Sump pump replacement in Herndon.
Sump pump replacement in Herndon: $697 installed in your existing pit. A new pit, a battery backup, outside drain work or new wiring is extra.
- Cast iron pump, quiet check valve
- Extras priced in writing first
- Dedicated plumbing team
Book your sump pump replacement
Basements under most of Herndon, but not under many of the town’s 1970s homes.
The Census doesn’t ask about basements, but Fairfax County’s tax records do, town included. On a Herndon address outside the town line, about 9 in 10 houses and townhouses have one, 92 percent in Franklin Farm. Inside the town it’s closer to 7 in 10, because the 1970s, the town’s biggest building decade, went light on them: about 4 in 10 homes from those years have a basement, against nearly every one built from 1980 on.
That shows street by street. In Four Seasons, mostly 1970s, a bit over half the homes have a basement; in Hunters Creek, from the same years and full of split foyers, nearly all do. A house on a slab or a crawl space usually has no sump pit to replace.
Why the pits are there is under the yard. Fairfax County’s soil guide notes igneous rock, diabase among it, in the vicinity of Herndon, and says soil formed over rock like that carries a layer of plastic clay. On some of those soils water perches on top of the clay 10 inches to 2 feet down, and the guide calls for foundation drains and waterproofing to keep a basement dry. Soils vary by street, but those drains empty into the sump, and the county’s soil and water district says Virginia groundwater runs highest in February and March.
Where the pump’s water goes is a rule on both sides of the line. Inside the town it’s the Town’s, shown below. On the county side, Fairfax County calls an unpermitted sump pump tied into its sanitary sewer illegal, since the extra water can overflow raw sewage into streams, streets or basements. If your discharge pipe stops at the foundation wall, the soil and water district says to extend it so the water runs away from the house.
Sump pumps across Herndon, place by place.
Census figures for the owner-occupied homes in each place, and what to check on a sump pump in houses that age.
| Place | Median home built | Most homes are | Heated with | What to check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin Farm | 1985 | single-family houses, about 9 in 10 | electricity, about 5 in 10 | 1980s and 90s basements: an original pump is long overdue. |
| Herndon | 1981 | single-family houses, about 4 in 10 | electricity, about 6 in 10 | 1980s and 90s basements: an original pump is long overdue. |
| Dranesville | 1984 | single-family houses, nearly all | electricity, about 6 in 10 | 1980s and 90s basements: an original pump is long overdue. |
| McNair | 2003 | condo and apartment buildings, about 6 in 10 | gas, about 7 in 10 | Condo buildings: shared pits are the association’s to look after. |
| Floris | 1990 | single-family houses, about 8 in 10 | gas, about 6 in 10 | 1980s and 90s basements: an original pump is long overdue. |
| Hutchison | 1979 | townhouses, about 5 in 10 | electricity, about 7 in 10 | Older basements: check where the sump line empties. |
| Sully Square | 2015 | condo and apartment buildings, about 6 in 10 | gas, about 6 in 10 | Condo buildings: shared pits are the association’s to look after. |
Herndon houses, by the numbers
From the Census Bureau’s 2020 to 2024 survey, owner-occupied homes unless it says otherwise.
The Town of Herndon
Inside the town limits. Floris, Franklin Farm, McNair and Dranesville, on the Fairfax County side, are counted by the Census as places of their own.
- Median home built1981 Census
- Built before 1980about 4 in 10 Census
- Built since 2000about 2 in 10 Census
- Most homes aresingle-family houses, about 4 in 10 Census
- Heated withelectricity, about 6 in 10 Census
- Rentedabout 4 in 10 Census
- A basement from the 1980s or 90s is several pumps in by now, or overdue for its next one.
What sump pump replacement costs in Herndon.
The same price as our sump pump replacement page: one flat number for a new pump in a pit that’s still sound, with what costs extra named right beside it.
- Sump pump replacement, installed in your existing pit$697
- Sump pump and battery backup, installed together$3,200
- A new or deeper pit, discharge line work outside, or a dedicated circuitPriced in writing before we start
$697 covers a new cast iron pump, a quiet check valve, new PVC up to your existing discharge line, a battery water alarm by the pit, the old pump hauled away and a bucket test before we leave.
A battery backup keeps pumping through a power outage, and the outage usually comes with the storm. With a new pump, the pair is $3,200 installed. The sump pump estimator helps you decide whether you need one.
When a sump pump in Herndon needs replacing.
Water at the floor joint while the pump runs
If the pump works and water still seeps in where the basement wall meets the floor, the soil and water district says the drain under the floor may be plugged or may not slope toward the pit. A new pump alone won’t fix that.
You’re in Fairfax County and want a backup
The county’s Flood Mitigation Assistance Program pays back half of a battery backup, up to its cap, after the work is done and paid for. Not the pump itself, and not homes in the Town of Vienna, the Town of Herndon or the City of Fairfax.
It’s past seven years old
Zoeller, who make a lot of the pumps around here, puts a sump pump’s life at seven to ten years. Past seven, replace it on your schedule instead of the storm’s.
After a storm in Herndon, check the sump pump.
Six checks you can make yourself once the rain lets up, none of them with your hands in the pit. Then call us and we’ll check it all.
Does the pump kick on?
Watch the pit during the rain or right after. The pump should start as the water rises, empty the pit and shut off. A full pit, or a pump that hums and moves nothing, isn’t keeping up.
