Marshall County, Iowa
Construction & Remodeling
Marshall County covers 572 square miles and about 40,392 people, with Marshalltown at the center. Many homeowners here are still finishing work a storm started. Busy Builders has served Central Iowa since 2020, and rebuilding is a real part of what we do.
Call: 844-435-9800 Website: https://busybuildersiowa.com/
Marshall 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. This county has lived through two federal disaster declarations. That means real numbers, real timelines, and a plain answer when it is not what you hoped.
Our Vision
We want to be the registered general contractor that homeowners in Marshalltown, Melbourne, State Center, Haverhill and Ferguson call first.
Cities We Service in Marshall County
Five Marshall County communities. Two of them publish no permit process at all, so those conversations start with the county.
Marshalltown
2021 codes, outside inspector
State Center
Waives water and sewer tap fees
Melbourne
Council votes on your permit
Haverhill
No published permit process
Ferguson
No published permit process
Rhodes
Nothing published, county permits
Albion
Marshalltown schools, 52 miles out
Le Grand
2018 codes, local amendments
Full-Service Construction and Remodeling Across Marshall County
New homes outside Marshalltown answer to zoning, not to a building code. The county publishes none, so call Planning and Zoning at 641-844-2707 before you break ground. Inside the city, the Building Division reviews the work against the 2021 IRC at 641-754-5756. No jurisdiction here prints a frost depth. We set footings below the local line, and Central Iowa jurisdictions publish 42 inches. Iowa now requires a passive radon method in new one and two family homes. Home building starts at $150 per square foot, and final costs vary by scope, materials and complexity.
Plenty of the remodels we price in this county started with a storm. The 2018 tornado and the 2020 derecho damaged homes that were already old. Marshalltown still runs a placarding and demolition program tied to both events. We give you an honest read on what is worth repairing and what is not. Whole house or phased, we open a small area early and price from what we find. Phased work spreads cost across seasons, and we sequence it so you never lose the kitchen and the only bathroom at the same time.
The median Marshall County kitchen sits in a home built in 1958, and it shows. Cramped work triangles, one outlet per wall, a pantry that was clearly an afterthought. Move a wall or a gas line and a permit follows. Inside Marshalltown that means the Building Division at 641-754-5756, plus a separate trade permit, $85 flat on a residential alteration. Older homes hide surprises behind the plaster, so we open a small area early and price from that. Kitchen remodeling starts at $250 per square foot, and final costs vary by scope, materials and complexity.
A basement finished thirty years ago often fails today’s rules in quiet ways. Ceiling height under 7 feet. A bedroom window too small to count as egress. A stair with the wrong rise. We walk it with you and separate the must change items from the want to change items. That list is usually shorter than people fear. Inside Marshalltown the work needs a permit and an inspection. Outside the city, nobody inspects it, so the standard is whatever your contractor chooses to build to. Ask us to show you ours.
A bathroom packs more trades into less space than any other room. In Marshalltown, electrical, plumbing and mechanical work each need a separate trade permit, and the flat fee runs $85 on a residential alteration. Outside the city, no inspector reviews the rough in, though Iowa still licenses the plumbers and electricians doing that work. We hold the job to code either way. We lay out clearances on the floor before ordering anything, because an inch matters at a door swing. A basement bath needs a drain plan before demolition.
An addition changes your foundation footprint, and in this county it often adds a safe room. We build tornado shelters, additional stories, sunrooms, garages and ADUs. Inside Marshalltown, additions need a permit, and the fee comes off the ICC Building Valuation Data table with plan review at 65 percent. New footings go below the local frost line. Outside the city, start with the county Zoning Administrator at 641-844-2707. Additions start at $300 per square foot, and final costs vary by scope, materials and complexity.
Finishing a basement here starts with three numbers. A bedroom needs an egress opening with 5.7 square feet of net clear area. Habitable ceiling height runs 7 feet minimum. And radon gets tested before we finish, not after. The EPA puts Marshall County in Zone 1 along with every Iowa county. Iowa averages 8.5 pCi/L indoors against 1.3 nationally, and Iowa HHS says as many as 5 in 7 homes carry elevated levels. Test results shape the plan, and mitigation is cheap behind an open wall.
Marshalltown permits new construction, additions and accessory buildings of 120 square feet and larger, so call the Building Division at 641-754-5756 before you order material. Outside the city there is no building permit program, but setbacks still apply, so check with county zoning at 641-844-2707. Footings go below the local frost line either way. A deck on shallow piers can heave after one hard winter. We size footings for the span, flash the ledger properly, and build guard height and stair rise to code.
