Plumbers in Chantilly, VA

Western Fairfax at Routes 50 and 28

Chantilly centers on the interchange of U.S. Route 50 (Lee Jackson Memorial Highway) and Virginia Route 28 (Sully Road), with I-66 to the south, roughly 22 miles west of downtown Washington. The census-designated place had 24,301 residents in 2020. Its landmarks range from the Ox Hill Civil War battlefield and Sully Historic Site to the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, along with large office and government campuses and neighborhoods such as Franklin Farm and Greenbriar. It sits right on the Loudoun County line.

Homes and common repairs

Chantilly's median home dates to about 1987. Greenbriar's older houses and the larger lots of Franklin Farm bring different jobs: water heater changeouts, failing pressure-reducing and shutoff valves, laterals with root intrusion, sump pumps in finished basements and irrigation systems that need yearly backflow tests. Hose bibs and pipes near exterior walls are the usual victims of a hard freeze.

Water and sewer

Fairfax Water serves the area from its Corbalis plant on the Potomac River and Griffith plant on the Occoquan Reservoir, and some of its customers get Potomac water treated by the Washington Aqueduct. It uses chloramines normally from July through March and free chlorine generally from April through June. Fairfax Water reports moderately hard water that averages near 7.5 grains per gallon at Corbalis, changing with the season. It owns the service line up to and including the meter, and the owner has the rest; the Lead Free Fairfax survey asks owners to report their side's material. Customer service is 703-698-5800 on weekdays, and 703-698-5613 takes water emergencies after hours.

Fairfax County's Wastewater Management program owns the public mains. If sewage backs up with no fixtures in use, call the county's 24-hour line, 703-323-1211, first. If the county main is clear, the private lateral from the building to the main is the owner's to maintain, and the county won't locate it, so a plumber's camera usually comes next.

Permits and backflow rules

Fairfax County Land Development Services requires a permit even for a direct water heater replacement, and for new, repaired or relocated plumbing or gas fixtures; swapping a fixture like for like in the same spot is exempt. Apply through PLUS or call 703-222-0801. Under the county's Cross Connections Group, working with Fairfax Water, residential lawn irrigation needs a testable high-hazard backflow assembly checked every year by a DPOR-certified Backflow Prevention Device Worker on the county's Authorized Vendor List.

Gas safety

Washington Gas serves most of Fairfax County, but the county notes that portions of Chantilly may be on Columbia Gas of Virginia, so check which name is on your gas bill. If you smell gas, leave the house first and call 911. Washington Gas customers then call 844-WASHGAS (844-927-4427), option 1; Columbia Gas customers call that company's emergency line.

Chantilly compared with the District

DC homes work with DC Water and the DC Department of Buildings. Chantilly homes deal with Fairfax Water, county permits and, in places, a different gas company. Call with your neighborhood and the problem, and you will be connected with an independent plumber who sets price and timing with you.