Waukee has grown fast, and it’s easy to see why. The trail system runs throughout the city, the Raccoon River Valley Trailhead is right there, and you’re still a short drive from anywhere in the Des Moines metro. It’s the kind of town where people settle in and stay.
If your house hasn’t quite kept up with how you actually live in it, that’s where we come in. Elk River Contracting is a licensed Iowa contractor (license C144441) working with homeowners on kitchens, bathrooms, basements, additions, and outdoor spaces. Founded in 2022 by husband-and-wife team Cole and Marquel Stuedemann, we’re based in Ankeny and built around a simple idea: remodeling for the busy professional, run with the kind of process and communication you’d expect from a well-organized commercial job site, scaled to fit a home.
Cole’s background is in major commercial construction and the Bakken oil fields, where deadlines, safety, and documentation aren’t optional. We brought that mindset into residential work because most homeowners don’t want to be surprised. They want a clear scope, a real schedule, and one person to call.
Whether it’s a full remodel, an addition, or a custom build, we’re happy to talk through what you have in mind. Bring your goals, your questions, and a rough budget, and we’ll help you shape a plan that fits all three. The first conversation is free, and there’s no obligation to move forward. We typically respond within one business day.
The housing stock here is a mix, and the right approach depends on which part of town you’re in. A lot of Kettlestone and the newer west-side developments are post-2015 builds with open floor plans and decent bones, but builder-grade finishes that homeowners outgrow within a few years. Older sections closer to the original downtown have homes from the 80s and 90s that need more layout work to fit how families live now. We’ve worked on both, and the conversations look different.
A few of the reasons people call us:
Whatever the scope, we focus on changes that make the house easier to live in, not just nicer to photograph.
A good kitchen remodel makes cooking, cleanup, and hanging out with people in the room all feel easier. Sometimes that’s a refresh of the cabinets, counters, backsplash, and lighting. Other times the layout itself needs to change. An awkward peninsula has to go, or the fridge is sitting in a spot that turns the whole room into a traffic jam.
Most of our kitchen projects land somewhere between $40K for a cosmetic refresh and $100K+ for a full layout rebuild with custom cabinetry. We tend to spec quartz over granite for daily durability, and we’ll often pair Pella or Andersen for window swaps when those are part of the project (both made within driving distance, which helps lead times when supply chains get weird).
What we work on most often:
Small room, big effect on your morning. A bathroom that feels cramped, dark, or short on storage drags down the start of every day. A good remodel fixes that.
One thing worth knowing for Iowa: bathroom ventilation matters more here than in milder climates. We seal homes up tight against the cold, which is great for energy bills but rough on humidity if your fan isn’t doing its job. Most of our bathroom remodels include a vent fan upgrade, and on primary baths we usually run them through a humidistat instead of a timer.
Things people ask for most:
A primary bath usually runs $25K to $60K. A guest or hall bath lands between $15K and $30K. We’ve done full accessibility conversions on tight timelines too, including one we turned around so a homeowner could come straight home from inpatient rehab. That kind of project means schedule discipline matters, not just craftsmanship.
A finished basement is one of the best square-foot returns you’ll get without changing the footprint of the house. We’ve turned basements into family rooms, guest suites, home gyms, offices, and full entertainment setups.
What goes into a basement project:
The drywall and flooring are the easy part. What actually determines whether a basement feels comfortable year-round is moisture management, insulation, and lighting. Central Iowa clay soil holds water, and even newer homes can pick up summer humidity in the basement if the dehumidification isn’t sized right. We size dehumidifiers to the actual finished volume, check the perimeter drain situation before we frame, and use closed-cell foam on rim joists where it makes sense. None of that is glamorous. It’s the part homeowners thank us for two summers later.
A basement finish usually runs $50K to $90K, depending on whether you’re adding a bathroom, a bedroom, or a wet bar.
If two or three areas of the house all need work, it’s usually worth pulling them into one whole-home plan instead of doing them piecemeal. You avoid the awkward situation where new flooring in one room doesn’t match the trim in the next, and you make fewer decisions overall.