Is there water where it shouldn’t be?
Walk the basement: the corners, the walls, the floor by the pit, under the water heater and the furnace. Photograph any wet spot before you mop, so we can see where it came in.
Is the discharge line clear?
Outside, find where the pump’s pipe ends. It should be open, not crushed, buried or full of leaves, and aimed away from the house so the water doesn’t run back to the foundation.
Does the check valve hold?
Listen when the pump shuts off. Water rushing back into the pit means the check valve isn’t closing, and the pump has to move that water again.
Did the power go out?
The pump stops when the power does, often at the height of the storm. If the basement took water during an outage, that’s the job a battery backup does.
Water near an outlet? Stay out.
If water is standing near the pit, an outlet or anything plugged in, don’t wade in to check. Call us, and only switch the power off at the panel from somewhere dry.
Not sure what you saw? Call us after a storm and we’ll check it all: the pump, the float, the check valve, the discharge line and where the water came in. If the pump can’t keep up, a new one is $697 installed in your existing pit; a new or deeper pit, a battery backup, discharge line work outside and a dedicated circuit are extra, priced in writing before we start.
Where a sump pump may drain in Herndon.
Town of Herndon
Town Code bans any sump pump, downspout or areaway drain from emptying into the sanitary sewer, directly or not, and gives the owner 30 days from written notice to disconnect one. Source.
How to pick the best plumber for a sump pump in Herndon.
Questions to ask anybody who quotes you, us included.
Do they ask which side of the town line you’re on?
On a Herndon sump job it decides whose rule covers the discharge pipe, and whether the county’s battery backup program applies at all; inside the town it doesn’t. Ask whether they checked the address before quoting.
Is the price for the whole job?
Ask what the number covers: the pump, the check valve, the pipe, hauling the old one off, a test before they leave. Then ask what costs extra, and get it in writing.
What’s the new pump made of?
Cast iron, ideally. Plastic pumps cost less and are usually the ones that quit early. Ask before the old one comes out.
Do they look at where the water goes?
A discharge line that’s cracked, buried or frozen shut every January leaves the new pump pushing against a closed pipe. Whoever replaces it should check the outside end too.
What our customers say.
Tech was super knowledgeable, polite, communicative, and kind. I highly recommend this great company who prioritized my request to review my sump pump and other related needs
5.0 stars across 884 Google reviews. Read them on our reviews page.
Sump pump questions from Herndon.
I live inside the Town of Herndon. Is there money back on a battery backup?
Not from Fairfax County. Its Flood Mitigation Assistance Program pays back half of a battery backup, up to its cap, but it leaves out properties in the Town of Vienna, the Town of Herndon or the City of Fairfax, and the Town runs no backup program of its own. A new pump with a backup put in at the same visit comes to $3,200.
I’m in Franklin Farm. How does the county’s backup program work?
Finish the job, pay, then apply; nothing is approved ahead of time. It covers the backup, not the pump, for work done on or after July 1, 2024, and wants proof of any permit or association approval. Renters and condo associations can apply too.
Does a Herndon basement have to be near a stream to take water in a storm?
No. On July 8, 2019, Sugarland Run came out of its banks near the Stuart Woods apartments, inside the town and inside FEMA’s 100-year flood zone. But on July 13, 2011, flash flooding closed Alabama Drive after a nearby gauge caught 1.35 inches, on a stretch FEMA’s map rates minimal flood hazard. Rain that can’t run off soaks in, and the footing drain hands it to the pump. Check the pit while it rains and the outside end of the line after. If the pump fell behind, call us after the storm and we’ll go over all of it; a new pump is $697 installed.
How much does sump pump replacement cost in Herndon?
$697 installed in your existing pit: a new cast iron pump, a quiet check valve, new PVC to your discharge line, a battery water alarm, the old pump hauled away and a bucket test. A new or deeper pit, discharge line work outside, a battery backup and a dedicated circuit are extra, priced in writing before we start. A new pump and a battery backup installed together are $3,200.
Can I check my sump pump myself?
Yes. Pour five gallons of water into the pit. The float should rise, the pump should start within a few seconds, and it should shut off clean once the water’s down. If you hear water rushing back into the pit after it stops, that’s the check valve.
Sump pump replacement in the towns next door.
- Sump pump replacement in Reston
- Sump pump replacement in Sterling
- Sump pump replacement in Great Falls
- Sump pump replacement in Oakton
- Sump pump replacement in Chantilly
More from SwiftPro in Herndon
- AC repair in Herndon
- AC tune-up in Herndon
- Air duct cleaning in Herndon
- Dryer vent cleaning in Herndon
- Ductless mini splits in Herndon
- Furnace and AC replacement in Herndon
- Furnace repair in Herndon
- Furnace replacement in Herndon
- Furnace tune-up in Herndon
- Heat pump replacement in Herndon
- Plumbing in Herndon
- Sewer camera inspection in Herndon
- Water heater flush in Herndon
- Water heaters in Herndon
A new pump before the next storm.
Call, or book online and pick a window. Often same-day, and we will tell you honestly when we can get there.
SwiftPro Heating, Cooling & Plumbing is a licensed, BBB Accredited (A rating), independently owned heating, cooling and plumbing company in Chantilly, serving Herndon 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.