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Serving Des Moines, IA and surrounding areas. (515) 724-6905
DEM Des Moines Masonry is a licensed masonry contractor serving Des Moines, IA, specializing in masonry restoration, foundation repair, and tuckpointing on homes across the city - from Beaverdale brick bungalows to newer south-side properties. We have handled masonry projects across Polk County and pull permits directly from the City of Des Moines Permit and Development Center for every structural job we complete.
Des Moines has a large share of homes built before 1960, and many of them - especially in Beaverdale, Sherman Hill, and the Drake area - have brick and mortar that is overdue for professional attention. Our masonry restoration service brings aging brick and stone back to its original strength without tearing out material that still has decades of life left.
The clay-heavy soil under most Des Moines properties expands when wet and shrinks when dry, and that movement puts constant pressure on foundation walls. Homes in established neighborhoods like Capitol East and the South Side regularly show cracking and bowing that gets worse after every hard Iowa winter if not addressed.
Mortar on Des Moines brick homes from the 1900s through the 1950s was made with lime rather than harder modern cement mixes, and it has a natural lifespan. Once those joints start crumbling, Iowa freeze-thaw cycles make the damage accelerate quickly - tuckpointing before winter is one of the most cost-effective ways to protect an older Des Moines home.
Chimneys on older Des Moines homes face wind, rain, and freeze-thaw cycles on all four sides simultaneously - making them the part of the home that typically shows masonry damage first. A chimney that looks intact from the street can have serious mortar and cap deterioration that only becomes visible on a close inspection.
Properties across Des Moines with uneven grades and clay-heavy soil need retaining walls that are built for the specific way Iowa soil moves. Spring flooding near the Des Moines and Raccoon Rivers makes proper drainage behind any retaining wall especially critical here - a wall built without it will not last.
The brick bungalows and Cape Cods throughout Beaverdale and central Des Moines hold up well over time, but individual bricks do crack, spall, or loosen - particularly at grade level where soil contact and moisture exposure are highest. Matching replacement brick to original material on homes this old requires care and experience with Des Moines housing stock.
Des Moines presents a specific combination of challenges that makes masonry maintenance genuinely necessary - not just a nice-to-have. The city sits on clay-heavy soil throughout Polk County that swells when it absorbs water and shrinks when it dries out. That constant movement puts low-level stress on brick foundations, lower wall courses, and any stone or concrete block structure sitting on grade. Add Iowa winters - with temperatures regularly swinging above and below freezing more than 100 times per year - and small mortar problems compound into serious structural issues faster than they would in a drier or milder climate.
The age of Des Moines housing makes all of this more acute. A large portion of the city's neighborhoods - including Beaverdale, Sherman Hill, the Drake area, and Capitol East - are filled with homes built between the 1920s and 1950s. These homes were built with lime-based mortar that has a natural 50-100 year lifespan, meaning much of the city's housing stock is at or past the point where original mortar needs professional attention. Spring flooding near the Des Moines and Raccoon Rivers adds a third layer: saturated soil creates hydrostatic pressure against basement walls and drives water through any deteriorated joint, making drainage management an essential part of any masonry repair in this city.
We pull permits for structural masonry work directly from the City of Des Moines Permit and Development Center and are familiar with the inspection process for residential masonry repairs in Polk County. We have worked on properties throughout the city's established neighborhoods - the brick bungalows of Beaverdale, the Victorian-era structures in Sherman Hill, and the mix of older single-family and rental properties in the Capitol East corridor.
Getting around Des Moines is straightforward once you know the city. I-235 cuts east-west through the middle of town, with I-35 and I-80 forming the major interchange south of downtown. Principal Park sits along the Des Moines River near downtown, and Gray's Lake Park anchors the south side. From neighborhoods just north of the Iowa State Fairgrounds to the homes out along Merle Hay Road, we cover the city and keep response times reasonable.
We also serve homeowners in neighboring communities. If you are in West Des Moines - which has its own distinct mix of newer subdivisions and established neighborhoods along the Jordan Creek corridor - or in Urbandale, we cover both areas and know the different property types and building eras you are likely dealing with.
Call or submit the contact form and we will get back to you within 1 business day. We ask a few basic questions - what you are seeing, roughly where on the house it is, and how old the home is - and then schedule a free on-site visit.
We walk your property, look closely at the masonry, and explain in plain language what we find. You receive a written estimate before we leave - no obligation, no pressure. We also address whether a permit is needed for your specific project and what that adds to the timeline.
For structural work, we handle the permit application with the city directly. This typically takes a few business days. Once it is in hand, you get a start date and a day-by-day breakdown of what to expect so there are no surprises.
The crew completes the job, cleans up the work area each day, and walks the finished work with you before leaving. We explain the curing requirements for any fresh mortar and let you know what to watch for in the coming months.
We serve homeowners across Des Moines and Polk County. Call us or fill out the form below and we will get back to you within 1 business day. Free estimates, no obligation.
(515) 724-6905Des Moines is Iowa's largest city, with a population of around 214,000 people and a well-established role as the state's center for insurance, financial services, and government. Companies like Principal Financial Group and Nationwide have large operations here, which means the city has a stable, long-term homeowning population that tends to stay in the same house for years. The city sits at the confluence of the Des Moines and Raccoon Rivers, a geography that shapes both its character and its seasonal flooding patterns.
The city has distinct neighborhoods, each with its own housing stock. Beaverdale, on the northwest side, is known for its brick bungalows and Cape Cods from the 1930s and 1940s - exactly the kind of home that benefits most from regular masonry attention. Sherman Hill, just west of downtown, has a concentration of Victorian-era homes dating to the 1880s and 1890s, some of which are on the local historic register. Capitol East and the Drake area have a mix of older rental stock and owner-occupied homes from the mid-20th century. Homeowners looking for masonry work in Ankeny to the north or West Des Moines to the west will find that we serve those communities as well.
Professional foundation repair to protect your home's structural integrity.
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Call DEM Des Moines Masonry today or submit the form for a free estimate. We serve homeowners across Des Moines, IA and respond within 1 business day.