Demolition in Minnetonka, where the lots are big and the ground is rarely flat

Big parcels, long driveways and wooded slopes

Plenty of Minnetonka houses sit a long way from the road. A driveway that winds a few hundred feet through oaks is pleasant to live with and awkward to demolish from, because every load of debris has to travel that distance and every truck has to turn around somewhere. An old blacktop drive can rut under loaded trucks, so the contractor weighs mats, smaller equipment, or replacing the drive anyway.

Grade is the other half of the access question. Many lots fall away toward a lake, a wetland or a ravine, and a house that looks level from the front often has a walkout or a tall foundation wall in back. Equipment needs stable ground, debris piles cannot sit where a storm will wash them downhill, and on a steep or heavily treed lot the staging plan often separates one bid from another.

What the ground is made of between the lakes

Under the topsoil, most of Minnetonka is glacial till: dense clay mixed with stones, with pockets and lenses of sand where meltwater once ran. Clay holds water and drains slowly. Sand drains fast but can slump when it is cut. One lot can have both, which is why one basement stays dry while the house across the street fights seepage every spring.

Water sits high near the lakes, the creek and the countless small wetlands. When a basement comes out, the hole can collect groundwater, and wet clay is miserable to compact. That affects what fill goes back in and how it is placed, a process explained step by step on the house demolition page.

Shoreland, creek banks and the watershed district

Minnetonka is threaded with protected water. Lake Minnetonka touches the city's western edge, Minnehaha Creek runs out of the lake and winds east through the city, and dozens of smaller ponds and marshes are mapped as wetlands. Work close to any of them can fall under state shoreland rules administered through the city, and under the watershed district that oversees that drainage area.

A demolition near water may draw questions about erosion control, buffer strips and the finished lot. Silt fence, rock at the construction entrance and prompt seeding are typical requests. The exact requirements depend on where the parcel sits, so confirm them early rather than after the excavator arrives.

The houses that come down here

The most common Minnetonka teardown is a modest postwar rambler or story-and-a-half on a lot that is now worth far more than the house. Close behind are lake places that started as seasonal cabins and were expanded in stages.

Those patchwork houses carry surprises. One section may sit on a full basement while an addition sits on a crawlspace or a slab. Older siding, flooring, ceiling texture and pipe wrap can contain asbestos, and paint from before the late seventies may contain lead. Any asbestos found during the required pre-demolition inspection is removed by an abatement specialist before machines touch the structure.

Barns, outbuildings, pools and lakeside concrete

Large parcels collect structures: a detached garage, a pole barn from when the area was more rural, a gazebo or a sagging deck. The garage and shed demolition page covers how those come down.

Older in-ground pools turn up too; the pool removal page explains the options. Lake lots also tend to have concrete steps, landings and old retaining walls running down toward the water. Removing them on a slope beside a shoreline is slow, careful work.

Mature trees the city expects you to protect

The canopy is a big part of why people buy in Minnetonka, and the city takes tree preservation seriously on redevelopment. A teardown-and-rebuild may need a plan showing which trees stay and where protective fencing and equipment routes go.

Roots spread far beyond the drip line, and the damage from compacting soil over them may not show for a few seasons. Oaks need extra care because wounding them during the growing season can invite oak wilt, a disease that spreads through connected roots. A good plan routes equipment along the driveway or the old footprint and keeps debris off the root zones.

Permits and how review tends to go in Minnetonka

The city issues its own demolition permit, and like most Twin Cities suburbs it generally wants to see that gas and electric service are disconnected, that the asbestos survey is complete, and that the sewer service will be capped where the city can inspect it. Call Gopher State One Call before any digging so buried lines are marked.

Minnetonka adds a few local wrinkles worth knowing about:

• Teardowns in established neighborhoods can come with expectations about notifying neighbors, working hours and keeping the street clean.
• Parcels near lakes, the creek or mapped wetlands may need sign-off tied to shoreland and watershed rules before work starts.
• Some older properties were served by a private well at one time; an unused well has to be sealed under state health department rules, so ask whether one exists on the lot.
• Homes in planned developments may also answer to an association with its own rules on containers, hours and contractor parking.

Seasons, road limits and timing

Demolition can run through a Minnesota winter, and frozen ground can help on a soft lot. Frozen fill does not compact properly, though, so winter jobs often finish grading after the thaw.

Spring brings road load limits that restrict heavy trucks on many local roads while the frost comes out, which can slow hauling. The best stretch for seeding and sod runs from late summer into early fall, so a lot finished then can be green before snow. If your property is closer to the southwest suburbs, the Eden Prairie page covers that area, and the full list of communities is on the areas page.

Common questions here

The work, by type

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