Start with the floodplain question
The town has adopted a municipal floodplain zoning ordinance, listed as Ordinance 547. Its Building and Codes pages give a number to call about the requirements for grading or filling in a floodplain: (615) 792-6455.
That matters for waterproofing because regrading a yard, bringing in fill to raise soil against a wall and trenching for a drain are all earthwork. If your lot is low, find out where it stands before a company prices the job. The federal flood map takes a street address, and the town can tell you what its ordinance requires.
Which office
- Inside the town limits
- The Ashland City Building and Codes Department, 405 N Main Street. City Hall answers at (615) 792-4211. Permit applications go through the town's online portal.
- Outside the town limits
- Cheatham County Building and Codes, 338 Frey Street, (615) 792-7915. The county office enforces codes in the unincorporated areas and posts its own flood damage prevention regulations.
Houses on a slope
A house built into a hillside collects water on its uphill side. Rain soaks in above, moves down through the soil and arrives at the back wall of the basement or the high side of the crawl space. The first thing to try is at the surface: a swale or a drain across the slope that catches the water before it reaches the wall.
If that is not enough, the uphill wall is a candidate for work from outside, since only one side needs digging. The downhill side usually gives a drain somewhere to empty by gravity, which a flat lot cannot offer.
Who pulls the permit
Cheatham County's Building and Codes office is direct about this: if you hire a contractor, the contractor must be licensed and must obtain the building permit. A homeowner should not take out the permit on the contractor's behalf. If a company asks you to, treat that as a warning and ask why.