Sump pump replacement in Lorton.
Sump pump replacement in Lorton: $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
Eight in ten Lorton houses sit over a basement, and a few whole streets have none.
Fairfax County’s records cover roughly 10,300 houses and townhouses with a Lorton address, and about 8 in 10 sit over a basement. Close to 9 in 10 of those basements have a finished rec room, and two thirds are what the county calls daylight basements, open to the yard on one side. The records don’t list pits, but where there is one, its pump usually stands between a storm and a carpeted room.
The 2000s built the most. Lorton Town Center, Laurel Hill, Lorton Station South, Lorton Valley North and Laurel Highlands went up between 2000 and 2012, with a basement under all but a couple of their houses. A pit dug in 2004 is past twenty, and its pump has likely been swapped at least once, often mid-storm, for whatever plastic one the store had.
Some streets have no pit at all. The county lists no basement under the 1970s townhouses of Terrace Towne Homes of Gunston and The Highlands on Hagel Circle, under Pohick Square, built 1978 to 1982, or under the one-story homes of Spring Hill, the active adult community. There a sump pump isn’t the fix for water at the door, and we’ll say so.
On county sewer, Fairfax County calls a sump tied into the sanitary line without a permit illegal: storm water in those pipes can push raw sewage into streams, streets and basements. In Pohick Estates’ 1957 to 1972 split foyers, where a pit may have come decades after the house, follow yours to see where it ends. On the septic lots of Hallowing Point River Estates and Gunston Manor, the county’s septic code bars a sump from the tank and wants its water kept off the drainfield.
Sump pumps across Lorton, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lorton | 2001 | single-family houses, about 4 in 10 | gas, about 7 in 10 | Newer basements: the pump may still be the builder’s. |
| Newington | 1981 | townhouses, about 6 in 10 | electricity, about 6 in 10 | 1980s and 90s basements: an original pump is long overdue. |
| Laurel Hill | 2002 | single-family houses, about 4 in 10 | gas, about 8 in 10 | Newer basements: the pump may still be the builder’s. |
| Mason Neck | 1973 | single-family houses, nearly all | electricity, about 6 in 10 | Older basements: check where the sump line empties. |
Lorton houses, by the numbers
From the Census Bureau’s 2020 to 2024 survey, owner-occupied homes unless it says otherwise.
Lorton
ZIP 22079 as a whole: every Lorton address. Most of Newington, in the table, has Springfield mail.
What sump pump replacement costs in Lorton.
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 Lorton needs replacing.
The pump is the one that came with the house
In Laurel Hill or Lorton Station South, a builder’s pump from the early 2000s has run about twice the life its makers give it. If the label says so, or nobody knows, replace it before spring.
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 Lorton, 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.
How to pick the best plumber for a sump pump in Lorton.
Questions to ask anybody who quotes you, us included.
Will the battery backup get its own line on the invoice?
It should, along with proof you paid and photos of the finished install. That’s the paperwork the county’s backup program asks for once the work is done, and its money goes toward the backup alone, never the pump.
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.
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Sump pump questions from Lorton.
I rent in Lorton. Can I get the county’s battery backup money?
You can apply. About a quarter of Lorton homes are rented, and the county’s Flood Mitigation Assistance Program takes renters as well as owners, with the owner’s written approval, such as a signed letter. It pays back half of a battery backup once the job is done and paid for, and doesn’t cover the Town of Vienna, the Town of Herndon or the City of Fairfax. Replacing the pump itself is still the owner’s call.
How can I tell whether my Lorton house has a sump pit?
The county’s assessment record for your address says whether there’s a basement at all. If there is, find the pipe, usually white PVC, that leaves the foundation near the ground outside, and follow it back in. It starts at the pit.
Which parts of Lorton take on the most water in a storm?
The low creek crossings and the shoreline. In July 2018, after a coastal storm dropped 3 to 6 inches of rain across the Virginia suburbs, Weather Service reports had Armistead Road closed near Route 1, and three days later the Old Colchester Road bridge over Giles Run. The county’s soils guide puts the low, flat, wet parts of Mason Neck and Gunston Cove on ground with frequent high water tables, and the county warns that tides can flood low land along the Potomac even on a sunny day. A pit on ground like that can keep filling long after the rain, so check it again the next morning.
How much does sump pump replacement cost in Lorton?
$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.
More from SwiftPro in Lorton.
More from SwiftPro in Lorton
A new pump before the next storm.
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