Sewer & Drain · Nashville, TN
Septic Inspection in Nashville
The tank opened, its levels and baffles checked and the field walked, for a sale or because the yard has started to smell.
Estimate request
Tell us which drain is backing up
Sent straight to us, day or night. We respond immediately.
Septic Inspection in Nashville, Tennessee
The tank opened, its levels and baffles checked and the field walked, for a sale or because the yard has started to smell.
For septic inspection, Nashville's Sewer and Drain works across Middle Tennessee — licensed, insured, with the price in writing before the work starts. Drain and sewer crews who clear the stoppage first, then put a camera down the line and show you what caused it.
Why homeowners call
Signs that bring people to us for this
- Sewage coming up a floor drain
- Every drain in the house slow at once
- Gurgling toilet when the washer drains
- Sewer smell in the yard or basement
- A soggy, sunken strip over the sewer line
- Roots back in the line every year
- Sump pump running and running
What is included
What our septic inspection work includes
- Tank found from records, a probe or the camera
- Lids dug up and opened
- Liquid level checked against the outlet pipe
- Sludge and scum depths measured
- Inlet and outlet baffles inspected
- Tank pumped so the walls and floor can be seen
- Distribution box and field lines walked and probed
- Written report on the tank and the field
How Septic Inspection goes, from cleanout to final pass
The first reading is the liquid level. In a working tank it sits at the bottom of the outlet pipe. Above that, effluent isn’t leaving, and the field, the outlet line or a clogged effluent filter is holding it back. Below it, the tank is leaking out somewhere it shouldn’t.
Baffles keep floating grease and settled solids inside the tank. Older concrete baffles are eaten away by the gases in the tank and drop off, and once the outlet baffle is gone, solids flow straight out to the field and start sealing the soil. A missing baffle is cheap to fix and expensive to ignore.
For a home sale we inspect with the tank pumped, so the walls and floor can be seen along with the baffles. A tank that is only opened and looked at from the top tells you its level and little else. Ask the seller for the permit records too; they often show the tank size and the field length the system was approved with.
The field is checked on foot. We look for wet ground or bright green stripes over the lines, probe for saturated trenches and open the distribution box, where a box that has settled out of level sends most of the effluent down one line until that line fails.
Also available
Other sewer, drain and septic work
Septic Services
Tanks, fields and grinder pumps for homes off the city sewer or sitting below it, from the first inspection to a new system.
Learn moreSeptic System Installation
A new tank and field laid out to the soil and the state or county permit, sized for the bedrooms in the house.
Learn moreSeptic Repair
Broken baffles, cracked lids, crushed lines and saturated field lines repaired once the cause is known.
Learn moreGrinder Pump Installation
A grinder pump and basin for a house that sits below the sewer main, wired with a high-water alarm.
Learn moreService area
Sewer and drain calls we take across Middle Tennessee
Our trucks reach Nashville and 100 more towns in 12 counties, and we take sewer and septic calls anywhere within about an hour of the city.
FAQ
Septic Inspection: what people ask first
What does a septic inspection include?
Locating and opening the tank, checking the liquid level against the outlet, measuring sludge and scum, inspecting the baffles and effluent filter, and walking the field for wet ground and odor. For a sale we also pump the tank so its walls and floor can be seen, open the distribution box and give a written report of what we found.
Should I get a septic inspection before buying a house in Tennessee?
Yes, even where the sale contract doesn’t require one. A failing field can need full replacement under a new permit, and nothing at a showing in a dry month reveals its condition. Order the inspection inside the contract’s inspection period, and ask the seller for the system’s permit and pumping records.
Should a septic tank be pumped before it is inspected?
Pumped during the inspection, ideally. The inspector needs to see the liquid level before pumping, because that shows whether the field is accepting water, and then the empty tank, to check the baffles, walls and floor for cracks. A tank pumped a day or two ahead of the inspection hides that first reading.
How long does a septic system last?
A concrete tank can last for decades, and the field usually sets the life of the system, commonly twenty years or more with good care. Overloading it with water, skipping pumping so solids reach the lines, and driving over it all shorten that. Some fields last far longer, and an inspection tells you which kind you have.
Free estimate
Book septic inspection with our crew
Call or write to Nashville's Sewer and Drain with what the drains are doing; we clear the line first and price any repair from the camera footage.