A whole-home plan can include:
Sometimes you don’t need a different house. You need more of this one. A good home addition shouldn’t look like it was stuck onto the side of the home. Rooflines, siding, windows, and the way the new space transitions into the old all matter, inside and out.
Additions also come with more permitting, more engineering, and a frost-depth footing requirement (42 inches in central Iowa) that bumps the foundation cost compared to interior work. We walk through all of that before you sign anything, so the budget you see is the budget the project actually requires.
The kinds of additions we build:
Neighborhoods around here are built around trails, ponds, and green space, and people actually use their yards. A real outdoor living project, not just a bigger patio, turns the back of the house into another room.
For decks, we usually default to composite (Trex or TimberTech) for the surface and pressure-treated for the structure. Composite costs more up front and disappears entirely from your maintenance list, which most homeowners decide is worth it after one or two cedar-staining seasons. Covered structures earn their keep here too. An Iowa screened porch is usable from April through October, where an open deck is more like Memorial Day to Labor Day before bugs and weather start cutting into your evenings.
What we build outside:
The growth here isn’t only residential, and we take on commercial remodeling and tenant improvement work too. Same approach: clear communication, organized scheduling, and as little disruption to your operation as possible. Most of our commercial work happens after hours or in phases when occupancy can’t pause. Cole’s commercial construction background shows up most here, since the documentation and coordination demands of an active retail or office space are closer to a job site than a home.
Commercial projects can include:
Remodeling involves a lot of decisions, and most homeowners just want to know what’s coming next. Here’s how we keep it organized:
Initial outreach. A quick conversation about what you’re trying to do.
Photos and inspiration. So we get a feel for your style and priorities.
Phone consultation. To confirm scope and whether we’re a fit.
On-site walkthrough for measurements and planning.
Detailed estimate review, line by line, so nothing surprises you.
Design support and selections. Our in-house designer helps you keep decisions moving with vetted vendors and a curated set of options.
Construction and communication, straight through to the final walkthrough and warranty period.
You’ll have one project manager from start to finish. We don’t hand you off to someone new at the construction phase, and you won’t get a different answer depending on who picks up the phone. You can see recent project examples in our portfolio.
We work throughout Waukee and the surrounding west metro. If you’re not sure whether your address falls in our typical service area, just reach out and we’ll let you know quickly.
Neighborhoods we’ve worked in or near:
We also serve the broader Des Moines metro, including Clive, West Des Moines, Urbandale, Johnston, Grimes, and Ankeny.
A lot of projects do. Anything involving plumbing, electrical, structural changes, or an addition almost always requires a permit through the City of Waukee Development Services Department. Even some interior cosmetic projects need one if walls are being removed. We pull required permits as part of the project and coordinate inspections, so you don’t have to deal with the city directly.
It depends on scope and material lead times, but rough ranges look like this: a bathroom remodel runs 4 to 8 weeks of active construction, a kitchen 8 to 14 weeks, a basement finish 10 to 16 weeks, and a home addition 4 to 6 months from permit to walkthrough. Custom cabinet lead times are the most common timeline driver, which is why we order cabinets the moment selections are locked in.
Usually, yes. It depends on which rooms are involved and how big the project is. Single-bathroom homes during a bath remodel are the toughest case. Whole-house projects sometimes call for a short-term rental during the heaviest construction. We talk through your daily routine during planning and set up dust barriers, daily clean-up, and protected pathways so the rest of your house stays livable.
Yes, and this is one of the parts homeowners tell us they appreciate most. We have an in-house designer who works directly with clients on finishes, fixtures, and layouts, so you don’t end up with a 200-item selection sheet on your kitchen table and no idea where to start.
Yes. Elk River Contracting is a registered Iowa contractor (license C144441), and we carry general liability and workers’ compensation insurance. We’re happy to share certificates of insurance before any contract is signed. Our subcontractors (electrical, plumbing, HVAC) are licensed in their own trades.
Yes. We offer a one-year workmanship warranty on the remodeling work we complete, separate from any manufacturer warranties on materials, fixtures, and appliances. The specifics are written into your contract.
If you’re planning a kitchen remodel, bathroom renovation, basement finish, home addition, outdoor living project, or commercial improvement in Waukee, Elk River Contracting can help you put together a clear plan and get the result you actually want.
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