How much can you get if you scrap all the usuals in a house

Question

I own the house next to me and I want to tear it down. The house isn't worth re-habing but all the scrap value is still in there, which is almost unheard of in this neighborhood. How much value would you say was in there in copper and such.

Answer 1

Heres the basics for ya

(The value per pound is at the bottom of each)

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Aluminum - This is a lightweight metal with a dull silver color. Sometimes magnesium is mistaken for aluminum as it looks the same and is also light weight. The big difference is that magnesium is flammable. Just touch a piece of it with a torch and magnesium will ignite and glow with a blinding glare. That's why it's used in flares. It breaks easily as you will find if you flex a piece of it back and forth a few times it will snap off. It is used in lawn furniture, car trim, hand rails, gutters and leaders, storm doors, beverage cans, transmission housings, heavy electrical cable, power tool housings, screening, hub caps, and on rare occasions someone will use it as a low pressure plumbing fixture or pipe. Aluminum is often classified by dealers as heavy or light grade. Light being things like soda cans and lawn furniture while heavy is all the rest. Some dealers bunch it all together. In the case of lawn furniture it's advisable to remove all plastic as this degrades its value. Price: 15 to 45 cents a pound.

Iron - This is magnetic so just a touch with a magnet will give it away. Also it's very heavy and rusts. Iron is used in everything from cars to girder beams to pipes. Being that it's heavy and common it doesn't take long to accumulate a lot of it. Accordingly, its value is low too, but remember that with iron you're dealing with a lot of weight so it can add up. Price: 1 to 4 cents a pound.

Stainless Steel - Although this has iron it's non magnetic or only slightly magnetic. If it's strongly magnetic then it's classified as "magnetic stainless" and must be sold as iron. Stainless is heavy and has a dull shine. It is used in car trim, hub caps, hand rails, and beer kegs. Price: 15 to 35 cents a pound.

Lead - This is heavy, soft, dull gray, and has a low melting point. It is used in piping, as weights in scuba diving, it comes in ingots to be melted for joining together iron pipes in sewer lines, and as fishing sinkers. Price: 8 to 15 cents a pound.

Copper - This is the familiar red metal used in household tubing. In time copper will turn green from exposure to moisture. It's used in wire, tubing, and plumbing fittings most commonly. Copper is classified in several categories.

There are light, medium, and heavy which is wire, tubing, and tanks. Then there is clean and dirty which is often an arbitrary call by the dealer as it means that if it's dirty it has some contaminants on it such as solder or brass fittings. If it has a lot of brass fittings on it then the dealer may only offer you the price of brass so it's to your benefit if you take the time and cut off the fittings. Copper wire has different classifications too. There is burned or stripped (burned is usually considered dirty copper, especially the heavier gauges of wire). Burning off the insulation is the fastest method of removing the insulation but, it is an ecological disaster and if you're caught you can get a hefty fine from the authorities. Stripping it takes longer but, it has the advantage of being classified as clean copper which is worth a little bit more. The other classification for copper wire is unburned or unstripped which is worth only half of what it's worth stripped. Price: 35 cents to $1.50 a pound.

Brass - Brass is yellow and often used as a gold substitute. It is an alloy of copper and zinc. It's used in low pressure plumbing fittings (often with copper), sink drains and fixtures (sometimes chrome plated to make it more decorative), door k***s, car radiators, and in trim hardware. Price: 25 to 90 cents a pound.

Bronze (red brass) - This looks very similar to brass except that it has a more coppery color than the yellow of brass. It is harder than brass as it's an allow of copper and tin. Accordingly, it is used in higher pressure functions such as high pressure water fittings, firehose couplings, and for similar purposes. Be careful not to leave too much firehose or other "contaminants" on the metal as this reduces its value. Price: 30 to 90 cents a pound.

Car Batteries - How often have you seen one of these thrown out along the roadside? This is thrown away money! I've often heard people bemoan the fact that they can't get rid of car batteries. This is patently ridiculous as any junk dealer will gladly take them. Car batteries, while potentially toxic if not disposed of correctly, are completely recyclable. Smelting plants recycle the lead while the plastic and even the acid is reclaimed too. Price: 25 cents to $5 a piece.

Catalytic Converters - How many times have you seen one of these along the roadside? These too are worth money as the active ingredient in them are platinum pellets. As you all should know platinum is worth more than gold. Price: $5 a piece and less depending on how many of the pellets are left in the converters.

Other Metals - There are other metals which can be sold to junk dealerships but, they are less commonly found. Tungsten (wolfram) is used in x-ray machines and is very heavy. Chromium is heavy and is sought after. Magnesium is light weight but valuable (again, be careful not to get magnesium near anything hot as it will burst into flame and can not be extinguished by water). Mercury too is valuable but, be careful how you handle it as it is the liquid metal (at room temperature) and is very toxic. And of course don't forget the precious metals gold, silver, and platinum. These can also be sold at coin stores.

Answer 2

you will have to check the scrape yard for price per pound of copper, alum., and steel but you should get a decent amount.