THIS COUNTY IS STILL REBUILDING
Marshall County has lived through two federal disaster declarations, and the work is not finished.
On July 19, 2018, an EF3 tornado crossed the county with peak winds of 144 mph. The path ran 8.93 miles and grew as wide as 1,200 yards. Twenty-two people were hurt. Nobody was killed. The National Weather Service survey says the storm went directly through the business district of Marshalltown. The county courthouse lost the spire off its clock tower.
Two years later the derecho arrived, and the airport measured 99 mph.
The city still runs a disaster demolition and placarding program tied to both storms. Rebuilding is ordinary work here, not a specialty line on a website, and we price it honestly.
- Federal declaration FEMA-4392-DR followed the July 2018 tornado on September 12, 2018, covering Marshall County
- The August 10, 2020 derecho measured 99 mph at Marshalltown Airport, with an unofficial 106 mph near Le Grand
- Declaration FEMA-4557-DR named the county for Public Assistance and as an SBA primary county on August 17, 2020
MOST OF THIS HOUSING PREDATES 1960
The housing stock tells the same story the storms do. The median home in this county went up in 1958. About 53 percent predates 1960, and 32.1 percent predates 1940.
New construction barely registers. Only 0.6 percent of the housing here was built in 2020 or later. Old homes, storm repairs, almost nothing new.
That shapes the work. Basements with ceilings under 7 feet. Bedrooms with windows too small to count as egress. Kitchens laid out for 1958 appliances and 1958 wiring.
None of that is a problem, it is a market. We open a small area early and price from what we find, not from a guess written before anyone looked behind the plaster.
- The median Marshall County home was built in 1958, and 53 percent of the stock predates 1960
- Just 0.6 percent of county housing was built in 2020 or later, so remodeling leads here
- A basement bedroom needs an egress opening with 5.7 square feet of net clear area
ONE PERSON COVERS ALL THREE DESKS
Marshall County publishes no adopted building code. Iowa Code 103A.12 makes adoption opt in, so no county has to have one. There is no code page, no fee schedule and no county inspection program.
Zoning, septic and driveway rules still govern unincorporated land. Planning and Zoning and Environmental Health share one office at 1 E Main Street in Marshalltown. One Zoning Administrator covers all three jobs at 641-844-2707, so call ahead before you drive over.
You may also find an online permit portal linked from county pages. It is provisioned but switched off, so filing there does nothing at all. Use the phone. Driveway and right of way permits go to the County Engineer, a separate office.
- Planning, zoning and environmental health all answer at 641-844-2707, from 1 E Main Street in Marshalltown
- The county's online permit portal is provisioned but disabled, so call rather than file online
- Driveway and right of way permits go to the Marshall County Engineer, a separate office
ONE CITY RUNS THE ONLY BUILDING DEPARTMENT
Marshalltown runs the only full building department in the county. The Building Division sits under Housing and Community Development at 36 N Center Street. Call 641-754-5756.
The city enforces the 2021 IRC and IBC, the 2020 National Electrical Code and the 2012 energy code. Permits cover new construction, alterations, additions and accessory buildings of 120 square feet and larger. Electrical, plumbing and mechanical work each need a separate trade permit.
The city contracts Veenstra & Kimm, now part of Kleinfelder, and that firm serves as the Building Official for the city. Schedule inspections at 515-850-2980. Outside the city limits, no inspector reviews your framing, so the builder you hire sets the standard.
- The city Building Division works from 36 N Center Street and answers the permit line at 641-754-5756
- Permit fees come off the ICC Building Valuation Data table, with plan review at 65 percent
- Trade permits run $125 flat on new residential work and $85 on residential alterations
THREE LANDFORMS, ONE HOLDS EVERY TOWN
Three landform regions cross Marshall County, and one holds every town we serve. Marshalltown, State Center, Melbourne, Haverhill and Ferguson all sit on the Southern Iowa Drift Plain. That is rolling ground cut by stream valleys, so sloping lots are normal and a walkout basement is often on the table.
The Iowan Surface covers the north and northeast edges. The Des Moines Lobe touches only the far northwest corner. There we assume poor drainage until a test says otherwise.
The Iowa River runs through the county and through its largest city. Countywide flood mapping covers 14 NFIP jurisdictions. Check your parcel at the FEMA Map Service Center before you plan a basement anywhere near water.
