Pavers in Eagan, MN

Pavers in Eagan are less of a guessing game than in many suburbs, because the city spells out what it wants. Eagan's zoning permit page lists patios, driveway replacements and expansions, and sidewalks among the projects that need a zoning permit, and it reviews them for setbacks and hard surface coverage. We build the paperwork into the job from the first visit, so a new patio or wider driveway is approved before excavation starts.

Which Eagan projects need which permit

Here is how the city's own handouts sort the work we do:

• Paver patios: zoning permit (patios, sport courts and tennis courts are listed together)
• Driveway replacement or expansion: zoning permit, plus a right-of-way permit if curb and gutter are removed or replaced
• Walkways and sidewalks: zoning permit
• Retaining walls under 4 feet: zoning permit
• Taller retaining walls: Minnesota's building code exempts only walls up to 4 feet measured from the bottom of the footing to the top, so a taller wall needs a building permit

That measuring rule matters. The buried first course and footing count toward wall height, so a wall that shows 3.5 feet above grade can cross the 4-foot line. We confirm the permit type with Eagan for your wall.

Widening a driveway in Eagan

Many Eagan homes went up during the city's fast growth between 1970 and 2000, and a lot of those driveways were poured for one or two smaller cars. Widening with pavers is a common request. Eagan City Code caps driveway width at 22 feet within the right-of-way, the strip of city land that typically runs 10 to 15 feet behind the curb. Behind that strip you have more room to flare out toward the garage. The city lets you build up to the side lot line but strongly recommends leaving at least 5 feet of turf for drainage and snow storage, and most lots carry a 5-foot drainage and utility easement along the side. Pavers built over an easement are at the owner's risk: the city will not repair damage if a utility crew has to dig. One advantage of interlocking pavers here is that a section lifted for utility work can be relaid with the same units rather than patched with mismatched concrete.

Shoreland lots have a tighter cap

If your parcel falls in Eagan's Shoreland Overlay District, impervious surface is limited to 25% of the whole lot, and any hardcover that does not let water soak in counts against it. Standard pavers count. Permeable pavers, which pass water through open joints into a stone reservoir, are worth asking the Planning department about if a patio or driveway would push you near that limit. We can price both options so you can compare.

How we build for an Eagan winter

Our base follows the depth guidelines from paver manufacturer Unilock: 4 to 6 inches of compacted aggregate for walkways and patios, and 8 to 12 inches for driveways, placed in lifts of 3 to 4 inches because a plate compactor will not properly compact more than that at once. Clay soils get dug deeper. We pitch the surface 1 to 2 percent away from the house and run the base past the paver edge by the same distance as its depth, which keeps edge units from rolling when the ground freezes and thaws.

Services for Eagan homes

• Paver patios sized to fit your setbacks and coverage limit
• Paver driveways and driveway widening within the 22-foot right-of-way rule
• Front walks and side-yard paths
• Segmental retaining walls, with the permit type confirmed with the city
• Fire pits and seating walls
• Releveling of sunken or heaved pavers

Getting started

Call (952) 800-9409 or send a few photos and a rough sketch of your lot. We visit, measure, and give you a written quote that lists base depth, paver type and which Eagan permit the job needs.

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