Black Sheep Builders is based in Murfreesboro and works across Middle Tennessee. Most of the land we’re asked about is in Rutherford County and the counties around it, where new homes on acreage need the full run of site work: clearing, a pad, a septic system, utilities and a slab.
Rutherford County
Home county. City lots in Murfreesboro and Smyrna, and acreage in the rural communities around them.
- Murfreesboro
- Smyrna
- Christiana
- Rockvale
- Lascassas
- Eagleville
- La Vergne
- Readyville
- Walter Hill
South and east of Rutherford
Farm country on the same Central Basin limestone, with TDEC’s Columbia office handling septic permits in Bedford County.
- Shelbyville
- Bell Buckle
- Wartrace
- Woodbury
Not on the list? Black Sheep works across Middle Tennessee. Call (615) 809-7393 and ask.
Place guides
The ground, place by place.
Sinkholes in Rockvale, pasture in Christiana, creek bottoms in Lascassas, the Duck River in Shelbyville. Each guide covers the land, who issues the permits and the work that comes up most.
- MurfreesboroHome base. City lots on sewer, country lots on septic, and limestone under all of it.
- ChristianaPasture, fence lines and long driveways south of Murfreesboro.
- RockvaleFast-growing country on cave and sinkhole limestone.
- LascassasRolling farmland and creek bottoms northeast of Murfreesboro.
- SmyrnaTown lots on sewer, country lots toward Percy Priest on septic.
- ShelbyvilleHorse and farm country along the Duck River.
Local ground
Red clay, limestone & karst.
Murfreesboro sits in the middle of Tennessee’s Central Basin. Under the pasture is red clay weathered from limestone, often only a few feet thick, and under that is rock that water has been dissolving for ages into sinkholes, caves and springs.
- Clay drains slowly. Septic fields have to be sized for it and kept off-limits to trucks.
- Rock moves around. Limestone can be deep on one side of a lot and shallow on the other.
- Sinkholes need room. Septic setbacks apply, and grading should never send runoff into one.