Madison County, Iowa
Construction & Remodeling
Madison County covers 730 square miles east of the metro and holds 38,153 people. It organized in 1846, and Madison County has been the seat since. Outside Iowa, Madison County is best known for Iowa Speedway.
The housing is old. The median home here went up in 1965, 26.8 percent of the stock predates 1940, and only 4.8 percent dates from 2010 or later. This is a remodeling and additions county.
Call: 844-435-9800 Website: https://busybuildersiowa.com/
Madison County, Iowa General Contractor
About Us
We started Busy Builders to bring honesty back to remodeling and home building. Our team came out of the trades with decades of hands-on work behind them. We have served more than 1,285 Central Iowa homeowners since 2020.
Our Mission
Give every homeowner the most transparent and honest experience we can on any construction project. That means real numbers, real timelines, and a plain answer when the answer is not what you hoped.
Our Vision
We want to be the registered general contractor that homeowners in Madison County, Madison County and rural Madison County call first.
Cities We Service in Madison County
Winterset, the county seat and the Madison County city we serve. The county has zoning but no adopted building code, so city limits decide whether anyone inspects.
Winterset
Adopted the 2021 existing code
Full-Service Construction and Remodeling Across Madison County
A new home outside city limits needs a permit from Madison County Planning and Zoning at 515-462-2636. That permit reviews land use, setbacks, floodplain siting and your 911 address. It does not review the house. The county has adopted no building code and names no inspector, so nobody checks footings, framing or final. Your builder sets the standard, and we build to the IRC anyway. Footings go below the 42 inch frost line. Home building starts at $150 per square foot, and final costs vary by scope and materials.
The median Madison County home went up in 1977, but 26.0 percent of the stock predates 1940. Old farmhouses and newer exurban builds sit on the same county roads, and they need different work. Inside Winterset the city reviews a remodel against the 2021 IEBC, the code written for existing buildings. Outside city limits nobody reviews it at all. We open a small area early and price the rest from what we actually find. Phased work spreads cost across seasons and keeps the house livable throughout.
Move a wall, a vent or a gas line and the permit question follows. Inside Winterset, the Building and Zoning Department at 515-462-1422 reviews it, and Rich Parker of Veenstra and Kimm inspects. Outside city limits the county issues a land use permit and nobody inspects the work. We hold the job to code either way. On well and septic properties we check water pressure and drain capacity before we design the layout. Kitchen remodeling starts at $250 per square foot, and final costs vary by scope.
An older Madison County basement usually has a water history before it has a design problem. The gumbo paleosol under the loess sends groundwater sideways, so hillside walls get wet even when the yard drains fine. We solve that first. Nothing goes on a wall until footing drains, backfill and grading are right. Then we check the rest. Ceiling height under 7 feet. A bedroom with no compliant egress. A stair with the wrong rise. We tell you what has to change and what you simply want to change.
A bathroom packs more trades into less space than any other room. Madison County adopted no building code, so on rural ground nobody inspects the rough-in. Iowa still licenses the plumbers and electricians who do the work, and we hold the job to code either way. On a septic property, a second bathroom is a capacity question first, so we call Environmental Health at 515-462-2636 early. We mark clearances on the floor before ordering, because a vanity that clears on paper can still block a door.
An addition changes your footprint, which is the one thing a Madison County permit actually reviews. Planning and Zoning checks setbacks, land use and floodplain siting at 515-462-2636. Nobody from the county inspects the footings or framing that follow, so the standard is the one your builder sets. New footings go below the 42 inch frost line. Inside Winterset, the 2021 IEBC governs work on an existing house. We build additional stories, sunrooms, garages, ADUs and tornado shelters. Additions start at $300 per square foot.
Finishing a Madison County basement starts with the water, not the framing. Lateral seepage off the gumbo paleosol can soak an uphill wall while the yard stays dry, so drainage gets solved first. Then three numbers matter. A bedroom needs an egress opening with 5.7 square feet of net clear area. Habitable ceiling height runs 7 feet minimum. And we test for radon before we finish. Every Iowa county sits in EPA Zone 1, and Iowa averages 8.5 pCi/L indoors against 1.3 nationally.
A deck on rural Madison County ground needs a county permit from Planning and Zoning. That permit checks where the deck sits, not how it is built, because the county has adopted no building code and employs no inspector. Inside Winterset the city reviews the structure too, and a detached accessory building of 200 square feet or less is exempt from the permit. Footings go below the 42 inch frost line either way. We flash the ledger properly and build guard height and stair rise to code.
