and useage of the 2 cubic yard Mini Skip Hireavailable for hire across the UK from Topskips.com

Book this skip online here or call our friendly skip hire experts on UK:08000 82 10 82 Mon-Fri 8.30am-5.30pm