Sewer & Drain · Nashville, TN
Sewer Excavation in Nashville
Open-trench repair where trenchless will not work, with Tennessee 811 locates first and the yard put back after.
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Tell us which drain is backing up
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Sewer Excavation in Nashville, Tennessee
Open-trench repair where trenchless will not work, with Tennessee 811 locates first and the yard put back after.
For sewer excavation, 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 sewer excavation work includes
- Tennessee 811 notified at least three working days ahead
- Private lines located separately, since 811 doesn’t mark them
- Dig point marked from the camera’s transmitter
- Shoring or a trench box at five feet and deeper
- Spoil kept at least two feet back from the edge
- Rock broken with a hydraulic hammer where limestone is hit
- Backfill compacted in lifts above the new pipe
- Sod, gravel or concrete put back over the trench
How Sewer Excavation goes, from cleanout to final pass
Every dig starts with a Tennessee 811 ticket, which state law requires at least three working days before excavation. The locators mark public lines in the standard colors, green for sewer, red for electric, yellow for gas, but they don’t mark what belongs to you: the sewer lateral itself, irrigation, a line out to the garage. We locate those separately.
OSHA rules call for a protective system in any trench five feet deep or more, whether that is shoring, a trench box or sloped sides, unless it is cut in stable rock. Clay walls look solid and can let go without warning once they dry out or soak through, so we don’t skip it on a short job.
Shallow limestone is the Middle Tennessee wildcard. In some neighborhoods a trench meets a rock ledge not far below the grass, and the original sewer may sit right on top of it with little cover. Breaking rock with a hydraulic hammer is slow going, and when we hit it we stop and talk it through with you before the scope changes.
Clay backfill dumped back into a trench keeps sinking for months. We bed the pipe in stone, then return the soil in thin layers and compact each one, so settling ground can’t drag the pipe out of grade. Even so, a trench line in a lawn usually needs a little topsoil after the first heavy rains, and we say so before the job starts.
Also available
Other sewer, drain and septic work
Sewer Line Repair
Bellies, offset joints, root intrusion and collapsed sections repaired after the camera has shown where and how deep they are.
Learn moreSewer Line Replacement
A new lateral from the foundation to the city connection, dug or trenchless, permitted and inspected before it is covered.
Learn moreCast Iron Pipe Replacement
Scaled, cracked and channel-rotted cast iron under the slab or in the crawl space replaced with PVC before it lets go.
Learn moreOrangeburg Pipe Replacement
Tar-paper sewer pipe laid from the late 1940s into the early 1970s that has flattened into an oval, replaced with a line that keeps its shape.
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
Sewer Excavation: what people ask first
When does a sewer line have to be dug up instead of fixed trenchless?
When the pipe has a defect that no tool working inside it can correct. A deep belly that holds water has to be lifted and relaid on new bedding, and a collapse packed with soil may not let a rod through. A line that needs re-routing around a new addition is dug too. Often only that section is opened, and the rest is still lined.
Does Tennessee 811 mark my sewer line?
No. Tennessee 811 marks the lines owned by its member utilities, and a house’s sewer lateral is private, as are irrigation, landscape lighting and lines to outbuildings. Those need a private locate. For the sewer, we push a camera with a transmitter down the line and trace its signal from the surface, which also gives the depth at each point.
Will a sewer excavation damage my trees?
It can, if the trench runs through the root zone close to the trunk. Cutting major roots on one side of a mature tree can weaken it or kill it over a few years. When a tree sits near the line, we look at whether a trenchless method or a pit placed further out avoids the roots, and where a trench can’t be avoided, we route it as far from the trunk as the pipe allows.
How long does a trench in the yard take to settle after sewer work?
Expect some settling through the first several rains even with careful compaction, because clay soil keeps consolidating for a while. We compact in layers and leave the surface slightly mounded to allow for it. A gentle low spot just needs topsoil and seed. A sharp dip that keeps sinking can mean a void under the surface and is worth a call.
Free estimate
Book sewer excavation 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.