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There are seven villages in the Amana Colonies: Amana, East Amana, High Amana, Middle Amana, South Amana, West Amana and Homestead. German Pietists settled them in the 1850s, and the residents lived communally until 1932. The area became a National Historic Landmark in 1965. A-1 Sewer Service drives out from our shop off Bay Ridge Ave on the south side of Iowa City, about 35 minutes away, to clear drains, replace water heaters and handle plumbing in the Amanas. Call (319) 600-4224 or use the contact form.
Many buildings in the villages are more than 150 years old. They were put up with local sandstone, brick and heavy timber. The foundations are thick, the crawl spaces are tight, and the basement walls were never meant to be dry in the way a modern basement is. The plumbing has been changed many times since, and the pipes you find in a wall might be from any decade.
That kind of house needs patience. We don't assume what works in a 1998 subdivision will work here. We look at how the pipes run, think about where we can get access without damaging anything, and tell you what's realistic. If you own a historic house, you probably know it has quirks. We try to leave it the way we found it, apart from the pipe we came to fix. Most drain cleaning doesn't touch the structure at all.
The villages once had 55 communal kitchens where residents ate together. Today the food tradition continues in family-style restaurants, bakeries, meat shops and wineries. More meals means more grease, and grease is the main enemy of a commercial drain. A restaurant that serves hundreds of people on a fall weekend can load a line faster than you'd expect. If the drain backs up during dinner, you lose the evening.
We clear drains and repair plumbing for local businesses, and we'd rather you call us before a backup than after one. Bed and breakfasts and inns have their own version of this problem, since guest bathrooms add up over a busy season.
The Amanas sit in the Iowa River valley, with fields, woods and low ground around the villages. Old stone basements can seep when the water table is high, and some of the buildings have crawl spaces that stay damp most of the year. A sump pump is a modern fix for a building designed without one, and it only helps if the discharge line carries water far enough away. Downspouts that empty by the foundation cancel out a lot of that effort.
We install and replace sump pumps, extend downspouts and run buried drain lines. If a basement keeps taking on water in one spot, we'll walk through the waterproofing options with you. In a historic building we'll choose the approach that disturbs the least.
Everyone in the villages needs hot water, and the layouts are unusual. Utility space can be a corner of a stone cellar or a closet that was never meant for a tank. Replacing a heater can mean working around a thick wall or a low beam. A tankless unit is much smaller than a tank, so it often fits where a new tank wouldn't. We install both types and we'll work with the room you have. The water heater installation page explains how it goes.
We also install faucets, sinks, toilets, tubs and showers, and repair leaks. The plumber page lists what we do. If you're renovating an old house in one of the villages and want a plumber who is used to working carefully around age, call us.
We work in all of them: Amana, East Amana, High Amana, Middle Amana, South Amana, West Amana and Homestead, along with the farms and houses in between. The Amanas are about 25 miles from Iowa City, close to Tiffin and not far from Cedar Rapids. We also serve Iowa City and Coralville. The drain cleaning page explains how our drain cleaning works, and the projects page has finished jobs.
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“Fantastic service! Called, told him the bottom of my water heater is leaking, sent him pics of everything and he was out the next day replacing it at a reasonable price! Highly recommend 👌 Thank you!”
“10 Stars if I could. Coming from someone who builds systems and processes for a 9 figure company, Andy does it all right and keeps it simple. Easy to find in search, stands out in reviews, easy to see why. Answered the phone 8am first try, flexible to when I needed, arrived within hours of first contact. Followups easy in text. Got pertinent info, walked the house, got to work, fixed it and another issue after quick run to store for parts. More than reasonable price. In my phone for next time if I ever need it! Thanks Andy!”
“I’ve had a recurring issue for years with my floor drain backing up. Andy at A1 Sewer Services was the first one to do a more thorough inspection rather than just clearing out the line. He also discovered a crack in my clean out which I had him repair to prevent worse issues down the road. I highly recommend A1 for sewer and drain issues.”
Yes, carefully. Tell us about the building when you call. Most drain cleaning is done without changing anything in the structure.
We help local businesses with drains and plumbing. Describe what's happening and we'll tell you how we can help.
The Amanas are part of our service area. It's about 35 minutes from our shop on the south side of Iowa City, a little more or less depending on the village. Call (319) 600-4224 with your village and address and we'll tell you when we can be there.
For a clogged kitchen line, a damp stone basement or a water heater at the end of its life, call A-1 Sewer Service at (319) 600-4224 or send a message through the contact page.
Drain cleaning and plumbing from our shop off Bay Ridge Ave on the south side of Iowa City.