Home Demolition: Worth Doing It Yourself?

[Calvin Shih]

Purchased a large 4,000 SF fixer upper SFR in Oakland and about ready to submit plans to the City of Oakland. While I am waiting, my thought was to start some of the demolition work myself to save time and money. My kitchen, 4 bathrooms and a bedroom need to be completely gutted.

First Question: If I do the work myself, where can I rent a dumpster and what would the cost be for pickup afterwards?

Second Question: Is it worth the time and effort, or should I just let my contractor handle the work? I'm told the demo work is really not that expensive to hire out. I've also never done this type of work before, but thought it may be worth learning. 

Thanks BP Community!

-Calvin