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Serving Ankeny, IA and surrounding areas. (515) 963-5532
Ankeny Concrete & Masonry is a masonry contractor serving Urbandale, IA with retaining wall construction, foundation repair, and brick work - pulling permits through Urbandale's city offices and responding to new requests within 1 business day.
Urbandale lots graded during the suburban buildout of the 1970s through 1990s often have steep elevation changes at property lines and along drainage swales - exactly where retaining walls are needed to hold soil and create usable yard space. Our retaining wall construction includes proper gravel drainage backing designed for central Iowa's clay soils, so the wall holds for decades rather than a few seasons.
Most Urbandale homes built in the 1970s and 1980s have full basements on clay soil that has been expanding and contracting for 40 to 50 years. That long-term soil movement is the primary driver of bowing walls, stair-step cracks, and moisture intrusion that Urbandale homeowners are now dealing with.
Mortar in Iowa's climate starts to soften and pull away from brick after 25 to 30 years. Urbandale's ranch and split-level homes with original brick from the 1970s and 1980s are in that range right now. Repointing mortar joints before water gets behind the brick is the most cost-effective thing a homeowner here can do.
Urbandale winters crack chimney crowns and open mortar joints at the top of the stack, where freeze-thaw damage is most severe. Homes built in the 1970s and 1980s with original chimneys that have never been serviced are the most common source of chimney repair calls in this part of the metro.
Nearly every Urbandale home has a concrete driveway and attached two-car garage, and driveways poured in the 1980s and 1990s have absorbed enough Iowa freeze-thaw cycles to crack through the slab. Section replacement and driveway paver installation are two approaches we handle regularly in Urbandale neighborhoods.
Urbandale gets hailstorms most summers, and hail damages mortar joints and brick faces in ways that are easy to overlook until water starts getting behind the veneer. Spot repairs handled before a hard freeze prevent a small surface problem from becoming an interior moisture problem the following spring.
Urbandale sits on the northwest edge of Des Moines on central Iowa's clay-heavy glacial soil. Clay expands when it absorbs water - sharply in spring, after heavy rains - and contracts again in summer dry spells. That seasonal movement puts lateral pressure on basement walls, shifts footings, and stresses any masonry sitting on or near the ground. Iowa's frost line in this region reaches 40 inches or more in a hard winter, and Urbandale's winters routinely deliver multiple freeze-thaw cycles in a single season, which is exactly the pattern that cracks concrete and opens mortar joints faster than anything else.
Most of Urbandale's housing was built during the suburban boom of the 1970s through the 1990s. Ranch and split-level homes from that era now have concrete driveways, garage aprons, and masonry systems that are 30 to 50 years old - the point where deferred maintenance becomes visible damage. Brick veneer fronts common in Urbandale's older neighborhoods are reaching the end of their first mortar life, and homeowners who have not had those joints repointed are starting to see moisture show up inside walls. Newer subdivisions on the west side of the city are newer, but still sit on the same clay soil and face the same Iowa winters.
Our crew works throughout Urbandale regularly, and we pull permits through the City of Urbandale for structural masonry work that requires them. Urbandale operates its own building department separate from Des Moines, and permitted work here is processed through Urbandale's own city offices - not the county. We are familiar with what Urbandale requires for retaining walls over four feet and for structural foundation repairs, and we handle the permit process on behalf of homeowners so there are no surprises at close of a home sale.
Urbandale's neighborhoods are defined by ranch and split-level homes on modest lots, with Douglas Avenue running east-west through the commercial spine of the city. Whether a home is near Living History Farms on the northwest side or in one of the newer subdivisions closer to the western edge of the city, the lots here tend to be tight enough that equipment access requires planning. Our crew accounts for that on every estimate, so the scope of work reflects what the site actually allows.
We serve the communities bordering Urbandale on a regular basis as well. Homeowners in Clive to the south and Johnston to the northeast see the same soil conditions and the same Iowa winters, and our crew covers the full northwest Des Moines corridor.
We reply to all new requests within 1 business day. Tell us what you are seeing - a leaning wall, a cracked driveway, a wet basement corner - and we schedule a time to visit your Urbandale property. You do not need to diagnose the problem before you call.
We come to your property, look at the actual condition, and explain what we see in plain language before recommending anything. You will get a written estimate that covers scope, materials, and total cost - no price surprises, and no pressure to sign the same day. If a permit is required, we identify that at this stage.
Our crew arrives on the scheduled day with the right equipment and materials for Urbandale's soil and climate conditions. We protect your landscaping and driveway during the job, and we haul away debris when the work is finished. You can stay home during most masonry work - there is no need to vacate the property.
When the job is done, we walk you through the work so you can see exactly what was done and ask any questions. For permitted projects, we handle the inspection coordination. If anything comes up after we leave, call us - we stand behind what we build.
We respond to all Urbandale requests within 1 business day, come to your property for a look, and give you a written estimate before any work begins.
(515) 963-5532Urbandale is a city of about 45,000 on the northwest edge of Des Moines, covering roughly 23 square miles with its own city government, school district, and building codes. It is one of the more affluent suburbs in the metro, with most homes owner-occupied and a housing stock that spans from ranch and split-level homes built in the 1960s through 1980s to newer two-story subdivisions developed on the western edge of the city in the 2000s and 2010s. Douglas Avenue runs east-west through the commercial heart of the city, and the Urbandale Community School District is one of the primary reasons families choose to settle here long-term.
The older neighborhoods near Douglas Avenue are filled with homes that have original brick, concrete driveways, and full basements - all of which have been through multiple decades of Iowa winters and are now entering their primary maintenance window. The Interstate 80 and Interstate 35 corridors run through or along the southern edge of the city, making Urbandale easy to reach from anywhere in the metro. We also serve homeowners in neighboring Clive and West Des Moines, which share similar housing stock and soil conditions with Urbandale.
Restore your foundation's strength and protect your home from further damage.
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Learn MoreWe come to your Urbandale property, assess the work in person, and give you a written quote before anything starts. Call us or fill out the form today.