Updated October 27, 2026
Most water pipe repairs in Northern Virginia run $450 to $650: a leaking or burst section of copper, PEX or other supply pipe cut out and replaced, then pressure checked. The plumbing diagnosis visit is separate, $49 in normal hours or $250 after hours. Those are our own prices, the same ones on our pipe repair page, not a national average, and yours is written down before anyone cuts a pipe.
Water running right now? Stop reading. Shut off the main valve (here is how to find it), follow what to do in the first minutes after a pipe bursts, and call (703) 997-9757. Our 24/7 emergency plumbing line is answered day or night.
If it can wait ten minutes, here is what that price covers and what it leaves out, the six things that push a repair up, four real invoices added up, when patching stops making sense, the pipe in the yard that’s yours, and what homeowners insurance usually pays for.
What the water pipe repair cost covers, and what it doesn’t
The $450 to $650 range is for the common job: one leaking or burst section of supply pipe, the pipe that carries water to your faucets, toilets and water heater. In that price, a plumber shuts the water off, cuts out the bad section, fits new pipe and fittings, turns the water back on and pressure checks the repair before calling it done.
What sits outside that range:
- The visit. $49 in normal hours, $250 after hours. It’s its own line on the invoice.
- Finding a leak you can’t see. When water shows up on a ceiling but the pipe is behind drywall, finding it first runs $200 to $500. More on that below.
- The wall or ceiling patch. A plumber opens the smallest hole that reaches the pipe. Putting drywall and paint back is finish work, so ask whether it’s in your price or a separate line.
- Whole runs of pipe. When the pipe is failing in more than one place, that’s repiping, and it’s priced differently.
- Drains. This post is the supply side. A leaking drain or sewer pipe is a different job with its own prices on our plumbing page.
Six things that move a pipe repair price
- Getting to the pipe. An exposed pipe in an unfinished basement is the low end of the range. The same pipe behind a finished ceiling, inside a kitchen cabinet or behind tile takes longer to reach, and that time is most of the difference.
- What the pipe is made of. Copper gets cut and joined with press or soldered fittings. PEX joins with crimp or expansion fittings. Gray polybutylene is the exception: it’s a pipe plumbers would rather replace than patch, and our polybutylene and repiping guide explains why.
- Where it is. A crawl space, a tight spot under a deck or a line running through a garage ceiling adds time and usually puts the job above the range. That one gets priced at your house.
- When it breaks. Night, weekend or holiday, the visit is $250 instead of $49. The repair itself is the same $450 to $650.
- How many places it split. A frozen pipe doesn’t always split in just one spot. A line that froze along an outside wall can split in two or three places, and an outdoor spigot that froze often splits inside the wall where you can’t see it. Our guide on how to keep pipes from freezing is the cheaper side of this.
- Whether you know where the leak is. A drip you can point at goes straight to the repair. A stain on the ceiling with no obvious source starts with finding it, at $200 to $500.
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Four real pipe repair invoices, added up
These are the common ways a pipe repair actually lands, built from our own prices. Every line is priced in writing before the work starts, and the visit is always its own line.
Swipe to see all columns →
Swipe to see all columns →
| What happened | What’s on the invoice | Adds up to |
|---|---|---|
| A pinhole leak you can see, in an unfinished basement, on a weekday | Visit $49 plus the repair $450 to $650 | $499 to $699 |
| A stain on the ceiling, the leak hidden in the wall, on a weekday | Visit $49, finding the leak $200 to $500, the repair $450 to $650 | $699 to $1,199 |
| A pipe bursts at 2 a.m. where you can see it | After-hours visit $250 plus the repair $450 to $650 | $700 to $900 |
| A pipe bursts at night inside a finished wall | After-hours visit $250, finding the leak $200 to $500, the repair $450 to $650 | $900 to $1,400 |
Two things aren’t in those totals: patching the wall or ceiling afterward, and drying out whatever got wet. The water is usually the expensive part of a burst pipe, not the pipe, which is why the shutoff matters more than anything else you do in the first few minutes. A crawl space burst, or a run that split in several places, goes past these numbers and is priced at your house.
