Serving West Des Moines, IA and surrounding areas. (515) 706-9183
West Des Moines Concrete & Masonry is a locally owned masonry contractor serving Des Moines with masonry restoration, tuckpointing, foundation repair, and brick work. The city has a large stock of pre-war and mid-century brick homes - we know what those properties need and how to work with the original materials.
Des Moines has more pre-1960 brick housing than most Iowa cities - bungalows in Beaverdale, Victorian homes in Sherman Hill, and Cape Cods throughout the Drake neighborhood. Those homes need masonry restoration work that respects the original materials: careful mortar matching, patient repointing, and brick replacement that blends with what was built 70 or 80 years ago.
Des Moines neighborhoods like Beaverdale and Capitol East are filled with brick bungalows where the original mortar is now 70 to 90 years old. Iowa freeze-thaw cycles widen small joint gaps every winter, and once water gets behind old brick, the damage compounds quickly and costs more to fix each season it is left alone.
Des Moines sits at the confluence of two rivers, and spring flooding is a recurring reality in low-lying neighborhoods. Hydrostatic pressure from saturated clay soil is the leading cause of bowing basement walls and water intrusion in the city's older pre-war housing stock. Early repair costs far less than waiting for the problem to compound.
Des Moines winters are hard on chimneys. Older homes in Sherman Hill and Beaverdale have original masonry chimneys from the 1880s through the 1940s that have never been fully repointed. A cracked cap or open mortar joint can allow water into the flue all winter, accelerating deterioration from the inside out.
Spalling is common on Des Moines brick homes that have never had tuckpointing done - once water works its way into the brick itself through failing joints, Iowa freeze cycles break the face off from the inside. Catching spalled bricks early and replacing them individually stops the spread before whole sections of wall are affected.
Properties near Gray's Lake and other lower-elevation areas of Des Moines deal with grade changes and drainage challenges that put extra pressure on retaining walls. Clay soil drainage is poor, so walls built without weep holes or proper drainage aggregate fail faster here than in better-draining regions.
Des Moines is Iowa's largest city, and a significant portion of its housing was built before 1960. Neighborhoods on the east side, the Capitol East corridor, and the area around Drake University contain blocks of brick bungalows and Cape Cods where the original mortar has now been through 70 to 90 Iowa winters. That mortar was often softer and lime-based - it erodes faster than modern mixes and needs to be matched correctly when replaced, or it causes new damage to the brick itself. Des Moines properties require a masonry contractor who understands these older material specifications, not just modern construction practices.
The city's location at the confluence of the Des Moines and Raccoon Rivers adds another layer of complexity. Spring flooding is a recurring reality in lower-lying neighborhoods, and the clay-heavy soil throughout the metro saturates quickly, putting sustained hydrostatic pressure on basement walls and foundations. Homes in Des Moines that look structurally sound on the surface are sometimes dealing with slow, ongoing water infiltration that only becomes visible after a wet spring. A masonry contractor working in Des Moines needs to understand both the surface repair and the drainage and soil factors that drive the damage in the first place.
Our crew works throughout Des Moines regularly, and we understand the local conditions that affect masonry work here. For structural projects in the city, we file permits with the City of Des Moines Development Services department, which handles building permits and inspections. That process is one we know well - the documentation requirements, inspection scheduling, and what city inspectors look for on structural masonry jobs.
The variety across Des Moines neighborhoods is significant. Sherman Hill, just west of downtown, has Victorian-era homes from the 1880s and 1890s with original foundations and wood-frame construction that requires different handling than a 1950s concrete block basement in a ranch home near Merle Hay. Beaverdale's brick bungalows from the 1930s and 1940s are a category unto themselves - their soft original mortar requires a specific repointing approach that a contractor unfamiliar with the era can get wrong. We have worked on all of these property types across the city.
Des Moines is bordered to the west by West Des Moines, and we serve both cities with the same crew and standards. Many homeowners in Windsor Heights and Clive - communities that sit between the two cities - reach out to us as well, and we cover those areas without any difference in response time or service quality.
When you reach out, we ask a few questions - what type of damage, where it is on the house, and roughly when the home was built. You will hear back within one business day to confirm a visit.
We walk the property, assess the condition of the masonry, and identify the underlying cause - not just the surface symptom. You get a written estimate in plain language before any work is scheduled. The assessment is free.
For structural work in Des Moines, we file with the City of Des Moines Development Services and schedule the required inspection. You do not need to manage the paperwork - we handle all of it.
The crew works through the job in sections, restores the area afterward, and walks you through the finished work before leaving. For older homes, we take extra care with material matching so repairs blend with what was originally there.
We respond within one business day. No pressure, no obligation - just an honest look at what your Des Moines property needs.
(515) 706-9183Des Moines is Iowa's largest city, with a population around 214,000 and a mix of residential neighborhoods that reflect nearly every decade of development from the 1880s forward. The city is best known for its insurance and financial sector, anchored by Principal Financial Group and Nationwide, which have brought long-term stability and homeownership to established neighborhoods throughout the city. Beaverdale, on the northwest side, is famous for its brick bungalows and Cape Cods from the 1930s and 1940s. Sherman Hill, west of downtown, has some of Iowa's oldest intact residential architecture, including Victorian-era homes dating to the 1880s. The East Village and Capitol East neighborhoods sit closer to the statehouse and contain a mix of commercial buildings and older homes that reflect the city's early growth. Downtown itself borders Gray's Lake Park, a popular destination for residents of all parts of the city.
The city sits at the confluence of the Des Moines and Raccoon Rivers, which means spring flooding is a recurring condition that shapes how homes in lower-lying neighborhoods manage water. About half of all Des Moines housing units are renter-occupied, which means a large share of the housing stock - especially older single-family homes converted to rentals - carries deferred maintenance that includes masonry and foundation work. Neighboring West Des Moines to the west and Windsor Heights between them share similar climate and soil conditions but have newer and more uniform housing stock. We serve all three communities.
Restore structural integrity and stop foundation damage before it worsens.
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Learn MoreOlder homes need contractors who understand older materials. Call us now or submit the form and we will respond within one business day.