THE COUNTY ADOPTS NO CODE AT ALL
Madison County covers 561 square miles southwest of the metro and holds about 17,270 people. Iowa leaves this question to each county, and Madison County has never voted a building code in. The zoning office publishes no IRC or IBC edition and names no county building inspector anywhere on its pages.
That matters more than most homeowners expect. Outside Winterset and the other incorporated cities, nobody from the county looks at your footings, your framing, your insulation or your final. There is no certificate of occupancy waiting at the end.
So the quality of a rural Madison County house is a function of who you hire. We build to the IRC anyway. We also photograph the work that gets covered up, because an appraiser or a buyer will ask later.
- Madison County publishes no adopted IRC or IBC edition for unincorporated land
- No county building inspector is named on any county department page or handout
- The county permit is a land use approval, not a structural sign off
WINTERSET ADOPTED THE REMODELING CODE
Here is the detail that should matter to anyone with an older Winterset house, and almost nobody mentions it.
Winterset adopts the 2021 International Existing Building Code alongside the 2021 IRC and IBC. The IEBC is the code written specifically for alterations, repairs and additions to buildings that already exist. Very few Central Iowa cities adopt it at all.
The practical effect is that a Winterset remodel gets reviewed against rules built for remodels. It is not squeezed into a code written for new work. For a 1930s house with a 1970s addition, that is usually good news. It also means your plans need to say which code path you are using. Rich Parker of Veenstra & Kimm, now part of Kleinfelder, runs the inspections.
- Winterset adopts the 2021 IEBC, the code that governs work on existing homes
- It also runs the 2021 IRC and IBC with the 2020 National Electrical Code
- The 2021 Uniform Plumbing Code and 2021 mechanical code apply in the city as well
ONE PHONE NUMBER RUNS FIVE JOBS
Madison County keeps its land use work in one place, in the lower level of the county annex at 201 West Court in Winterset.
Call 515-462-2636 and you reach zoning, building permits, code enforcement, conditional use permits, floodplain management and 911 address assignment. Ryan Hobart runs the zoning side and Tina Burk assists. Applications go through the county’s GeoPermits portal.
Call the same number again and you reach Environmental Health, where Andrew Hornback permits and inspects wells and septic systems. One counter, two functions, and Tina Burk assists on both sides of it. That is efficient for you and a heavy load for a small team, so start early and stay patient.
- Zoning, permits, floodplain and 911 addressing all answer at 515-462-2636 in Winterset
- Environmental Health permits and inspects wells and septic from the same annex counter
- The office runs 8:00 am to 4:30 pm, Monday through Friday, and uses an online portal
THE COUNTY PUBLISHES NO FEE SCHEDULE
We would rather print a number than send you to a phone. On the Madison County side we cannot, and we will not invent one.
The county does not publish a building permit fee schedule online. Neither does it publish a valuation table. Anyone quoting you a county permit fee off a web page is guessing, and a guess in a bid is a change order later.
Winterset does publish some of its numbers. Commercial trade permits run $75. Wrecking, demolition and building moving cost $25. A fence permit costs $65 and a residential grading permit $50. Right of way and sanitary sewer permits cost $50. Building permit fees themselves come off valuation, so call 515-462-1422 with real numbers.
- No Madison County building permit fee schedule is published online by the county
- Winterset publishes a $65 fence permit, $50 residential grading and $25 demolition fees
- Winterset building permit fees are calculated from the valuation of your project
GUMBO SENDS HILLSIDE WATER SIDEWAYS
Madison County sits in the Southern Iowa Drift Plain, the state’s oldest landscape. Wind blown loess caps the ridges, older glacial drift shows on the side slopes, and the streams have cut deep, branching valleys through it.
Under the loess sits a gumbo paleosol, a buried ancient soil that water will not pass through. Water reaches that layer and moves sideways instead of down. That lateral seepage is why a hillside basement can run wet on the uphill wall while the yard looks perfectly dry.
We handle it with footing drains, free draining backfill and grading that carries water around the house. On a steep lot we pull parcel soil data before we design the foundation.
- Frost depth is 42 inches, the Central Iowa standard, and footings go below it
- The EPA places all 99 Iowa counties in radon Zone 1, its highest category
- Iowa averages 8.5 pCi/L indoors against 1.3 nationally, so we test first
WE BUILD IN WINTERSET, NOT EVERYWHERE
Nine incorporated cities touch Madison County ground. We take work in one of them, Winterset, plus the rural addresses around it. Winterset holds 5,353 people and its median home dates to 1973.
