Plumbing Inspection in Vienna, VA

How old is the plumbing in a typical Vienna house?

Vienna is an established town about a dozen miles west of Washington, with a walkable downtown along Route 123 and the W&OD Trail and mostly older single-family neighborhoods. The median home was built around 1971. That's old enough for original drain lines, gate valves and water heater venting to need a close look, and many houses have additions where newer plumbing joins the old.

Who supplies water and sewer at this address?

The Town of Vienna runs its own water distribution system, buying treated water from Fairfax Water and the Washington Aqueduct, and about a third of its connections are outside town limits. Parts of the Vienna ZIP codes are on Fairfax Water instead, and the Town's sewer service area has its own map; areas outside it are on Fairfax County sewer. The bill settles it. Town water uses chloramine most of the year with a short switch to free chlorine during flushing, and it runs moderately hard to hard, about 5 to 10 grains per gallon. The Town's inventory found no lead or galvanized service lines, with nearly all lines copper and some polyethylene on homeowner property.

What if the inspection turns up work?

Water heater, gas and plumbing permits go through Fairfax County Land Development Services in PLUS. A like-for-like gas water heater swap uses a Household Appliance permit; new gas piping needs a Residential Plumbing permit. Projects inside the Town also need Town of Vienna approval, uploaded to the PLUS record. A plumber can tell you which findings need permits before you get quotes.

Scale is a fair thing to check with water this hard: a plumber may drain a little from the tank, look at aerators and test how freely the fixture valves turn. On a 1970s house, a camera run of the sewer line is also worth adding, since roots and cracked joints in an aging lateral are the owner's problem to fix.

A local note

Washington Gas serves Vienna. If you smell gas, leave the house first, then call 911 and 844-WASHGAS (844-927-4427), option 1. For a Town water or sewer problem, customer service is 703-255-6385; after hours, the Town's report points to the Vienna police non-emergency line, 703-255-6366.