A plumber in Alexandria.
Plumbers for the City of Alexandria and the Fairfax County side: leaks, drains, sewer lines and water heaters, priced before the work.
- Prices in writing, first
- Camera before any dig
- Dedicated plumbing team
Get your plumbing job priced
Old Town’s sewer, and every pipe era on the county side.
Alexandria spans more plumbing eras than anywhere else we work. In the City, half the owner-occupied houses went up before 1970: galvanized supply on the oldest streets, cast iron drains, and 1960s copper. On the Fairfax County side, Rose Hill, Mount Vernon and Fort Hunt are 1960s houses with cast iron under them, while Kingstowne and Franconia went up later, some of it in the polybutylene years.
In Old Town, a basement that takes on water in a hard rain is usually the sewer, not the groundwater. The fix is a backflow preventer on the house’s sewer line, and the City’s program below pays back part of it.
What’s in the walls across Alexandria.
Census figures for the owner-occupied homes in each place, and the pipe that usually goes with houses that age.
| Place | Median home built | Most homes are | Heated with | The pipe you usually find |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| City of Alexandria | 1970 | condo and apartment buildings, about 5 in 10 | gas, about 6 in 10 | Condo buildings: shared risers, your own supply lines and fixtures. |
| Rose Hill | 1969 | single-family houses, about 7 in 10 | gas, about 7 in 10 | Copper supply, cast iron drains. |
| Franconia | 1986 | townhouses, about 5 in 10 | electricity, about 6 in 10 | The polybutylene years: check the supply pipe; PVC drains. |
| Fort Hunt | 1963 | single-family houses, nearly all | gas, about 8 in 10 | Galvanized supply on the oldest streets, cast iron drains. |
| Kingstowne | 1994 | townhouses, about 5 in 10 | gas, about 7 in 10 | The polybutylene years: check the supply pipe; PVC drains. |
| Woodlawn | 1976 | townhouses, about 4 in 10 | electricity, about 6 in 10 | Copper supply, cast iron drains. |
| Lincolnia | 1982 | single-family houses, about 4 in 10 | gas, about 7 in 10 | The polybutylene years: check the supply pipe; PVC drains. |
| Mount Vernon | 1967 | single-family houses, about 7 in 10 | gas, about 7 in 10 | Copper supply, cast iron drains. |
Alexandria houses, by the numbers
From the Census Bureau’s 2020 to 2024 survey, owner-occupied homes unless it says otherwise.
The City of Alexandria
- Median home built1970 Census
- Built before 1980about 6 in 10 Census
- Built since 2000about 2 in 10 Census
- Most homes arecondo and apartment buildings, about 5 in 10 Census
- Heated withgas, about 6 in 10 Census
- Rentedabout 6 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.
What a plumber costs in Alexandria.
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.
- One fixture cleared$200 to $800
- Main line cleared$850 to $1,650
- Camera down the main$89
- Leak located$200 to $500
- Toilet repaired$250 to $900
- Pressure reducing valve$500 to $1,000
- Water heater installed$2,757 to $10,486
A camera down the main line 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.
On the Family Care Plan, repairs are 15 percent off, and a whole-home plumbing inspection comes every year.
What a plumbing problem in Alexandria usually looks like.
Water in the basement after a hard rain
In Old Town that’s usually the sewer backing up, not groundwater, because the pipes there carry rain and sewage together. A backflow preventer on your sewer line is what stops it.
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.
Who owns what under the street in Alexandria.
City of Alexandria
The City pays back half the cost of a sewer backflow preventer, up to $2,000, when a State and City licensed plumber installs it in a house with a basement, under a permit that passes final inspection. Source.
About 540 acres of Old Town still run on a combined sewer from the 1800s. RiverRenew keeps the overflow out of the river but doesn’t stop basement backups. Source.
The City doesn’t allow a sump pump or downspout to drain into the sanitary sewer, and houses built before 1970 can have one tied in without the owner knowing. Source.
Fairfax County
Fairfax Water promises 20 psi at the main and no uniform pressure, and the pressure reducing valve on your side of the meter is yours to buy and keep up. Over 80 psi, the Virginia Residential Code calls for one, and an expansion tank with it. Source.
How to pick the best plumber in Alexandria.
Questions worth asking anybody who comes out, us included.
Is the plumber licensed by the City as well as the State?
For the City’s backflow preventer reimbursement, it has to be both, with a permit and a passed final inspection. Ask before the work starts, not after.
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 camera down the main line 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.
Hard to find service like this in Alexandria.
New tenants in the rental property had a problem with their drain. Property manager sent their plumber said they snakeed the drain and could not solve the clog. Wanted $800 to snake the drain through the roof vent. Called Swift Pro and James Milligan solve the problem in 15 minutes saving me hundreds of dollars.
…we had swift and professional responses for multiple plumbing and HVAC needs in our Rosemont Alexandria condo
5.0 stars across 884 Google reviews. Read them on our reviews page.
Plumbing questions from Alexandria.
Does the City of Alexandria help pay for a sewer backflow preventer?
Yes: half the cost, up to $2,000, for a house with a basement, installed by a State and City licensed plumber under a permit that passes final inspection. The valve has to be closed through a sewer overload, which the City says typically lasts 2 to 6 hours.
Who owns the sewer line from my Alexandria house?
It depends on the side of the line. In Fairfax County the homeowner owns the whole lateral, out to the county main and under the street. In the City it depends on when the lateral went in; on laterals laid before July 1, 1955, the owner has the stretch from the curb to the house.
How much does a plumber cost in Alexandria?
It depends on the job, and every one has a published range: one fixture drain cleared $200 to $800, the main line cleared $850 to $1,650, a hidden leak located $200 to $500, a pressure reducing valve $500 to $1,000, a toilet repaired $250 to $900. A camera added to a visit is $89.
Plumbers in the towns next door.
More from SwiftPro in Alexandria
Tell us what the water is doing.
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SwiftPro Heating, Cooling & Plumbing is a licensed, BBB Accredited (A rating), independently owned heating, cooling and plumbing company in Chantilly, serving Alexandria 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.