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Serving Ankeny, IA and surrounding areas. (515) 963-5532
Ankeny Concrete & Masonry brings foundation block wall installation, brick repair, and retaining wall construction to Grimes homeowners. We have served the greater Des Moines area since 2018 and respond to every inquiry within one business day.
Grimes homes built on clay-heavy Polk County soil face real pressure on their foundations every wet spring and dry summer. Our foundation block wall installation work uses reinforced concrete block with proper waterproofing and drainage to hold up against the soil movement that causes so many foundation problems in this area.
Grimes homes from the 1990s and early 2000s commonly have brick veneer on the front facade, and that veneer is now old enough to show cracking, spalling, and mortar failure from years of Iowa freeze-thaw cycles. Catching brick damage early prevents water intrusion that turns a moderate repair into a large one.
Grimes yards can have drainage challenges, especially in subdivisions where the original grading was not done to a high standard. A properly engineered retaining wall holds soil in place and redirects runoff away from the house, which matters a great deal in central Iowa's wet springs.
Mortar joints in brick and block chimneys throughout Grimes deteriorate faster than most homeowners expect because of the repeated freeze-thaw stress the area experiences each winter. Tuckpointing replaces degraded mortar before water can get behind the masonry and cause structural damage.
Original driveways in Grimes's older neighborhoods, typically installed in the 1990s or early 2000s, are well past their first maintenance cycle and commonly show significant cracking and heaving. Paver driveways installed with a proper aggregate base perform better than solid concrete on the clay soils common throughout Grimes.
Settled and cracked front walkways are a common sight in Grimes's established neighborhoods, where builder-grade concrete has been moving with the soil for two or three decades. A replacement walkway built with correctly prepared base material stays level through the seasonal soil movement this part of Iowa experiences every year.
Grimes grew quickly starting in the 1990s, and a large share of its housing stock is now 20 to 30 years old. That means original builder-grade materials - concrete driveways, brick veneer accents, mortar joints in chimneys and retaining walls - are hitting the age where they fail. The clay-heavy soil common throughout Polk County is the underlying driver. Clay expands when it absorbs water and contracts when it dries out, and that constant movement stresses every concrete and masonry surface that sits on or against the ground. A contractor who understands this pattern will focus on drainage and base preparation, not just the visible surface repair.
Iowa's freeze-thaw cycle compounds the clay soil problem every winter. From November through March, temperatures in the Grimes area cycle repeatedly between freezing and thawing, and any water that has worked its way into a crack or mortar joint during that period expands and contracts with each cycle. Small cracks become larger ones. The Iowa State University Extension has documented how expansive clay soils in central Iowa affect structures over time - a pattern that plays out in Grimes every year.
Our crew works throughout Grimes regularly, and we understand the local conditions that affect masonry work here. Grimes sits about 10 miles northwest of downtown Des Moines, with Highway 141 running through the middle of it as the main commercial corridor. The city has a mix of older neighborhoods near the city center - many built in the 1990s and early 2000s - and newer subdivisions still going up on the north and west edges. The older sections are where we see the most foundation and flatwork repair calls, because homes there are now well into the age range when clay soil movement starts to show up as visible damage.
Structural masonry work in Grimes requires permits through the City of Grimes. We pull all required permits before starting work, and we coordinate inspections so you do not have to manage that process yourself. Grimes also sits on the Polk-Dallas County line, and some of the surrounding residential development crosses that boundary - we are familiar with the permit requirements on both sides.
We also serve homeowners in nearby Ames and Johnston. If you have family or a neighbor in either community who needs masonry work, we cover that ground too.
Call us directly or submit a request through our contact form. We reply to every inquiry within one business day - calls before noon are usually answered the same day.
We visit your Grimes property to look at the work in person. Foundation and masonry jobs require an in-person assessment to price accurately - you will get a written estimate before any commitment is made.
If the job requires a City of Grimes permit, we handle that process. We coordinate the schedule around your availability and will let you know whether you need to be present on-site during the work.
We complete the work, walk you through what was done and what to expect during the curing period, and clean up the site before we leave. Follow-up questions are always welcome.
We serve all of Grimes, from the older neighborhoods near Highway 141 to the newer subdivisions on the north and west sides of town. Free estimates, written quotes, no pressure.
(515) 963-5532Grimes is a city in Polk County, Iowa, about 10 miles northwest of downtown Des Moines along the Highway 141 corridor. It has grown from around 5,000 residents in 2000 to more than 15,000 today, driven by families moving out of Des Moines looking for newer homes and more space. The city sits near the Polk-Dallas County line, and the surrounding residential development spills across that boundary into one of Iowa's fastest-growing county areas. Most of Grimes is planned subdivision neighborhoods with curving streets, cul-de-sacs, and attached two-car garages - the kind of residential fabric that was being built aggressively throughout central Iowa in the 1990s and 2000s. Read more at the Grimes, Iowa Wikipedia page.
Home styles throughout Grimes lean toward two-story colonials and ranch houses, most with vinyl or fiber cement siding and brick veneer accents on the front facade. The older sections near the city center are filled with starter homes and modest ranches from the 1990s, while the newer subdivisions on the north and west edges of town have larger, more recent construction. Southeast Polk Community School District serves Grimes families, and schools are one of the main reasons families choose to settle here. The homeownership rate is well above the state average, which means most of Grimes's residents have a real stake in keeping their properties maintained. We also regularly work in nearby Johnston and Ames for homeowners in those communities.
Restore your foundation's strength and protect your home from further damage.
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Learn MoreGrimes clay soil and Iowa winters are hard on foundations and concrete - the longer you wait, the bigger the repair. Call Ankeny Concrete & Masonry and we will respond within one business day.