A plumber in Falls Church.
A plumber for Falls Church houses and condos, City and county side: low pressure, slow drains, sewer laterals and basement backups, priced before we start.
Drain cleaning for one fixture is $200 to $800 and toilet repair is $250 to $900, from our published price list.
- Prices in writing, first
- Camera before any dig
- Dedicated plumbing team
Get your plumbing job priced
Galvanized pipe, old laterals, and a City that helps pay for a backflow valve.
Nearly half the homes in West Falls Church and Lake Barcroft went up before 1960, and so did a third of the City’s. Houses that age were plumbed with galvanized steel, which rusts closed from the inside, and drain through cast iron, so the first signs are usually weak pressure in an upstairs shower and a basement drain that won’t stay clear.
Inside the City there’s help with one of those. Since December 2019 the City has run a pilot program that covers up to half of what a sewer backflow preventer costs, $2,000 at most, for houses on the City sewer that have already had sewage come up in heavy rain. The house has to be clean first: the plumber certifies that no roof downspout, sump pump or outside floor drain is tied into the sewer lateral, because City Code bans those connections.
A downspout or sump pump piped into the sewer was once an easy way to keep a basement dry, and the City takes them seriously: it says one sump pump can put as much water into the sanitary sewer as 26 homes do on an average day. Under the program, that discharge moves out to daylight on your own lot, never through the curb, before any money is paid back.
The program is for homes connected to the City’s own sanitary sewer, so check that first. On either side of the line, a sewer camera inspection shows whether a backup is roots, a sag or a broken joint before any shovel comes out.
What’s in the walls across Falls Church.
Census figures for each place, and the pipe that usually goes with houses that age. Median year built and heat count owner-occupied homes only.
| Place | Median home built | Most homes are | Heated with | The pipe you usually find |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Falls Church | 1957 | single-family houses, about 6 in 10 | gas, about 7 in 10 | Galvanized supply on the oldest streets, cast iron drains. |
| Bailey’s Crossroads | 1980 | condo and apartment buildings, about 6 in 10 | electricity, about 5 in 10 | Condo buildings: shared risers, your own supply lines and fixtures. |
| Idylwood | 1975 | condo and apartment buildings, about 4 in 10 | gas, about 5 in 10 | Condo buildings: shared risers, your own supply lines and fixtures. |
| City of Falls Church | 1964 | condo and apartment buildings, about 5 in 10 | gas, about 7 in 10 | Condo buildings: shared risers, your own supply lines and fixtures. |
| Lake Barcroft | 1958 | single-family houses, about 6 in 10 | gas, about 8 in 10 | Galvanized supply on the oldest streets, cast iron drains. |
| Seven Corners | 1972 | condo and apartment buildings, about 5 in 10 | gas, about 6 in 10 | Condo buildings: shared risers, your own supply lines and fixtures. |
| Pimmit Hills | 1961 | single-family houses, about 7 in 10 | gas, about 9 in 10 | Galvanized supply on the oldest streets, cast iron drains. |
Falls Church houses, by the numbers
From the Census Bureau’s 2020 to 2024 survey. Median year built and heat count owner-occupied homes only.
The City of Falls Church
ZIP 22046, plus a few City addresses in 22042 and 22044.
- Median home built1964 Census
- Built before 1980about 6 in 10 Census
- Built since 2000about 3 in 10 Census
- Most homes arecondo and apartment buildings, about 5 in 10 Census
- Heated withgas, about 7 in 10 Census
- Rentedabout 5 in 10 Census
- Houses from before 1960 were plumbed in galvanized steel, which narrows with rust from the inside until the pressure goes.
- Houses built before 1980 mostly drain through cast iron, which rusts through along the bottom of the pipe.
The Fairfax County side
22041 to 22044: West Falls Church, Idylwood, Lake Barcroft, Seven Corners and Bailey’s Crossroads.
What a plumber costs in Falls Church.
The same list as our plumbing page, every line a range because the house decides where it lands. You get the number before the work starts.
- Drain cleaning, one fixture$200 to $800
- Main sewer line cleaning$550 to $1,650
- Sewer camera inspection, added to a visit$89
- Leak detection$200 to $500
- Toilet repair$250 to $900
- Pressure reducing valve replacement$500 to $1,000
- Water heater replacement$2,757 to $10,486
A sewer camera inspection is $89 added to a visit we’re already making. It’s the cheapest way to know what a drain is doing before anybody talks about digging.
With Comfort+ membership, any service is 15% off, and a water heater flush with a sewer camera inspection and a plumbing safety inspection comes every year.
What a plumbing problem in Falls Church usually looks like.
Sewage at the floor drain after a downpour
When heavy rain leaks into the sanitary sewer, the pipe can fill and push sewage back up the lowest drain in the house. A backwater valve on the lateral stops it, and inside the City the program above pays back part of one.
Pressure that drops a little every year
Galvanized steel supply pipe rusts from the inside, so the pressure falls slowly until a shower upstairs is a trickle. The fix is new pipe, not a new faucet.
A sewer smell you can’t place
Old cast iron drain pipe rusts through along the bottom where the water sits. A smell with no source, or a basement floor drain that backs up, is the usual sign, and the camera tells you for sure.
Water where it shouldn’t be
A damp patch on a ceiling, a warm spot on the floor, a meter that keeps ticking with every tap off. A slow leak inside a wall does most of its damage before it ever shows itself.
