Cheatham County, Tennessee · Ashland City
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With 10% of homes built before 1960 and about 13 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
February brings the most downpours to Cheatham County, part of 12.6 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
10% of homes here predate 1960, when clay and cast iron sewer laterals were standard. Roots and cracks in those lines are a common cause of backups.
In Cheatham County, 4.91 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
8% of occupied homes in Cheatham County heat mainly with wood or propane, close to the Tennessee county median of 7.8%.
About 83 nights a year here stay at 65°F or warmer, so basements and crawl spaces can grow mold even without a leak.
Local risk profile
About 41,829 people live in Cheatham County, 302 square miles in northern Tennessee, in roughly 17,449 homes. The county seat is Ashland City, and Pleasant View, Kingston Springs and Pegram round out the largest towns. Much of its housing is recent, with a median build year of 1992.
43/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Cheatham County ranks 69 of 95 Tennessee counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Cheatham County ranks highest compared with other Tennessee counties.
Cheatham is on the colder side of Tennessee for pipes. From 2015–2024 it averaged 13 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 64 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 18th of 95 counties.
Cold snaps are the real risk. The worst in the record lasted 7 days below freezing (ending February 2021), and the low bottomed out near -2°F on December 23, 2022.
Expect the hardest freezes in January, inside a season that runs December to February. That's when an outdoor spigot left connected to a hose, or a pipe in a crawl space, is most likely to split.
On average the first fall freeze arrives around Nov 6 and the last spring freeze around Mar 27.
Cheatham gets fewer downpours than most Tennessee counties, but they still fill basements. The county gets about 51.2 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 12.6 days of an inch or more (72nd of 95). Those downpours cluster in February, March and April, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 4.91 inches on September 1, 2017. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 6.7 inches (through September 2, 2017).
About 58 days a year swing from below freezing at night to above freezing by day. Those freeze-thaw cycles feed ice dams on roofs, open cracks in foundations and driveways, and stress pipes that are already marginal.
Housing
Tennessee's 95 counties range widely in housing age; Cheatham ranks 87th, with 29% of its homes built before 1980.
Growth since 2000 added 33% of today's homes. In houses that new, the weak points are washing machine hoses, ice maker lines, water heaters and sump pumps rather than the pipes in the walls.
The 1980s and 1990s account for 38% of the county's homes. If yours is from those decades, look under the sinks and at the water heater for gray plastic pipe stamped PB, which is polybutylene and leak-prone.
10% of homes are manufactured or mobile homes, below the Tennessee county median of 15.9%. Their water lines run under the floor behind the skirting, so a torn skirt or failed heat tape freezes them faster than lines in a site-built house.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 83 times a year here, above the Tennessee county median of 74. The EPA recommends keeping indoor humidity below 60%, ideally 30 to 50%. Basements can pass 60% on their own in summer, so a dehumidifier matters even without a leak, and anything wet should be dried within 24 to 48 hours.
Mold remediation: what to expectBy main heating fuel, Cheatham County homes break down as 19% utility gas, 71% electric, 8% propane and under 1% wood. Fires here are likelier to start in the kitchen or the wiring than in the furnace. After any fire, keep the HVAC off until ducts are checked, or soot will travel through the house.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Cheatham County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Dickson and Robertson get more pipe-freeze nights than Cheatham. Davidson County has the oldest housing nearby, with 41% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Cheatham | Tennessee median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 10% | 16% | 85 of 95 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 29% | 41% | 87 of 95 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 33% | 27% | 22 of 95 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 10% | 16% | 74 of 95 |
| Vacant homes | 6.7% | 12% | 89 of 95 |
| Wood or propane heat | 8.2% | 7.8% | 49 of 95 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 13/yr | 11/yr | 18 of 95 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 13/yr | 14/yr | 72 of 95 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 58/yr | 60/yr | 66 of 95 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 83/yr | 74/yr | 27 of 95 |
Rank 1 is the highest value. Bars run from the lowest to the highest Tennessee county; the tick marks the median; orange means higher water damage risk than the median, green means lower.
Questions
Peak risk months in Cheatham County: freezing from December to February, heavy rain in February, March and April.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024 5-year estimates (2020-2024); weather from NOAA nClimGrid-Daily county averages (EpiNOAA), 2015–2024, averaged across the county; county boundaries from Census TIGER. Reviewed 2026-10-21. Methodology