- The countywide FEMA flood map, panel set 19127C, took effect on November 16, 2011
- No jurisdiction here publishes a frost depth, so footings follow the local line set by the permit issuer
- The county keeps drainage districts, and the County Engineer publishes a tile crossing form for rural work
MELBOURNE VOTES ON YOUR BUILDING PERMIT
Five towns, and no two of them handle a permit the same way.
Melbourne is the one to plan around. The city council acts on building permits, so your application has to reach City Hall by 4:00 pm on the Thursday before the meeting. Miss that and the project waits. City Hall answers at 641-482-3338.
State Center publishes a full code online and answers at 641-483-2559, from 118 E Main Street. Haverhill and Ferguson have no city website and no published permit process. Do not read that silence as no permit needed.
We publish a city page for each of the five towns and no service level pages here yet. Every service listed below is available in all five.
- A special Melbourne council meeting costs $316.55, a figure the city set on May 13, 2024
- State Center waives water and sewer main tapping fees for new homes and prohibits ground solar arrays
- Haverhill and Ferguson publish no permit process, so start with the county at 641-844-2707
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 Marshall County.
- Additional Story
- Tornado Shelter
- Living Room
- Bedroom
- Sunroom
- Bathroom
- Garage
- ADU
Kitchen Remodeling
Based on Average Pricing in Marshall County.
- Countertops
- Appliances
- Cabinetry
- Windows
- Islands
- Lights
Home Building
Based on Average Pricing in Marshall County.
- Dream Build
- Multi-Family
- Tiny Home
- Spec Build
- Frequently Asked Questions
FAQs About Building in Marshall County
Does Marshall County require a building permit outside city limits?
The county publishes no adopted building code, and Iowa does not require one. Iowa Code 103A.12 makes adoption opt in for every county. Zoning, septic and driveway approvals still apply on unincorporated land, so call the Zoning Administrator at 641-844-2707 before you break ground. One office at 1 E Main Street covers planning, zoning and environmental health, and the same number reaches all three. You may see an online permit portal linked from county pages. It is provisioned but disabled, so filing there accomplishes nothing.
How deep do my footings need to go in Marshall County?
No jurisdiction in this county publishes a frost depth. Marshalltown enforces the 2021 IRC, which puts footings below the locally established frost line, but the city does not print its table value. Confirm the depth with the Building Division at 641-754-5756 before you pour. Every Central Iowa jurisdiction that does publish a number prints 42 inches, and that is the depth we build to. Deck piers count too. A shallow footing can heave after one hard winter, and heaved concrete is not a cheap fix.
Who inspects my project in Marshall County?
Inside Marshalltown, the city does. The Building Division works from 36 N Center Street. The city contracts Veenstra & Kimm, now part of Kleinfelder, and that firm serves as the Building Official. Schedule inspections at 515-850-2980. Outside the city, no county inspector reviews structure, framing, energy or mechanical work, because the county has adopted no building code. That puts the standard entirely on who you hire. Ask any builder what they inspect on their own jobs, then ask to see the answer in writing. We are glad to answer that one.
How long does a building permit take in Melbourne?
Plan around the council calendar. The Melbourne city council acts on building permits. Your application has to reach City Hall by 4:00 pm on the Thursday before a scheduled meeting. Miss that cutoff and the project waits for the next one. A special meeting is possible, but it costs $316.55, a figure the city set on May 13, 2024. City Hall answers at 641-482-3338. We build the council schedule into the timeline from day one, which is usually all it takes to keep the project on schedule.
My home was damaged in 2018 or 2020. Can you still help?
Yes. Storm rebuilds are ongoing work here. The July 19, 2018 tornado carried peak winds of 144 mph along an 8.93 mile path. The August 10, 2020 derecho then measured 99 mph at Marshalltown Airport. Both events drew federal disaster declarations, and the city still runs a disaster demolition and placarding program tied to them. We will give you an honest read on what is worth repairing and what is not. You get that in writing, before you spend anything on design. The first consultation is free.
Is Busy Builders licensed in Iowa?
Iowa registers general contractors rather than licensing them. We hold registration with the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing. Iowa Code Chapter 91C requires it of anyone earning $2,000 or more a year from construction. Electricians, plumbers and HVAC technicians do hold separate state licenses, and we work with licensed trades on every job. That matters more in a county where no inspector reviews rural framing. Ask any builder how they check their own work when nobody else will. Busy Builders has served more than 1,285 Central Iowa homeowners since 2020.
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