After a storm in Falls Church, check the basement drains.
Heavy rain finds the weak spots in a house’s plumbing. Four checks you can make yourself, then call us and we’ll look at the rest.
Water coming up a floor drain?
Clear water with no smell is usually groundwater. Gray water, or a sewer smell, means the main line is backing up: stop running water in the house and call us.
Drains slow or gurgling since the rain?
A main line with a cracked joint or roots in it can take in groundwater during a storm and slow down. A sewer camera inspection, $89 added to a visit, shows where.
Is the sump pump running?
If the house has one, watch it once: it should start as the pit fills, empty it and shut off. Our sump pump replacement page has the rest of the checks.
Did water reach the water heater?
If floodwater got to a gas water heater’s burner or controls, leave it off. Don’t relight it until a plumber has checked it.
Call us after a storm and we’ll check it all: the floor drains, the main line, the sump pump and the water heater. Any repair gets its price in writing before the work starts.
Who owns what under the street in Falls Church.
City of Falls Church
The City of Falls Church says the property owner owns the sewer lateral up to the City’s main and is responsible for keeping it up; Public Works takes no responsibility for the stretch between the house and the main. Source.
Fairfax Water has run the City’s water system since January 3, 2014, and its rules hold inside the City: a minimum of 20 psi at the main in the street, no promise of an even pressure, and a pressure reducing valve that is the customer’s to buy, install and keep up. Source.
The City’s Backflow Prevention Reimbursement Pilot Program, approved in December 2019, pays back up to 50 percent of installing a sewer backflow preventer, $2,000 at most, for a house on the City sewer with a documented backup. A licensed plumber installs it under a City plumbing permit, and it has to pass final inspection. Source.
City Code prohibits roof downspouts, sump pumps and exterior floor drains connected to the sanitary lateral. Their discharge has to come out on the owner’s own lot, in the open or through a pop-up emitter, and piping it through the curb has been prohibited since 2016. Source.
Fairfax County
In Fairfax County the homeowner owns the whole sewer lateral, from the house to the county main, including the stretch under the street. Replacing it takes a county plumbing permit, plus a VDOT permit under a state road. Source.
How to pick the best plumber in Falls Church.
Questions worth asking anybody who comes out, us included.
Have they done the City’s backflow program paperwork before?
The City wants a licensed plumber, a City plumbing permit, a passed final inspection and a certification that nothing illegal is tied into the sewer line. Ask whether they’ve been through it, before the valve goes in.
Is the plumber licensed in Virginia?
Anyone can check on the state’s license lookup in about a minute. It’s the one question that takes the guesswork out of the rest.
Will they put a camera in before they talk about digging?
A sewer camera inspection is cheap next to any dig, and it shows whether the problem is a root, a sag or a break. A quote to dig without one is a guess.
Do you get the price before the work?
Every plumbing job on our list has a range. A plumber who won’t say where yours lands until the wall’s open is asking for a blank check.
What our customers say.
Tyson was helpful, patient, and great to work with! He helped diagnose the cause of a leak narrow down what appliance needed fixing. Will definitely use Swift again!
5.0 stars across 884 Google reviews. Read them on our reviews page.
Plumbing questions from Falls Church.
Will the City of Falls Church help with a backflow preventer?
Up to half the cost, no more than $2,000, if the house is on the City’s sanitary sewer and the backup is documented from before you apply: a report to the City, a licensed plumber’s record or a receipt from a sewer cleaning company. The preventer goes in under a City plumbing permit and has to pass final inspection, and the City reviews the application within 30 business days. It’s a pilot, so it depends on City funding.
Can my sump pump drain into the sewer line in the City of Falls Church?
No. A sump pump, downspout or outside drain tied into the sewer line breaks City Code, and it has to be rerouted to drain on your own lot. Putting in a new sump pump there takes a City building permit rather than a plumbing one.
Do you work inside the condo buildings in the City and Seven Corners?
Yes, inside the unit: supply lines, shutoffs, fixtures, the water heater in the closet. Risers and the main stack are normally the association’s, so if a leak is coming from the unit above, we’ll tell you whose it is and who to call.
How much does a plumber cost in Falls Church?
It depends on the job, and every one has a published range: drain cleaning for one fixture $200 to $800, main sewer line cleaning $550 to $1,650, leak detection $200 to $500, a pressure reducing valve replacement $500 to $1,000, toilet repair $250 to $900. A sewer camera inspection added to a visit is $89.
Plumbers in the towns next door.
- Plumbing in Dunn Loring
- Plumbing in Arlington
- Plumbing in Annandale
- Plumbing in McLean
- Plumbing in Vienna
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Tell us what the water is doing.
Call, or book online and pick a window. You get the price before the work, and if it can wait, we’ll tell you that too.
SwiftPro Heating, Cooling & Plumbing is a licensed, BBB Accredited (A rating), independently owned heating, cooling and plumbing company in Chantilly, serving Falls Church and the rest of Northern Virginia. Virginia contractor license #2705192276. 5.0 stars across 884 Google reviews. SwiftPro maintains a dedicated HVAC team and a dedicated plumbing team.
SwiftPro Heating, Cooling & Plumbing, 4230 Lafayette Center Dr, Suite N, Chantilly, VA 20151, (703) 997-9757. Book online, read our reviews, or see every town we serve.