Des Moines Egress Windows Rusted window well: reline it or replace it, and what each costs in Des Moines
Rust in a window well starts at the soil line and works both directions, because that is the one band of steel that stays wet and still sees oxygen. Whether you need a $400–$900 liner or a $1,000–$3,000 replacement comes down to one test you can do yourself in two minutes: whether the steel still has structure left in it.
Check this first (two minutes, one screwdriver)
- Push a screwdriver at the soil line, firmly, in three or four places around the well. Surface scale that flakes off and leaves solid metal underneath is cosmetic. Steel that gives, dents, or punches through is gone, and it is gone in the one place that carries the soil load.
- Check the anchors. Look where the well’s flanges meet the foundation. Loose bolts, elongated holes, or a visible gap between the flange and the concrete means frost has been walking the well away from the house. Soil has been falling in behind it every year since.
- Look at the shape. A well still round or still square is holding. A well bowed inward at the middle is being pushed by soil it can no longer resist and is on borrowed time.
- Measure it while you are there. Width across the face and projection out from the wall. If it is under 36 inches either way, or under 9 square feet total, it never met code and a replacement is your chance to fix that.
Reline or replace
| What the screwdriver test shows | Verdict | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Flaky scale, solid steel underneath, anchors tight | Reline, keep the well | Liner $400–$900 |
| Holes at soil line, body still holding shape | Replace, the load path is compromised | Replacement $1,000–$3,000 |
| Bowed inward, soil sloughing in behind | Replace, plus rebuild the bed | $1,000–$3,000 |
| Sound steel but under 36 inches wide or deep | Replace to reach code size | $1,000–$3,000 |
| Sound steel, floods every spring | Not a rust job, a drainage rebuild | $300–$1,000 |
| Rust plus a rotten wood buck or a leaking window | Replace the well and the window together | Well plus $400–$1,100 per window |
The ranges are the same ones on the pricing page, and doing the well and window in one visit is meaningfully cheaper than two trips because the excavation is the expensive part.
Why this is happening to your whole street at once
Houses built from the mid 1980s through the early 2000s mostly got the standard well of that era, which was light-gauge corrugated galvanized steel set on native clay. Galvanizing is a sacrificial coating with a finite service life, and around here that life is 25 to 35 years in the buried band. Add road salt tracked into the soil near driveways, add clay that holds moisture against the steel for weeks after a thaw, and add annual frost heave working the anchors, and the arithmetic lands exactly where we are now. If your neighbors are replacing wells, that is not a coincidence and it is not a sales pitch.
What a proper replacement includes
The well is the visible part and the cheap part. What determines whether the new one lasts is what goes underneath and behind it:
- A real gravel column, not two inches of rock over clay, deep enough to reach a path to the footing drain where the house has one.
- Mechanical anchors into sound concrete, not masonry screws into a spalled face.
- A ladder if the finished well is deeper than 44 inches, permanently attached, rungs at least 12 inches wide, projecting at least 3 inches, and spaced no more than 18 inches on center. That is IRC R310.2.3.1 in the 2018 edition (R310.4.2 in 2021, R319.4.2 in 2024).
- Backfill in lifts with the grade restored to fall away from the house, so the next thaw does not undo the work.
- A cover sized to the new well, which is the cheapest insurance in this trade at $150–$600.
When the rusted well is actually an egress question
If the basement room next to that window is being used as a bedroom, the well’s dimensions are not a preference, they are the law. A replacement well that comes in at 9 square feet with a compliant ladder turns a technically non-conforming sleeping room into a conforming one, which matters at sale time. If the window itself is also undersized, the honest answer is a full egress installation at $3,500–$6,500 rather than a nice new well around a window nobody could climb out of. A free code compliance measure sorts that out before anyone quotes you anything.
What to expect on the call
Send a photo from straight on and one from directly above, and tell us the width and projection if you have a tape handy. Most rusted-well calls in Des Moines, Ankeny, and West Des Moines can be quoted from photos within a day, and the on-site measure confirms the drainage question that photos cannot answer.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does a galvanized window well last in Iowa?
About 25 to 35 years. The corrugated steel wells that went in with the 1985 to 2000 housing wave are all arriving at the end of that window now, which is why whole streets seem to rust out at once. Rust always starts at the soil line, where wet dirt and oxygen meet.
Can a rusted window well be relined instead of replaced?
Yes, if the well is still holding its shape, the anchors are tight, and the rust is surface pitting rather than holes you can push a screwdriver through. A liner goes inside the existing well and runs $400–$900. If the steel is perforated at the soil line or the well has pulled off the wall, relining just hides the problem.
Is a rusted well a code problem?
Not by itself. The code cares about the well's size, at least 9 square feet of horizontal area with a minimum 36-inch projection, and a permanent ladder if the well is deeper than 44 inches. A rusted well that still meets those dimensions is legal but failing. A rusted well that has collapsed inward no longer meets them.
What does a new window well cost installed?
$1,000–$3,000 depending on material and depth. Corrugated steel sits at the low end, composite and stacked-stone style wells at the high end. That price includes excavation, anchoring to the foundation, a new gravel drainage bed, ladder where the depth requires one, and backfill and grading.