Paver Driveways in Minneapolis, MN

Paver driveways carry loads a patio never sees: a car turning its wheels in place, a delivery truck backing in, and a snow shovel or plow blade scraping across the surface all winter. That changes almost everything about the build. The base goes deeper, the pavers are thicker, edge restraint matters more, and in Minneapolis the first question is often not what the driveway looks like but whether the city allows it where you want it.

City rules before design

On many Minneapolis lots, the driveway runs from the alley to a detached garage, and the city's curb cut page says driveways from the street are not allowed for homes with one to three units that have alley access. Each home may have only one driveway. Where a street driveway is allowed, the apron in the public right of way must be 8 to 16 feet wide, needs city approval through plan review and a sidewalk inspection permit, and must be built by a sidewalk contractor licensed in Minneapolis. Work on your own lot also counts toward the impervious surface cap for your zoning district. We sort these out at the estimate, and if an apron is involved we tell you which part of the work needs the licensed sidewalk contractor.

The vehicular base

Unilock's guidance for driveways is 8 to 12 inches of compacted base, compared with 4 to 6 inches for walkways, and more on clay or poorly draining soil. In the Twin Cities, where frost goes deep and spring thaw saturates the ground, the lower end of that range is not where we start. The aggregate goes in and is compacted in lifts of a few inches, the excavation extends past the paved edge, and the finished surface pitches toward the street, alley or a drain rather than the garage slab or the house.

Pavers for cars

Driveway pavers are generally thicker than patio pavers, and patterns such as herringbone lock together better under turning tires than straight running bond. Large thin slabs that work on a patio are a poor fit for traffic. We match the product to the load and point out any manufacturer limits on vehicular use.

Standard or permeable

Permeable driveway pavers let rain and snowmelt pass through stone-filled joints into a deep stone reservoir. Angi lists permeable driveways at $15 to $25 per square foot against $10 to $18 for standard concrete pavers. In Minneapolis, pervious pavement that treats runoff from your own property can qualify for a stormwater utility credit of 35 percent, or 45 percent in a Green Zone. The tradeoffs are cost, a deeper excavation and periodic vacuum sweeping.

Winter care

Plows and shovels are fine on a well-built paver driveway, though a plow shoe or rubber edge reduces chipping. Rock salt and other de-icers can wear some paver surfaces over time; ask the manufacturer what they recommend for your product. On permeable pavers, avoid spreading sand, which clogs the joints.