Plumbing, HVAC & Electrical Services in Columbia, TN

Columbia's houses span about two centuries. The West End Historic District runs along West Seventh Street, with homes from the 1800s into the early 1930s, and the West Sixth Street and Mayes Place district sits in the town's earliest residential section. Census estimates put the median home in the city at around 1981. New subdivisions keep going up as well, such as Independence at Carter's Station, Ridgeview Oaks off Tom Sharp Road and Baker Creek off Mooresville Pike.

For you, that range matters. An older house has usually had its plumbing and wiring changed piece by piece over the years. A newer one is more likely to be on its original equipment, reaching its first round of repairs.

Columbia Power & Water Systems (CPWS) supplies water to the City of Columbia and much of Maury County, and it draws that water from the Duck River. CPWS owns the mains and everything up to and including the meter. The pipes on your side of the meter, from the meter box to the last faucet, are yours to keep up.

Sewer inside the city is run by the City of Columbia's Wastewater Department. The line that carries waste from your house to the public sewer main is a private service line, and it belongs to the property owner.

CPWS also provides electric service in Columbia, along with parts of Spring Hill and other areas of Maury County. It buys its power from the Tennessee Valley Authority, and the electric meter on your house is CPWS property. Natural gas in Columbia comes from Atmos Energy. A house on a gas line may have a gas furnace, water heater or range, while an all-electric house runs everything on CPWS power. Which one you have changes what can go wrong and what a fix involves.

Columbia sits in Tennessee's Central Basin, where limestone lies under most of the land. Rainwater slowly dissolves that rock, and sinkholes are common across the basin as a result. Ground that settles unevenly puts strain on anything buried in it: the water line from the meter, the sewer line to the street, and the copper lines that run to an outdoor AC unit. Limestone is also the main source of the calcium that makes water hard, which is worth knowing if you own a water heater.

January's average low in Columbia is below freezing, and summers are hot and humid. When a freeze is coming, the National Weather Service advises wrapping, draining or slowly dripping exposed pipes, and CPWS recommends insulating pipes in unheated spaces like crawl spaces. In summer, long humid stretches keep air conditioners running for hours and their drain lines working constantly.

Inside city limits, the City of Columbia's Development Services office issues permits, and its building inspectors review plans and inspect building, plumbing, mechanical and gas work. Plumbing and mechanical work are permitted separately. Outside city limits, Maury County's Building and Zoning Office handles building permits. Electrical permits in Tennessee go through the State Fire Marshal's Office, except where the state has approved a local program, so it's worth asking which one covers your address.