A plumber in Sterling.
A plumber for Sterling, from Sterling Park to Cascades, Lowes Island and Arcola: leaks, drains, frozen pipes and pressure valves, priced first.
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
Get your plumbing job priced
In Sterling, a house’s year can tell you whether it has a pressure valve.
Loudoun Water says most houses built after 1972 came with a pressure reducing valve, a bell-shaped fitting near the main shutoff. That splits Sterling. About four in ten homes around Sterling Park and in Sugarland Run predate 1980, so some of the oldest may never have had one. Countryside, Cascades and Lowes Island are mostly 1980s and 90s, so an original valve there is thirty or forty years old, and a tired one lets pressure creep until fill valves hiss and faucets drip. A new one runs $500 to $1,000.
Winter is hard on pipes out here. NOAA’s normals for Dulles Airport, next to Sterling, count about 102 nights a year at or below freezing, against about 60 at Reagan National. Loudoun Water’s advice for a cold snap: trickle cold water at the faucet farthest from the main shutoff, open the cabinets under the sinks, keep the heat at 55 or higher when you travel, and drain the lines to the outside faucets each fall.
Loudoun Water’s list of what to keep out starts with wipes, flushable ones included, which don’t break down like toilet paper, and grease. The garbage disposal doesn’t stop grease, and hot water only carries it farther down before it sets. When the clog is in the main, main sewer line cleaning is $550 to $1,650, and a sewer camera inspection added to that visit, $89, shows where it sits.
If your yard has in-ground sprinklers, Loudoun Water requires a backflow preventer on them, tested by a certified tester when it goes in and every year after, with the results sent in. A system you’ve stopped using drops off that list once a certified irrigation contractor or plumber cuts and caps it.
What’s in the walls across Sterling.
Census figures for each place, and the pipe that usually goes with houses that age. Median year built and heat count owner-occupied homes only.
| Place | Median home built | Most homes are | Heated with | The pipe you usually find |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sterling | 1979 | single-family houses, about 5 in 10 | electricity, about 5 in 10 | Copper supply, cast iron drains. |
| Lowes Island | 1996 | single-family houses, about 6 in 10 | gas, about 7 in 10 | Copper or PEX supply, PVC drains, original water heaters aging out. |
| Cascades | 1996 | townhouses, about 4 in 10 | gas, about 8 in 10 | Copper or PEX supply, PVC drains, original water heaters aging out. |
| Sugarland Run | 1983 | single-family houses, about 6 in 10 | gas, about 5 in 10 | The polybutylene years: check the supply pipe; PVC drains. |
| Dulles Town Center | 1998 | condo and apartment buildings, about 5 in 10 | gas, about 9 in 10 | Condo buildings: shared risers, your own supply lines and fixtures. |
| Arcola | 2017 | townhouses, about 5 in 10 | gas, about 8 in 10 | PEX supply, PVC drains, builder water heaters from the 2010s. |
| Oak Grove | 2005 | townhouses, about 8 in 10 | gas, about 9 in 10 | Copper or PEX supply, PVC drains, original water heaters aging out. |
Sterling houses, by the numbers
From the Census Bureau’s 2020 to 2024 survey. Median year built and heat count owner-occupied homes only.
Sterling
- Built before 1980about 2 in 10 Census
- Built since 2000about 2 in 10 Census
- Most homes aresingle-family houses, about 4 in 10 Census
- Heated withgas, about 6 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 Sterling.
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 $10,486or $30 to $113 a month
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.
Monthly figures: the whole price financed over 15 years at 9.99% APR, on approved credit. The lender sets the final terms. How financing works
What a plumbing problem in Sterling usually looks like.
A spigot that leaks on the first warm day
A hose left on an outside faucet through a Sterling winter can trap water that freezes and splits the pipe inside the wall, and nothing shows until spring. If the line wasn’t drained last fall, open the faucet with someone watching the wall behind it.
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 Sterling, 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 Sterling.
How to pick the best plumber in Sterling.
Questions worth asking anybody who comes out, us included.
Will they show you the main shutoff before they leave?
Loudoun Water asks every household to know where the main shutoff is and to label it. A plumber already in the house can find it, check that it still turns, and tell you if it’s seized.
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.
Zabi did a great job. Fill valve, flush valve and gaskets replaced on this 30-yr-old toilet. No leaks, no run-on.
4.9 stars across 889 Google reviews. Read them on our reviews page.
Plumbing questions from Sterling.
Will Loudoun Water adjust my bill after a leak?
It can, as a courtesy. Its rules forgive the overage, water and sewer, measured against your past use in the same quarters, for up to two quarters: on a leak in the buried pipe between the meter and your shutoff, and once per account on a hidden leak indoors. Running hoses, sprinkler settings and faulty timers don’t count. An indoor claim goes in writing with the repair receipt, so keep ours.
Who do I call if my water meter freezes?
Loudoun Water, which runs an after-hours emergency line. If the meter sits in a crock in the yard, don’t open it yourself; Loudoun Water says that can damage the meter and bring a fine. Past the meter, it’s a plumber’s call.
Why would a Sterling basement drain back up in a storm?
Because rain gets into the sewer. Loudoun Water lists the ways in: cracks in mains and private laterals, and downspouts, area drains, window wells and sump pumps tied into the line. In a major storm, it says, that clear water can force sewage back into homes, and its capital plan lines every lateral in the Cabin Branch sewershed, part of Sterling Park, partly because rain keeps leaking in there. If a floor drain gurgled or backed up in the last storm, call us once it passes. A sewer camera inspection added to the visit is $89 and shows whether your lateral lets water in, and we’ll trace where the sump and downspouts really empty while we’re there.
How much does a plumber cost in Sterling?
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.
- Plumbing in Ashburn
- Plumbing in Herndon
- Plumbing in Reston
- Plumbing in Great Falls
- Plumbing in Chantilly
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Tell us what the water is doing.
Call, or book online and pick a window. You get the price before the work, and if it can wait, we’ll tell you that too.
SwiftPro Heating, Cooling & Plumbing is a licensed, BBB Accredited (A rating), independently owned heating, cooling and plumbing company in Chantilly, serving Sterling and the rest of Northern Virginia. Virginia contractor license #2705192276. 4.9 stars across 889 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.