What an emergency burst pipe repair costs at night
The repair is the same $450 to $650 at 3 in the afternoon or 3 in the morning. What changes is the visit: $250 after hours instead of $49. If you can shut the water off at the main and the house is dry enough to wait, a daytime visit costs less, and that’s a fair call to make. If the main valve won’t turn, water is near anything electrical, or you can’t find the valve at all, don’t wait. Call (703) 997-9757 and a person answers, day or night.
An old main shutoff that won’t close is its own repair. Its price depends on what’s there and how it’s piped, so we price it at your house after the $49 visit rather than guess here. Our emergency plumbing page covers what to do while you wait, and our shutoff valve guide shows you where to look before you need it.
Finding a leak you can’t see before anyone opens a wall
Signs a supply pipe is leaking out of sight: a stain spreading on a ceiling under a bathroom, a warm spot on the floor, the sound of water running when nothing is on, or the water meter still moving with every faucet off. That last one is the cleanest test you can run yourself. Turn everything off, read the meter, go an hour without using any water, and read it again. If it moved, water is going somewhere.
Leak detection runs $200 to $500. It’s finding the leak, not fixing it: acoustic and pressure work before anyone opens a wall, so the hole that does get cut is the smallest one that reaches the pipe. Then the repair is priced like any other. Our plumbing leak detection guide walks through how it’s done and what each tool hears.
Repair or repipe: when patching stops making sense
One leak on pipe that’s otherwise sound is a repair. The math changes when the same pipe keeps failing:
- a second or third pinhole leak in the same copper inside a year or two
- gray polybutylene supply pipe anywhere in the house
- old galvanized steel, with pressure that has dropped at every faucet
- green crust or damp spots at several fittings on the same run
Repiping runs $1,000 to $12,000, depending on how much of the house it is. From about $17 a month at 0% APR for 60 months, the whole price financed, on approved credit. A section under one fixture is an afternoon; the runs through a whole basement are a different job. Two or three repairs at $450 to $650 each start to look like a down payment on new pipe, and our repiping guide covers how to tell which side of that line you’re on. We also have pages for whole house repiping in Ashburn and in Chantilly.
High water pressure, the quiet reason pipes keep leaking
If you’ve had more than one leak, ask the plumber to put a gauge on an outside spigot. Pressure that runs high wears on every joint, supply hose and valve in the house, and the weakest one goes first. The fix is usually the pressure reducing valve where the main comes in, and replacing one runs $500 to $1,000. Our pressure reducing valve guide explains what the valve does and how to tell when it’s worn out, and our post on low water pressure in the whole house covers the opposite problem.
The water line in your yard is yours to fix
The water line from the meter to your house is the homeowner’s, not the water company’s, at least in Loudoun. Loudoun Water says it plainly: the lines from the meter to the house are your property and responsibility, while the meter and its setting belong to Loudoun Water. If you’re on a different water company, its own rules say where your part starts, so read them before you assume someone else is fixing it.
Signs the yard line is leaking: a soft, wet patch of lawn that doesn’t dry out, a meter that keeps moving with the house shut off, or pressure that dropped everywhere at once. A short leak can sometimes be dug up and repaired, and that’s priced at your house. When the line is old or failing in more than one place, replacing it runs $3,500 to $8,000. From about $58 a month at 0% APR for 60 months, the whole price financed, on approved credit. Our water line replacement page shows how that job goes.
Does homeowners insurance pay for a burst pipe?
Often for the water damage, usually not for the pipe. The Insurance Information Institute’s answer to a burst pipe flooding your floors is yes: a standard HO-3 policy covers “accidental discharge of water from a plumbing system”. But the sample HO-3 form it publishes also says the policy does not cover loss to the system the water escaped from. Put simply, the soaked floor and drywall may be covered, and so can the tear-out needed to reach the pipe, but the $450 to $650 to fix the pipe itself is usually yours.
