Driveway Paving Alone Skips the Building Permit. Raised Patios Don't.
Metro Codes publishes a list of projects that do and do not need a building permit when the work is not part of a new building or an addition. Driveway paving and sidewalks are on the no-permit side, for one- and two-family homes and for every other kind of building[1].
Two residential concrete jobs are on the other side of that list. A new patio more than 6 inches above average grade needs a building permit, and so does any foundation larger than 400 square feet[2]. Metro Nashville has adopted the 2024 International Residential Code[3].
What that means for your project
- A patio at ground level behind the house is usually the simple case. A patio built up on a sloped yard can cross the 6-inch line, and then it needs a permit.
- A foundation over 400 square feet, such as for a 20 by 24 foot garage (480 square feet), needs one. See foundations and slabs.
At the Street, NDOT Is in Charge
No building permit does not mean no permit. Any work in Nashville's public right-of-way needs an NDOT permit, applied for through ePermits at least 2 business days before work starts[4]. That can include a driveway apron where it meets the street.
NDOT also says it handles Nashville's sidewalks, including repairs, but that Metro will not replace private hardscaping an owner has built inside the public right-of-way[5]. If you want a stamped border or a decorative apron that runs into that strip, know that if it is ever torn up for street or sidewalk work, Metro will not be the one replacing it.
New Concrete Can Raise Your Metro Stormwater Fee
It can. Metro Water Services bills homes a monthly stormwater fee based on impervious square footage, and driveways, patios and concrete all count[6]. The residential tiers are:
- Under 400 square feet: no charge.
- 400 to 2,000 square feet: $1.50 a month.
- 2,001 to 6,000 square feet: $6.00 a month.
- Over 6,000 square feet: $11.00 a month.
Watch the tier line
The fee jumps at the tier edges, not by the foot. A home counted at 1,900 square feet of hard surface that adds a 300 square foot patio lands at 2,200 and moves from $1.50 to $6.00 a month. A home already at 3,000 square feet can add the same patio and stay in its tier. Ask Metro Water Services how your property is counted before you settle on a size.
Carbonate Rock, Rain and 66 Freezing Nights
Nashville sits in the Central Basin, which USGS describes as mostly underlain by carbonate rocks of Ordovician age, with thinner soils and more sinkholes in its flatter inner part[7]. That is a regional picture, not a map of your street, so the ground under your slab still gets looked at on site.
At Nashville International Airport, NOAA normals show about 66 days a year with a low at or below freezing and about 50.5 inches of precipitation[8]. Freeze-thaw and wet ground are both in play, and NRMCA recommends 4,000 psi concrete for exterior slabs that stay damp, freeze and see deicers[9]. It also recommends a breathable silane- or siloxane-based sealer before winter, with late summer after a few dry days as the ideal time to apply it[10].
What to Ask Any Nashville Bidder
Our estimate is line-item and written before the pour, with no change orders you did not sign. Every pour we do gets a compacted base, control joints and rebar or fiber reinforcement. The base and reinforcement are the parts you cannot see once the concrete is down, so ask every bidder whether their price includes them.
Older Nashville Homes: Repair Before You Replace
Nashville-Davidson (balance) had about 690,000 residents and a median housing-unit build year of 1987 in the Census's 2020-2024 estimates[11]. Half the housing was built in 1987 or earlier.
Settled but in one piece? Price mudjacking or polyfoam leveling before a tear-out. Broken up or heaving? Then replacement, with the old concrete broken out and hauled away. For a shop, office or retail property, commercial flatwork covers lots, pads and ADA ramps, scheduled around your business hours.
A Recent Pour in Nashville
A commercial pad in Nashville is one of the recent pours shown on our homepage. For how we plan and pour that kind of job, see commercial flatwork.
Sources
- List of Building Projects Which May or May Not Require a Permit - Metro Nashville Codes (PDF). https://www.nashville.gov/sites/default/files/2022-09/Building-Permit-Required.pdf
- List of Building Projects Which May or May Not Require a Permit - Metro Nashville Codes (PDF). https://www.nashville.gov/sites/default/files/2022-09/Building-Permit-Required.pdf
- Adopted Codes for Metro Nashville - Nashville.gov. https://www.nashville.gov/departments/codes/codes-administration/adopted-codes-list
- Nashville Department of Transportation Permits - Nashville.gov. https://www.nashville.gov/departments/transportation/permits
- NDOT Sidewalk Projects - Nashville.gov. https://www.nashville.gov/departments/transportation/projects/sidewalks
- Water, Sewer and Stormwater Rates - Metro Water Services, Nashville.gov. https://www.nashville.gov/departments/water/customers/rates
- Characteristics of Karst Aquifers in Tennessee - USGS WRI Report 97-4097. https://pubs.usgs.gov/wri/wri974097/text/karst.html
- NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020, Nashville International Airport (USW00013897). https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/data/normals-annualseasonal/1991-2020/access/USW00013897.csv
- CIP 2 - Scaling Concrete Surfaces, Concrete in Practice series - National Ready Mixed Concrete Association (2014 rev.). https://www.nrmca.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/02pr.pdf
- CIP 2 - Scaling Concrete Surfaces - National Ready Mixed Concrete Association. https://www.nrmca.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/02pr.pdf
- Census Reporter API, ACS 2024 5-year, Nashville-Davidson (balance). https://api.censusreporter.org/1.0/data/show/acs2024_5yr?table_ids=B01003,B25001,B25035&geo_ids=16000US4752006