24/7 Drain Cleaning & Sewer Service in Nashville, TN

East Nashville, Edgefield, Lockeland Springs, Germantown, Salemtown and North Nashville have homes from the 1880s through the 1930s, many on crawlspaces with clay laterals.

Neighborhoods like Belmont-Hillsboro, 12 South, Sylvan Park and Inglewood were built from the 1910s through the 1950s with bungalows and Tudors.

Postwar neighborhoods across Davidson County, from Donelson to Bellevue and Antioch, were built from the 1950s through the 1970s with ranches, many on crawlspaces.

Since the 2010s, thousands of older homes have been torn down and replaced with tall-and-skinny duplexes and new builds, often connected to old laterals or mains.

Nashville sits on limestone close to the surface, which makes digging hard and creates sinkholes in places, and parts of the older core have combined sewers.

Metro Water Services runs the sewer system for Nashville and Davidson County. Metro homeowners are responsible for the private service line from the house to the public sewer.

Spring storms bring heavy rain that floods creeks, overloads older sewers and pushes water into cracked lines, as the 2010 flood showed. Roots grow fastest from May through August.

Winter cold snaps and ice storms can freeze pipes in crawlspaces and exterior walls.

East Nashville, across the Cumberland River from downtown, has Victorian and Craftsman homes in Edgefield, Lockeland Springs and Inglewood, many on crawlspaces. A 1998 tornado damaged much of the area, and restoration since has brought new life. Clay laterals under big trees are often the original pipe, and roots and cracks are common. Many older homes have been joined by new infill on subdivided lots.

Nashville's building boom has replaced many small homes with pairs of tall, narrow houses on the same lot, nicknamed tall and skinnies. New homes get new plumbing inside, but sometimes connect to an old lateral or share a connection to an old main. Problems often show up where new pipe meets old. A camera inspection on a new build can reveal issues the builder didn't address.

Middle Tennessee sits on limestone that comes close to the surface in many neighborhoods. Sewer lines were sometimes laid shallow or blasted into rock. Digging to repair them is slow and costly, so lining and pipe bursting are popular. Limestone also dissolves over time, creating sinkholes that can undermine pipe.

In May 2010, more than 13 inches of rain fell in two days, and the Cumberland River and its creeks flooded large parts of Nashville. Sewers overflowed and basements and crawlspaces filled. Since then, Metro has invested in flood control and sewer upgrades, and many homeowners in low areas have added backwater valves.

In June, a couple in a 1920s bungalow in Lockeland Springs sees the bathtub fill with dirty water when the washer drains. The plumber opens the yard cleanout and clears roots about thirty feet out, near a big hackberry. The footage shows cracked clay and a shallow section sitting on rock. They choose a liner to avoid digging through limestone.

Germantown, just north of downtown, has Victorian homes and new construction side by side, along with some of the city's best restaurants. North Nashville, home to Fisk and Tennessee State universities, has older homes with aging clay and cast iron lines.

Belmont-Hillsboro, 12 South and Sylvan Park have bungalows and Tudors from the 1910s through the 1940s on tree-lined streets. Many are now surrounded by new construction. Roots in clay laterals are the most common cause of backups.

Nashville is one of the biggest bachelorette and tourist destinations in the country, and many homes are short-term rentals. Guests flush wipes, feminine products and other items that clog lines. Owners who post clear signs and jet lines regularly avoid emergency calls during busy weekends.

Many Nashville homes, old and postwar, sit on crawlspaces. Drain lines there can leak or separate, and the humid climate keeps crawlspaces damp. A musty or sewer smell is a sign to have the lines checked.

Lower Broadway's honky-tonks, the hot chicken joints and restaurants across Midtown, the Gulch, East Nashville and Germantown fry a lot of food. Commercial kitchens keep running through tourist weekends by pumping interceptors on a short schedule.

Nashville's winters are mild, but ice storms and occasional arctic blasts freeze crawlspace pipes and exterior walls. Close crawlspace vents in cold snaps and let faucets drip.

After World War II, Nashville spread out into Donelson, Madison, Bellevue, Antioch and Hermitage with brick ranches, most on crawlspaces, built for families working at the Avco plant, the state government and the growing insurance and music industries. Those homes typically have cast iron under the house and clay or early plastic laterals to the street. Seventy years later, the cast iron is scaled and the clay has picked up roots from the oaks, maples and hackberries that grew up with the neighborhoods. Descaling and root cutting usually get the line flowing again, and the camera tells the owner whether a liner is the next step.

Mill Creek, Browns Creek, Richland Creek and the Cumberland itself all flooded in 2010, and the neighborhoods along them still sit on lower ground with higher groundwater. Cracked laterals there take in water after every big storm. Repairing the cracks, disconnecting any downspouts tied into the sewer and adding a backwater valve help keep crawlspaces and lower levels dry.

Share your neighborhood and the home's age, whether it's an older home or a new build, whether it's on a crawlspace and whether it's a short-term rental. Mention big trees near the line and whether heavy rain came first.