One of those nine is West Des Moines, where our office is. City limits reach into the northeast corner of the county. That is the short answer to why Madison County is on our map at all. Winterset sits about 36 road miles out.
Earlham, St. Charles, Truro, Patterson, Macksburg, East Peru and Bevington all sit further out. Some of them are better served by a builder closer to home. Call us anyway and ask. We would rather turn a job down than take one we cannot run well.
- Nine incorporated cities touch Madison County, and one of them is West Des Moines
- Winterset sits about 36 road miles from Des Moines, comfortably inside our range
- Rural addresses permit through the county zoning office, not through Winterset City Hall
Our Building Partners.
- Achievement
Your Dream, Our Passion.
Since 2020, more than 1,285 Central Iowa homeowners have trusted us with their projects, and it shows.
Quality Construction at the Right Price.
Additions
Based on Average Pricing in Madison County.
- Additional Story
- Tornado Shelter
- Living Room
- Bedroom
- Sunroom
- Bathroom
- Garage
- ADU
Kitchen Remodeling
Based on Average Pricing in Madison County.
- Countertops
- Appliances
- Cabinetry
- Windows
- Islands
- Lights
Home Building
Based on Average Pricing in Madison County.
- Dream Build
- Multi-Family
- Tiny Home
- Spec Build
- Frequently Asked Questions
FAQs About Building in Madison County
Does Madison County inspect my new home?
No. The county publishes no adopted building code and names no county building inspector. Its permit checks land use, setbacks, floodplain siting and addressing. Nobody from the county reviews footings, framing, rough-in or final, and no certificate of occupancy gets issued. Inside Winterset the city does inspect, through Rich Parker of Veenstra & Kimm, now part of Kleinfelder. Outside city limits, code compliance rests entirely on the builder you hire. That is why we build to the IRC out there and photograph the work before it gets covered up.
Which code applies to a Winterset remodel?
Winterset adopts the 2021 International Existing Building Code, which is written for alterations, repairs and additions to buildings that already stand. That sits alongside the 2021 IRC and IBC, the 2020 National Electrical Code, the 2021 Uniform Plumbing Code and the 2021 mechanical code. Few Central Iowa cities adopt the IEBC, so confirm which path your plans use before anyone prices the job. Permits run 18 months from issuance, except demolition permits, which run six. Call the Building and Zoning Department at City Hall, 124 West Court Avenue, on 515-462-1422.
What does a Madison County building permit cost?
The county does not publish a fee schedule online, and we will not print a figure we cannot source. Call Planning and Zoning at 515-462-2636 and ask about your own project. The office runs 8:00 am to 4:30 pm, Monday through Friday. Winterset does publish some numbers. A fence permit costs $65 and residential grading $50. Demolition or building moving costs $25, and a right of way or sanitary sewer permit $50. Winterset building permit fees themselves are calculated from the valuation of the project, so bring real numbers.
Do I need a permit for a shed in Winterset?
Maybe not for the building itself. A local amendment exempts one story detached accessory buildings of 200 square feet or less from the permit requirement. You still have to get site plan approval from the Zoning Department before you build, so the phone call happens either way. Anything larger than 200 square feet needs the full permit, and so does anything with more than one story. Outside city limits, the county reviews where the building sits and nobody inspects how it is built. Call 515-462-2636 first either way.
Why does this page only cover Winterset?
Because Winterset is the Madison County city we can serve properly, and we would rather say so. Nine incorporated cities touch this county, and one of them is West Des Moines, where our office sits. Winterset is about 36 road miles out. Listing all nine towns would make the page look stronger and make our answers worse. If your project sits in Earlham, Truro or St. Charles, call us and we will tell you honestly whether we are the right crew for it. A straight no costs you nothing.
Is Busy Builders licensed in Iowa?
Iowa registers general contractors rather than licensing them. We are registered with the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing. That registration is required of anyone earning $2,000 or more a year from construction. Electricians, plumbers and HVAC technicians do hold separate state licenses, and we use licensed trades on every job. Anyone who calls a general contractor licensed in Iowa is using the wrong word for it. Where Madison County inspects nothing, that registration is one of the few things you can verify. We have served more than 1,285 Central Iowa homeowners since 2020.
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