How to get rid of a bed frame in Richmond

The short answer

The visit minimum is $75, so a single $68 metal frame rounds up to $75 — worth adding the mattress while a truck is there.

The two categories, and why the price splits

The line is not size. It is construction.

Standard, metal and platform frames, $68. These come apart. Bolts, cam locks, slats that lift out. A metal frame reduces to a flat bundle of rails in about four minutes, and a platform bed usually does the same. They are light, they stack, and they take up very little truck space.

Solid, upholstered and storage frames, $126, or $152 in king. These mostly do not come apart, or only partly. A solid wood sleigh bed, an upholstered headboard and rail set, or a storage bed with drawers built into the base is heavy, rigid and awkward, and in many cases the base is a single welded or glued unit. That is what the higher price reflects.

If you are not sure which you have, look at the side rails. Bolts and brackets mean it separates. A continuous upholstered or panelled base means it probably does not.

Why frames get stuck in Richmond houses

Bed frames are the second most common thing to get stuck on a Fan District staircase, after box springs.

A Fan or Museum District rowhouse from around 1900 has a steep, narrow staircase with a quarter-turn landing near the top and reduced headroom above that turn. A king-size upholstered headboard is roughly six and a half feet across and rigid. It does not bend, it does not fold, and if it cannot be tilted through the turn it is not coming down whole.

What usually happens: the frame is dismantled as far as it will go, the headboard comes off, and anything that still will not clear the landing is broken down in place. It is going to disposal anyway, and the price does not change — there is no stair charge and no walk-up fee.

The same problem shows up in Church Hill, Union Hill and Oregon Hill, and in the converted upper-floor flats around Carytown. In Short Pump, Glen Allen and Bon Air it is a non-issue; those houses have wide stairs or the bedroom is on the ground floor.

Take it apart or leave it assembled?

Either is fine and the price is the same. But if you are going to take it apart, do it properly.

• Bag the hardware and tape it to a rail. Not because we need it, but because if you change your mind and decide to sell or donate it, a frame with no bolts is worth nothing.
• Do not half-dismantle it. A frame with two rails off and the headboard still attached is harder to carry than either a whole one or a properly broken-down one.
• Watch the slats. Loose slats in a stack slide, and a dropped slat down a Fan stairwell puts a dent in original plaster.
• Leave upholstered frames whole. They rarely come apart usefully and the staples make the pieces unpleasant to handle.

Bunk beds and children's furniture

A bunk bed is $123, and a solid wood or loft bunk is $148. These come out of a lot of Northside, Bellevue and Chesterfield houses as children grow up, and they are more work than they look — a loft bed is tall, the joints are usually bolted through thick timber, and they were often assembled in the room they now live in.

Related: a crib is $67 and baby gear such as a stroller, highchair or playpen is $33.

One caution on resale. Safety standards for cribs and bunk beds have changed over the years, and older units frequently do not meet current ones. Most charities will not accept them for that reason, and it is not a fight worth having — if it is old, it is disposal.

Adjustable bases

A motorized adjustable bed base is $118. Three things worth knowing.

They are heavy — there is a motor, a steel frame and a battery backup in most of them. They are usually one rigid unit that does not reduce in size. And they have a power cord that must be unplugged and, ideally, the base returned to flat before removal, because a base stuck in an inclined position is significantly harder to get through a doorway.

If yours is in a second-floor Fan bedroom, that is a two-person carry on a staircase with a turn. Same $118.

Worked Richmond totals

• A Fan bedroom, metal frame: bed frame (standard / metal / platform) $68 + mattress + box spring set $143. The addition: $68 + $143 = $211.
• A West End main bedroom, solid king set: bed frame (solid/upholstered/storage) king $152 + king mattress $114 + box spring $92 + large dresser $148. The addition: $152 + $114 + $92 + $148 = $506. A half truck is $431, so the ladder wins.
• A Bellevue children's room: bunk bed $123 + two twin mattresses at $82 each = $164 + nightstand $57. The addition: $123 + $164 + $57 = $344. A three-eighths truck is $338.
• An Oregon Hill student room: bed frame $68 + twin mattress $82. The addition: $68 + $82 = $150.

Curbside, donation and the honest verdict

A dismantled metal frame is one of the few bed items that curbside collection handles easily — it is flat, it is metal, and it does not absorb rain. Check your own jurisdiction's bulk rules, since Richmond city, Henrico and Chesterfield each set their own, and put it out inside the stated window rather than days ahead.

Donation works for solid wood frames in good condition with all their hardware, collected from a ground-floor door. It does not work for upholstered frames with wear, for anything that spent time in a damp Richmond basement, or for older cribs and bunks.

Everything else is a $68, $126 or $152 booking, taken from the room it is in, with no charge for the staircase.

Frequently asked questions