Mobile Home Demolition Scrap Metal Value in Boise: Salvage vs Scrap
By Eric Hinderager, owner of Top Shelf Junk Removal and Demolition · Updated
Mobile home demolition scrap metal value in Boise: what the frame, siding, wire and axles bring at the yard, and why scrap only trims your demo price.
Mobile home demolition scrap metal value in Boise comes down to one answer: the frame, siding, wire and axles are worth some cash at the yard, but they won't pay for the whole job. They take a slice off the top. Knowing how big that slice is helps you read a quote.
A lot of people who inherit an older single-wide on a lot or in a mobile park have read online that the steel frame underneath is worth serious money. That's a fair thing to think. These homes are full of it, and it has value.
But the numbers floating around online are rarely what a scrap yard in Boise, Idaho actually pays, and that gap catches people off guard.
What's the mobile home demolition scrap metal value in Boise?
A single-wide sits on two long steel I-beams that run the length of the home, with crossmembers welded between them. That's the chassis. It's the heaviest single piece on the property, and how heavy it is depends on the year and the length.
Then there's the skin. Plenty of older homes around the valley wear aluminum siding, and aluminum usually pays more per pound than the frame does. Newer homes tend to have vinyl over OSB, which is worth nothing at the yard.
Axles and the tow hitch are usually still attached, or sitting in the weeds behind the home. Copper wire runs through the walls, though older places often used aluminum wire, which pays a lot less. Brass valves on the water lines, a stainless steel sink, the furnace, the water heater and any leftover appliances add a little more.
Here's how those pieces tend to sort out at Idaho scrap yards. Scrap prices move with the markets, so call the yard for current rates before you count on any cash:
| What it is | How yards sort it | What moves its value |
|---|---|---|
| Frame and crossmembers | Heavy melt | Length of the home, and whether it's cut to size |
| Siding and trim | Aluminum | How clean it is, with no screws or insulation stuck to it |
| Axles and hitch | Heavy melt | Condition, since a good set can be worth more reused |
| Copper or aluminum wire | Insulated wiring | Copper pays far more |
| Furnace, water heater, appliances | Light iron | Weight, and whether refrigerant has been removed |
Add it up and a well-picked single-wide brings back some scrap money, and a double-wide wrapped in aluminum brings back more. Against the full cost of a demo in the Treasure Valley, that's a dent, not a payoff.
Does scrap really lower your mobile home demolition price?
It depends entirely on how the contractor prices the work, so ask straight out.
Some outfits quote a flat number and quietly pocket whatever the scrap brings. Others build the expected scrap value into the offer up front. Either way works for you, as long as the second one actually took it off your number.
Worth asking: When a local contractor gives you an offer, ask whether the scrap cash is already counted in it, or whether it goes to the crew on top of the price.
What scrap doesn't touch is the expensive part. Demolition is mostly labor to take the home apart safely, plus disposal fees on everything else.
Fiberglass insulation. Particleboard flooring. Roof decking, cabinets, carpet, drywall. That's the bulk of the weight, and most of it ends up at the landfill.
Landfills charge to take that material, and that includes Hidden Hollow in Ada County and Pickles Butte in Canyon County. A single-wide mobile unit makes a lot of material nobody's recycling.
So the honest math: scrap knocks a small slice off. If someone promises a free demo because of the frame, ask where the debris is going.
Heads up: If the home's been sitting empty and open, check whether the copper is already gone. Stripped wiring is common on vacant lots and in older mobile parks around the valley, and it changes the scrap picture more than people expect. It also means somebody's been inside, which is worth knowing before you send anyone in.
Where does the metal go during a mobile home demolition?
When a home is taken apart carefully, the metal comes out as the home comes apart, not sorted out of a mixed pile afterward. Siding comes off early and goes in its own stack. Appliances and the furnace get pulled before anyone touches the structure. Wire comes out when the walls open up.
The frame goes last. Once the box is off it, the chassis gets cut into manageable lengths and hauled to a metal recycling yard.
Axles usually ride along. A decent set is sometimes worth more as a used part under a utility trailer, so it can pay to see if anyone will make an offer first.
A few things people assume are recyclable but aren't, at least not at a scrap yard:
- Vinyl siding and vinyl windows
- Fiberglass and rockwool insulation
- Particleboard subfloor, which is usually water-damaged anyway
- Roof shingles, unless you've got a metal roof
Anything still usable inside is a different conversation. Working appliances, solid cabinets and light fixtures are worth a call to a donation center or reuse store before demo day, because once the teardown starts, that stuff is debris.
Should you strip the home yourself before you get a price?
People often strip the home themselves chasing scrap value, then find out they've made the demolition harder.
Here's why. Pulling siding and wiring is the easy, satisfying part. What's left is a stripped shell with exposed insulation, a weakened structure, and nothing holding the walls square.
That's slower to load and more dangerous to drop, and a good contractor prices it that way. A stripped mobile unit can cost more to demo than it would have intact.
Want to salvage? Salvage the interior. Cabinets, doors, fixtures, appliances, anything you can carry out a doorway. Leave the shell alone.
One more thing. Hauling scrap yourself only pays if you own a truck and trailer rated for that weight. An I-beam frame is not a half-ton pickup load.
The metal in your mobile home is worth some real cash, but nowhere near the cost of the job. It should show up as a lower quote, not a bonus for whoever hauls it away. Any crew doing mobile home demolition in Boise, Meridian or Nampa should tell you straight whether scrap is baked into your number.
Just don't expect it to move the needle much. Labor and disposal are what drive the price.
If you're thinking about tearing down a home in the Treasure Valley, call Top Shelf Junk Removal and Demolition at (208) 593-2877 for a free estimate, and ask how the scrap figures into your number. We're happy to walk the property and tell you what we see, even if you end up going a different direction.
Frequently asked questions
How much is a mobile home frame worth in scrap?
It depends on the frame's length and weight and on the steel price that week. Call a yard for its current rate. On its own, the frame rarely covers more than a small part of a demo.
Can I weigh in my own scrap metal?
Yes. Most scrap yards around Idaho weigh your load on a scale and pay by the pound, and they may ask for a photo ID. Sorting copper, brass, aluminum and steel into separate piles usually gets you more than one mixed load.
Are current scrap prices up or down?
They change with the markets, sometimes week to week. Call the yard the day you plan to haul, since posted scrap prices can be out of date.
Do Boise scrap yards pay cash or make an offer on the whole home?
Related reading: Concrete Slab Demolition: Can You DIY It, or Should You Hand It Off? and Chicken Coop Removal in Boise: Dust, Wire and Old Posts.
How a yard pays varies, so ask before you load up. Yards price metal they can weigh, so don't expect one to make an offer on a home that's still standing.
Need Help With Mobile Home Demolition?
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