A handle that sticks, then drips
A stiff handle that now leaks past the spout is a cartridge with scale between its seals. It comes out the front in most single-handle showers, and a new one is a part, not a wall.
Centreville, Virginia
Shower repair in Centreville.
For shower repair in Centreville, the plumbing visit is $49, or $250 after hours. Call SwiftPro, rated 5.0 stars across 1,130 reviews, at (703) 997-9757, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
SwiftPro’s plumbers in Centreville are rated 5.0 stars across 1,130 reviews and work under Virginia Class A contractor license 2705192276. Shower repair in Centreville, where townhouse rows and 1990 cul-de-sacs mean a lot of cartridges near thirty years old. We show you the worn part first. A cartridge, stems or a diverter usually lands at $250 to $450. A whole new valve, trim included, runs $950 to $1,400, and a new tub spout runs $200 to $400.
- The worn part shown to you before the price
- Our own licensed plumbers
- Run hot and cold, with a toilet flushed, before we leave
5.0 stars across 1,130 reviews
Two of our plumbers in a Northern Virginia basement, beside the water heater and the supply lines that feed the bathrooms upstairs.
Get your price in writing
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Licensed and insuredVirginia Class A contractor #2705192276
24/7 emergency serviceWe answer day or night, and we will tell you honestly when we can get there.
Our own plumbers, our own trucksNobody here is a subcontractor with a magnet on the door
The price is settled before the workYou see the number in writing before anything is taken apart
What it costs
What shower repair costs in Centreville.
These are the same numbers on our shower and tub repair page, from jobs we’ve billed. The visit fee matches our plumbing price list.
Plumbing diagnosis visit
$49
Plumbing diagnosis visit, after hours
$250
Shower valve repair (cartridge, stems, handle, diverter)
$250 to $450
Shower valve replaced, new trim included
$950 to $1,400
Tub spout or diverter spout replaced
$200 to $400
Prices checked .
Where a repair lands in that range depends on the valve brand and how stuck the old cartridge is. You see the number in writing before anything comes apart.
A dripping sink or kitchen faucet is a different repair, with its own prices on our faucet repair page.
What’s different in Centreville
Centreville’s showers are mostly thirty years old, and hard water has had that long to work on them.
Almost seven in ten Centreville homes went up between 1980 and 1999, and the median owner home dates from 1990. A shower valve from then has been turning for three decades. When a handle wobbles with its screw tight, the grip on the cartridge is probably gone. When it stiffens first and then starts to drip, scale is the usual suspect.
Fairfax Water says its water here is typically moderately hard to hard, five to ten grains per gallon. Over thirty years, minerals coat the rubber seals in a cartridge, and it quits sealing before it quits turning. That’s why the shower runs a minute after you shut the handle.
Nearly half of Centreville’s homes are townhouses, and from Sully Station to London Towne the upstairs bath often sits over a kitchen, a garage or a finished room. A drip behind the trim does its damage out of sight, so a slow one is worth fixing sooner than in a house with bare ground below.
About one home in seven is in a condo or apartment building. There the shutoff for your shower may belong to the association, and a cartridge swap that needs it closed means a call to management before ours.
By the numbers
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
- Most homes here are townhouses or condos, where the shower often sits over somebody’s ceiling, so a drip behind the trim gets fixed before it shows up as a stain below.
The signs
When a shower in Centreville needs a plumber.
The handle is loose or spins
Usually a set screw under the cap that backed out, or worn teeth where the handle grips the cartridge. Tightening the screw only lasts if the teeth are still good.
It drips after it’s off
On a single-handle shower that’s the cartridge. On an older two-handle or three-handle shower, it’s the washers or the stems. Either one comes out the front, and the wall stays closed.
Need shower repair in Centreville?
A person answers day and night. See this month’s deals before you call.
Choosing who does it
How to pick who fixes a shower in Centreville.
Questions to ask anybody who pulls your shower handle off, us included.
Will they replace the cartridge, or sell you a whole new valve first?
On a single-handle valve this age, most jobs are a cartridge. Ask the plumber to show you the old one and say why it failed.
Did they pull the handle before quoting a new valve?
Most loose handles and drips are a cartridge or a screw. A plumber who prices a new valve without looking inside first may be selling you a wall you didn’t need opened.
Did they test it with a toilet flushed?
A shower that runs fine on its own can still jump hot when someone flushes. Ask them to run it both ways before they pack up.
Two of our crew going over a work order before the day's calls.
From our Google reviews
What our customers say.
5.0 stars across 1,130 reviews. Read them on our reviews page.
Needed 2 faucets installed and both gentlemen did a nice job. Checked everything out prior to removing old faucets and QC’d everything upon completion of the job. Cleaned up and on their way. Thanks!
- 5.0stars across 1,130 reviewsHow we count them
- ABBB Accredited, A ratingCheck it on bbb.org
- 2026Voted a Nextdoor Neighborhood Faves winner two years running: 2026 in 30 Northern Virginia neighborhoods, 2025 in Emerald Chase (Herndon) and Hunters Run (Chantilly)See it on Nextdoor
- #1BusinessRate Best of 2026: the top-ranked heating contractor in Fairfax, VirginiaSee our BusinessRate score
- Class AVirginia contractor, license #2705192276Look it up with DPOR
Questions
Shower repair questions from Centreville.
Is a dripping shower in a Centreville townhouse urgent?
Not an emergency, but don’t let it sit. Water behind the trim can stain the ceiling or the room beneath within weeks. Close the stop if the shower has one, or call. A cartridge swap runs $250 to $450.
Will a new cartridge last in hard water, or do I need a softener?
A new cartridge still lasts years here, just fewer than it would in soft water. A softener protects every fixture in the house, not only the shower, and it’s a separate decision. The part itself is $250 to $450.
How much is shower repair in Centreville?
Most shower valve repairs we do run $250 to $450, with the visit at $49, $250 after hours. A whole new valve with trim runs $950 to $1,400, and a tub spout runs $200 to $400.
Will you have to open the wall or break tile?
Not for a cartridge, a handle or a diverter. Those come out the front. A valve replacement goes in from an access panel when there is one, and when there isn’t, a larger trim plate can usually cover the opening so the tile stays.
Ready when you are
Get the shower back to normal.
Call, or send the form at the top. We pull the handle, show you the worn part, and you get the price in writing before we fix it.
SwiftPro Heating, Cooling & Plumbing
4230 Lafayette Center Dr N, Chantilly, VA 20151
44679 Endicott Dr, Suite 211, Ashburn, VA 20147
SwiftPro Plumber & Water Heaters
4200 Lafayette Center Dr, Suite N, Chantilly, VA 20151
Virginia Class A contractor license #2705192276
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 1,130 reviews on Google, Angi, Yelp, the BBB and Facebook. SwiftPro maintains a dedicated HVAC team and a dedicated plumbing team.
From SwiftPro Heating, Cooling & Plumbing in Chantilly. Housing figures are the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, 2020 to 2024, for each place named; permit, water and sewer facts link to each office’s own page and were checked in September and October 2026.