PerimeterTileInterior drain, exterior dig or neither — decided by where the water is.

How much does basement waterproofing cost in Iowa City, IA?

Interior basement waterproofing in Iowa City, IA
$11,154
150 linear feet · typical range $7,436 – $16,360
Typical total$74 per linear feet$11,154
Range you should see in bidsthree bids on the same scope normally land inside this$7,436 – $16,360
Labor portion60% of the job — this is the part that moves by city$6,693
Material portion40% — bought at national prices$4,462
Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers pay near Iowa Cityabout $28/hr · Iowa City, IA metro$59,200/yr
U.S. mean for the same tradeSOC 47-2051$60,050/yr
Versus the national pricetrade pay here runs −1.4% against the U.S. mean−$96
Short pour season143 freezing days a year in Iowa City. ACI 306 cold-weather protection — blankets, heated water, or waiting — is a real line item here, not boilerplate—

Notes

  • Where the number comes from. The national price for interior basement waterproofing is $75 per linear feet — interior drain tile pricing published for 2026, $50–$110 per linear foot. Labor is about 60% of that. Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers near Iowa City, IA average $59,200 a year against a U.S. mean of $60,050 — a factor of 0.986 — so the labor half is scaled by that and the material half is not. Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 for the Iowa City, IA metro area, SOC 47-2051.
  • Why the city matters, not just the state. Trade pay moves inside a state as much as it does between states. Crews do not commute across a state to bid a job, and materials ship at national prices either way — so a metro wage is the honest input here and a state average quietly rounds four different cities into one number.
  • Short pour season. 143 freezing days a year in Iowa City. ACI 306 cold-weather protection — blankets, heated water, or waiting — is a real line item here, not boilerplate.
  • What is in the price: breaking out the slab at the perimeter, the drain tile and gravel, a wall vapour barrier, re-pouring the concrete, a sump pit and pump.
  • What is not: a battery backup pump, exterior grading and downspout work, foundation crack injection, and finishing the basement afterwards. These are the lines that turn a $11,154 quote into a $13,943 invoice, so ask about each one before signing.
  • Use this as a bid check, not a quote. It prices an average job in average condition. Difficult access, the state of what is being replaced, the season, and a crew booked out three months all move the real number, and none of them are in a per-unit average.

interior basement waterproofing in Iowa City, IA

$11,154 is the typical number, and three bids on the same scope normally land between $7,436 and $16,360.

That is $96 less than the same job priced at the national average.

Why the city changes the number

About 60% of this job is labor — $6,693 of the $11,154 above. Labor is the only part that moves locally; a bundle of material costs what it costs wherever it is nailed down.

Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers near Iowa City average $59,200 a year, against a U.S. mean of $60,050. That is a factor of 0.986, so the labor half is scaled by it and the material half is not.

Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 for the Iowa City, IA metro area, SOC 47-2051.

What the quote should include

Short pour season

The lines that turn a quote into an invoice

Ask about each of them before you sign. On a job this size they are the difference between $11,154 and something a quarter higher.

Use it as a bid check, not a quote

This prices an average job in average condition. Access, the state of what is being replaced, the season, and a crew booked out three months all move the real number, and none of them are in a national average.

If a bid lands outside $7,436 – $16,360, that is not automatically wrong — but it is the question worth asking out loud.

Nearby sizes

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