Curb delivery with a short carry
The truck stops at the curb and the unit is carried a short distance across the sidewalk or up a few steps to the placement. This is the most common hillside job, and it usually needs a crew of two.
Serving San Francisco County
Hillside and Stair-Access Portable Toilet Delivery in San Francisco
Getting a portable toilet up hill lots, stairs and rear yards that a delivery truck cannot reach directly.
- Standard units, ADA units and restroom trailers
- Street-space permits, retrofits and events
- Delivery and servicing planned around access
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Fastest: call (888) 351-0294. Or send this and we call you back.
Hillside Access
Hillside and Stair-Access Delivery: what it covers
Quick answer
On a hill lot, the truck stops where it can and the unit is carried the rest of the way. The crew surveys the carry, picks a staging point at the curb or a landing, and plans the service visits to use the same route. Here is how that works on San Francisco's steep streets.
San Francisco is built on hills, and the access problem is real work rather than local color. A portable toilet that a truck can deliver to a flat driveway in a few minutes can take a full crew and a planned route on a hill lot. Steep narrow streets, stair accesses, shared driveways and rear yards that can only be reached on foot are the normal case in the hill neighborhoods. The same pattern shows up across the bay, in the Marin towns of Mill Valley, Sausalito and Tiburon and in the Oakland and Berkeley hills.
The work starts at the curb. A unit that cannot be carried to the job goes at the curb, and that is what brings the street space permit into nearly every hillside job. The truck stops where it can legally and safely stop, and the unit is carried from that point to the placement. The distance, the number of stairs, the gates and the turns between the stop and the work are the numbers that decide the crew, the time and the price. None of them can be guessed from the street view.
This page covers how a hillside delivery is surveyed, staged and carried, and how the weather of the city changes the work. It does not rank the city's steepest streets. Published lists disagree because they use different measurement methods. The one figure this page relies on is for Filbert Street between Hyde and Leavenworth, which the City Bureau of Engineering has listed at 31.5 percent. For how a street placement is permitted once the unit reaches the curb, see that page.
- Service area
- San Francisco & San Francisco County
- Availability
- Call to reach a local provider
- Phone
- (888) 351-0294
Warning signs
Signs you need hillside and stair-access delivery
A homeowner should not try to carry, roll or drag a portable toilet down a hill or up a flight of stairs by hand. A unit that slips on a slope can injure the people nearby and damage the lot. Keep stairs and landings clear while a delivery is underway, and do not stand below a unit being carried. On a slope, let the crew set the bracing and the straps before anyone steps close to the unit.
- A truck idling at the bottom of a block while the crew walks up with hand equipment.
- Stairs, landings or a retaining wall between the curb and the work area.
- A narrow gate, side passage or walkway through the building to a rear yard.
- Wheel chocks, straps or temporary bracing around a unit set on a slope.
- A dolly or hand truck left at the curb, with tire marks on the pavement where the unit was turned.
- Pedestrians and cars waiting while a unit is carried across the sidewalk.
- Wet leaves, mud or fog-slick pavement at the foot of a stair access.
Our process
How our hillside and stair-access delivery visit works
Survey the route
The technician starts at the curb where the truck can stop and walks the route to the placement. The survey notes the number of stairs, the landings, the gates, the turns and any slope along the way.
Measure the carry
The crew measures the distance from the stop to the placement and the height of any change in level. A unit that is short on the street can be long on the carry, and the carry decides how many people are needed and how long the delivery takes.
Choose the staging point
Where the carry is too long or too steep, the crew picks a staging point at the curb or on a flat landing and sets the unit there first. A staging point is a placement in its own right, so the permit question is raised before the unit is moved.
Carry and set the unit
The unit is carried and set with the crew working as a team, with straps, chocks or bracing used on any slope. The unit is levelled before anything else is done, because a unit that sits at an angle does not drain or stand right.
Plan the service route
Every later service visit has to use the same route, so the survey records how the unit will be reached for cleaning, restocking and pumping. A route that works for a delivery can still fail for a pumping truck, so the service visits are planned along with the delivery.
Why does a hill lot change the delivery?
A hill lot changes the delivery because the truck usually cannot get close to the work. The unit has to be carried, and the carry sets the crew, the time and the placement.
On a flat site the truck backs up to the spot and the unit is set down. On a hill lot the truck stops at the nearest point it can use, and the unit is carried from there. That single change adds the carry to every part of the job: the number of people, the handling equipment, the time on site and the care needed on the stairs and on the slope. The truck does not change, but the work around it does.
How steep is steep in San Francisco?
The one figure this page uses is 31.5 percent for Filbert Street between Hyde and Leavenworth, from the City Bureau of Engineering's long-standing list. Other lists rank the streets differently.
A grade of 31.5 percent is steep enough that a unit on that block cannot be pushed or rolled by hand in any safe way. The crew takes the carry in controlled steps, with straps and a second person on the lower side, and the placement sits on a level spot rather than on the grade. The grade describes the street, not the lot, so the lot's own slope and steps still have to be measured on site.
Can the truck drive up to the work?
Usually not all the way. The truck stops at the closest point it can use legally and safely, and the unit is carried the rest of the way from there.
Many hill streets are too narrow, too steep or too crowded for a delivery truck to reach the front of the lot. Parked cars, bus stops, driveways and the slope itself all affect where a truck can stop. The crew checks the stopping point during the survey and does not assume the truck can reach the curb in front of the house.
