A plumber in Centreville.
Plumbers for Centreville, 20120 and 20121: leaks, drains, pressure valves, water heaters and sewer lines, priced from a published list before the work.
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
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In Centreville, the pipe era and the pressure valve decide most plumbing calls.
The median owner home in Centreville went up in 1990, and about seven in ten of all its homes were built between 1980 and 1999. That puts most of the town squarely in the years grey polybutylene supply pipe was going into houses. Some have been repiped since and some haven’t, and the fastest way to find out is to look where the supply lines come up through the floor under a sink or leave the top of the water heater.
Nearly every one of those houses also went up after December 4, 1972, the date Fairfax County’s plumbing code began requiring a pressure reducing valve. So most Centreville mains have one, usually on the lowest level right where the line comes through the foundation, beside the main shutoff that Fairfax Water’s rules have the builder put inside the foundation wall. A valve that came with a 1990 house has been holding back street pressure for more than thirty years.
When one of those valves wears out, the pressure in the house creeps up toward whatever the street delivers. You hear it as a thud in the wall when the washer stops filling, a toilet fill valve that hisses, or a drip line off the water heater’s relief valve that’s never quite dry. A gauge on an outside spigot answers the question in a minute, and a new valve runs $500 to $1,000.
Centreville is where water treatment questions come up most for us. Fairfax Water’s own FAQ calls its water moderately hard to hard, typically 5 to 10 grains per gallon, and says the white residue on fixtures is dissolved calcium and magnesium. A hardness test at the kitchen tap tells you whether a softener is worth having before anybody quotes one.
Centreville houses, by the numbers
From the Census Bureau’s 2020 to 2024 survey. Median year built and heat count owner-occupied homes only.
Centreville
- Median home built1990 Census
- Built before 1980about 1 in 10 Census
- Built since 2000about 2 in 10 Census
- Most homes aretownhouses, about 5 in 10 Census
- Heated withgas, about 7 in 10 Census
- Rentedabout 3 in 10 Census
- A lot of houses here went up while polybutylene supply pipe was in use, about 1978 to 1995, and it fails at the fittings.
- Townhouses share walls, so a leak can start on either side of one; the meter test tells you whether it’s yours.
What a plumber costs in Centreville.
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 Centreville usually looks like.
A thud in the wall when a valve shuts
That’s water hammer, and in a Centreville house the usual cause is pressure: a reducing valve on the main that has drifted with age. A pressure reading at the spigot is the first thing to check.
Grey plastic pipe near the water heater
Polybutylene, often stamped PB, went into houses from about 1978 to 1995. It tends to let go at the fittings with no warning, so it’s worth knowing whether you have it.
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.
A drain that keeps coming back
One slow sink is a sink. Two slow drains on different floors are sharing the pipe out to the street, and a basement drain that gurgles while you run water upstairs is the main line talking.
After a storm in Centreville, 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 Centreville.
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.
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 Centreville.
Questions worth asking anybody who comes out, us included.
Will they test the pressure before replacing a fill valve?
In a house that came with a pressure reducing valve in 1990, that valve is a likely suspect for running toilets and dripping fixtures upstairs. A plumber who puts a gauge on first saves you paying for the same fix twice.
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.
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Plumbing questions from Centreville.
Where is the main water shutoff in a Centreville townhouse?
Usually on the lowest level, where the water line comes in through the foundation wall, since Fairfax Water’s rules have the builder put a main valve inside the foundation of every building it serves. It’s often right next to the pressure reducing valve. Find it before you need it, and check that it actually turns.
Does Fairfax Water help if sediment keeps getting into my water?
It can. Fairfax Water’s rules let its general manager reimburse up to $50 toward buying and installing a sediment filter for customers who keep getting sediment, once per residence and on receipts. Keeping the filter up after that is on you.
How do I tell polybutylene from PEX?
Polybutylene is usually grey, often stamped PB2110, and joined with metal crimp rings or plastic fittings. PEX is usually white, red or blue and stamped PEX. If the pipe at your water heater is grey, have a plumber look before it picks the day for you. A repipe runs $1,000 to $12,000, and the size of the house and the number of fixtures set where yours falls.
How much does a plumber cost in Centreville?
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.
More from SwiftPro in Centreville
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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 Centreville 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.