Two more lines in that sample policy form matter in winter. Damage from frozen pipes is covered only if you used reasonable care to keep heat in the building, or shut the water off and drained the system. And seepage, the slow leak that runs for weeks, is treated as maintenance and left out. Policies differ, so read yours or call your agent before you file. Either way, keep the plumber’s written invoice and any photos of what failed.
Five questions to ask before anyone cuts into a wall
- Is the price written down before the work starts? It should be. Ours is.
- Is the visit separate from the repair, and what does it cost at night? Knowing both numbers before the job starts keeps the invoice from surprising you.
- Is patching the wall or ceiling in this price? Usually it isn’t. Ask so you can line up the drywall work.
- What pipe and fittings are going in, and will you pressure check it after? The answer should be specific, and the check should happen before anyone leaves.
- Is this one leak, or a pattern? A good plumber tells you when a third repair on the same copper is money better spent on new pipe.
Water pipe repair cost questions
How much does it cost to fix a burst pipe?
Most burst pipe repairs in Northern Virginia run $450 to $650 for the repair, plus the visit: $49 in normal hours or $250 after hours. If the break is hidden inside a finished wall, finding it first adds $200 to $500. Patching the wall and drying out what got wet are separate.
How much does it cost to fix a leaking pipe?
The same $450 to $650 for most leaking sections of supply pipe, plus the $49 visit. A leak you can point at goes straight to the repair; one you can’t see starts with leak detection at $200 to $500.
What does water pipe repair cost in Northern Virginia?
Our own price for most water pipe repairs is $450 to $650, with a separate $49 diagnosis visit, or $250 after hours. When the pipe is failing in more than one place, repiping runs $1,000 to $12,000. From about $17 a month at 0% APR for 60 months, the whole price financed, on approved credit.
Does homeowners insurance cover a burst pipe?
Usually the water damage, not the pipe. Triple-I says a standard HO-3 policy covers accidental discharge of water from a plumbing system, but the sample HO-3 form leaves out the system the water escaped from, and frozen pipes are covered only if you kept the heat on or shut the water off and drained it. Read your own policy.
Who pays to fix the water line between the meter and the house?
In Loudoun, you do: Loudoun Water says the lines from the meter to the house are the homeowner’s property and responsibility, and the meter is theirs. Replacing a failing service line runs $3,500 to $8,000. From about $58 a month at 0% APR for 60 months, the whole price financed, on approved credit.
Is it cheaper to repair or repipe?
For one leak on sound pipe, repair it, at $450 to $650. When the same copper keeps getting pinholes, or the house has gray polybutylene, repiping at $1,000 to $12,000 usually beats paying for repair after repair. From about $17 a month at 0% APR for 60 months, the whole price financed, on approved credit.
How much does leak detection cost?
$200 to $500. That’s finding the leak, not fixing it, so the opening that gets cut is the smallest one that reaches the pipe. The repair is priced after.
Can a plumber fix a pipe without opening the wall?
Not if the pipe is inside it. Finding the leak first keeps the opening small, and a pipe you can reach from a basement or crawl space needs no wall opened at all.
Does a pipe repair cost more at night?
The visit does: $250 after hours instead of $49. The repair itself is the same $450 to $650. We run 24/7 emergency service, and a person answers (703) 997-9757.
Get your pipe repair priced at your house
Call (703) 997-9757, book online, or use the form at the top of this page. A plumber comes out for the $49 visit ($250 after hours), finds the problem, and writes the price down before any work starts. Our pipe repair page lists every pipe repair price, and current deals are on our offers page.
SwiftPro Heating, Cooling & Plumbing repairs and replaces water and drain pipes, water heaters, sump pumps and backflow preventers, and services furnaces, heat pumps and air conditioners, across Northern Virginia from three locations in Chantilly and Ashburn, with a separate plumbing team and a dedicated HVAC team. Family owned, BBB Accredited with an A rating, 24/7 emergency service, Virginia Class A contractor license 2705192276, and rated 5.0 stars across 1,138 reviews on Google, Angi, Yelp, the BBB and Facebook. Read the reviews.