What moves the price on a hill job up or down?
The quote is driven by the length of the carry, the number of stairs, the crew needed, the number of service visits and any extra staging. The provider confirms the price before delivery.
A longer carry takes more crew time, and a steeper carry takes more people and more handling care. Stairs, landings and tight turns add time that a flat delivery never needs. Service visits matter too, because each visit has to climb the same route, so a site that needs frequent cleaning costs more to reach than one visited occasionally. A second staging point adds a placement and a second set-up.
Options
Types and options for hillside and stair-access delivery
Stair access with a landing
A stair access is a flight of steps between the street and a building entrance or rear yard. The unit is carried up or down the stairs in a controlled way, and set on a landing where it can stand level.
Shared driveway or rear yard reached on foot
Some houses are reached through a shared driveway or a rear yard that a truck cannot enter. The unit is carried through a side passage or through the building, which takes more time and more people.
Open hillside site with wind exposure
An open hillside lot has no buildings to shelter the unit, so wind has more effect on a staked or braced unit. The crew sets the unit with the wind direction in mind and secures it on any slope.
San Francisco County
Why hillside and stair-access delivery is different in San Francisco and the northern Peninsula
Housing in the hill neighborhoods is often narrow, with bay-window flats on small lots and rear yards that are reached through the building. Those layouts make the carry the main part of the job, and they are the reason the survey is done on foot rather than from the truck.
Weather on the hills follows the city's pattern. The summers are dry, the wet season comes mostly in the winter months, and Pacific fog and wind come off the ocean, heaviest in summer mornings on the west side and along the coast at Ocean Beach. A unit on an open slope in wind needs more bracing, and a stair access in winter rain can be slick and muddy at the foot.
The same access problem runs across the bay. In the Marin towns and in the Oakland and Berkeley hills, the stair accesses and shared drives are the normal case, so a unit is often carried in from wherever the truck can legally stop. Work in those towns is arranged with the local city or county, and the carry is planned the same way it is planned here.
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Where we work
Hillside and Stair-Access Delivery across San Francisco County
- Hillside Access in Downtown and Central San Francisco
- Hillside Access in Brisbane
- Hillside Access in Daly City
- Hillside Access in Sausalito
- Hillside Access in Belvedere and Tiburon
- Hillside Access in South San Francisco
- Hillside Access in Emeryville
- Hillside Access in Alameda
- Hillside Access in San Bruno
- Hillside Access in Albany
- Hillside Access in Mill Valley
- Hillside Access in Berkeley
- Hillside Access in Oakland
- Hillside Access in Piedmont
- Hillside Access in Pacifica
- Hillside Access in Corte Madera
- Hillside Access in El Cerrito
- Hillside Access in Richmond
- Hillside Access in Millbrae
- Hillside Access in Larkspur
- Hillside Access in Kentfield
- Hillside Access in San Pablo
- Hillside Access in Burlingame
Not sure if you're covered? Check your ZIP code.
Related
Related services
Street and Sidewalk Placements
Portable toilets on San Francisco streets and sidewalks, with the permit limits and placard rules that apply.
Standard Portable Toilet Rental
One portable toilet placed, serviced and removed for a home project, a block or a yard in San Francisco.
Flushing Restroom Trailer Rental
A towed trailer with a closed room for guests, placed on a level pad that a tow route can reach.
Earthquake Retrofit Project Restrooms
Job-site units for the months-long work of a soft-story earthquake retrofit, placed under California's construction rule and the city's street space permit.
Guides
Read before you book
Hillside and stair-access addresses: where a unit can go in San Francisco
On a San Francisco hill a portable toilet often ends up at the curb, because a unit that cannot be carried to the work goes there.
FAQ
Hillside and Stair-Access Delivery FAQs
Can a portable toilet be delivered to a steep San Francisco lot?
Yes, but the delivery is planned around the carry rather than the truck. The crew surveys the route on foot, measures the stops, stairs and slope, and chooses a staging point if the carry is too long. The unit is then carried and set with straps or bracing as needed.
How steep is the steepest street in San Francisco?
This page uses 31.5 percent for Filbert Street between Hyde and Leavenworth, from the City Bureau of Engineering's long-standing list. Other lists rank the streets differently because they use different measurement methods. The survey, not a street ranking, decides how a specific lot is delivered.
Does a hill delivery need a street permit?
It can. If the staging point or the placement sits on the public right of way, the street space permit applies, and the permit is pulled by the contractor or property owner. The crew raises the question during the survey, before the unit is carried to a spot on the street.
What if there are stairs between the curb and the work?
Stairs are carried one step at a time with the crew working together, and the unit is set on a level landing at the top or bottom. The landing has to be wide enough for the unit and the crew. The route is recorded so the later service visits can use the same stairs.
Can a unit be carried through a building to a rear yard?
It can, when the route through the building is open and the people who use it are told in advance. The crew checks the doorways, turns and the path to the yard during the survey. The same route is used for every service visit, so it is recorded at the start.
Does the fog or wind change how a hillside unit is set?
Wind affects a unit on an open site more than one set in a sheltered yard, so the crew adds bracing where the wind is strong. Summer fog can make pavement and steps slick in the morning. The crew plans the setting time and the bracing around the weather of the day.