Polybutylene Repipe
Grey PB pipe from 1978. 1996 fails from the inside out. How to identify it.
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Region · 49 communities
Plumbing in Northern Virginia
Fairfax, Arlington, Loudoun and Prince William. The densest housing stock in the state and the epicentre of Virginia’s polybutylene problem.
Tell us your town and what is happening. We will connect you with an independent licensed professional nearby.
Local conditions
What shapes plumbing in Northern Virginia
Four things determine what fails in a house, and all four vary across Virginia.
Housing stock
Two distinct waves. The inner suburbs, Arlington, Alexandria, Annandale, Falls Church, were built out between the 1940s and the early 1960s, which means galvanised steel supply, cast iron drainage and clay sewer laterals under sixty-year-old trees. Then came the enormous 1978. 1996 build-out across Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William, which is precisely the polybutylene window.
Water supply
Fairfax Water, Loudoun Water, Arlington and the City of Falls Church between them serve most of the region, drawing largely from the Potomac and the Occoquan. The water is treated, chloraminated and moderately hard. Street pressure runs high in much of the region and very high on properties well below a storage tank. Readings above 100 psi are common in the hillier parts of Loudoun and western Fairfax.
Ground conditions
Piedmont clay over saprolite through most of the region, which holds water against foundations and moves seasonally.
Winter exposure
Twenty to thirty-five nights below freezing in a typical winter, with occasional single-digit stretches. Enough to split an unprotected hose bib every year.
Waste
Overwhelmingly municipal sewer, with septic on larger western Loudoun and Prince William lots.
Why we publish this
Because the honest first question on the phone depends on where you are. Knowing the era of the house and the water supply narrows most calls before anyone drives anywhere.
Talk to a Plumber
Say the town and the symptom. That is usually enough to narrow it.
Common problems
What we are called about in Northern Virginia
Three patterns account for most of the volume here.
Most common
Polybutylene supply failures
Houses built or replumbed between 1978 and 1996 across Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William are the single largest source of sudden indoor water damage in the region. Grey PB fails at the fittings with no warning.
Common
Pressure above code
High street pressure combined with ageing pressure reducing valves. It shortens the life of every fixture and every water heater in the house, and most owners have never measured it.
Common
Cast iron and clay in the inner suburbs
Arlington, Alexandria and Annandale housing from the 1940s and 1950s is now well past the service life of its original drainage, with root intrusion at every clay joint.
Recognise One of These?
Describe what you are seeing and we will tell you what it usually means in this part of Virginia.
Services
Most in demand here
Available everywhere in Virginia, but these are the ones Northern Virginia actually calls about.
Water Pressure Regulator
Testing your pressure, and why anything over 80 psi is costing you.
Read moreHistoric Home Plumbing
Galvanised, cast iron, lead solder and plaster walls in pre-1960 houses.
Read moreSee all 32 services
Diagnosis, process and Virginia price ranges on every service page.
Coverage
Communities we cover in Northern Virginia
49 communities across Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William and Arlington. Each page covers local conditions and the problems most common there.
AldieLoudoun CountyAlexandriaIndependent cityAnnandaleFairfax CountyArlingtonArlington CountyAshburnLoudoun CountyBristowPrince William CountyBroad RunNorthern VirginiaBurkeFairfax CountyCatharpinNorthern VirginiaCentrevilleFairfax CountyChantillyFairfax CountyCliftonFairfax CountyDullesLoudoun CountyDumfriesPrince William CountyDunn LoringFairfax CountyFairfaxIndependent cityFairfax StationFairfax CountyFalls ChurchIndependent cityFort BelvoirFairfax CountyFort MyerArlington CountyGainesvillePrince William CountyGreat FallsFairfax CountyHamiltonLoudoun CountyHaymarketPrince William CountyHerndonFairfax CountyLeesburgLoudoun CountyLincolnNorthern VirginiaLortonFairfax CountyLovettsvilleLoudoun CountyManassasIndependent cityMc LeanFairfax CountyMerrifieldFairfax CountyMiddleburgLoudoun CountyNewingtonNorthern VirginiaNokesvillePrince William CountyOaktonFairfax CountyOccoquanPrince William CountyPaeonian SpringsNorthern VirginiaPhilomontNorthern VirginiaPurcellvilleLoudoun CountyQuanticoPrince William CountyRestonFairfax CountyRound HillLoudoun CountySpringfieldFairfax CountySterlingLoudoun CountyTriangleNorthern VirginiaViennaFairfax CountyWaterfordLoudoun CountyWoodbridgePrince William County
Questions
Plumbing in Northern Virginia, answered
Houses built or replumbed between 1978 and 1996 across Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William are the single largest source of sudden indoor water damage in the region. Grey PB fails at the fittings with no warning. High street pressure combined with ageing pressure reducing valves. It shortens the life of every fixture and every water heater in the house, and most owners have never measured it.
We cover 49 communities across Northern Virginia, from Arlington and Alexandria to the smallest villages, each with its own page below. If your town is not listed, ring anyway. The coverage area is wider than the page count.
Fairfax Water, Loudoun Water, Arlington and the City of Falls Church between them serve most of the region, drawing largely from the Potomac and the Occoquan. The water is treated, chloraminated and moderately hard.
Twenty to thirty-five nights below freezing in a typical winter, with occasional single-digit stretches. Enough to split an unprotected hose bib every year. Rural properties on wells and septic have the additional exposure of pump houses and shallow lines.
Overwhelmingly municipal sewer, with septic on larger western Loudoun and Prince William lots.
In most cases yes. We connect homeowners with independent licensed professionals 24 hours a day across Northern Virginia. Emergencies, burst pipe, sewage backing up, no water, are prioritised over scheduled work.
Across Northern Virginia
Tell us your town
Every community above has its own page, naming the neighbouring towns we cover and the problems most common there. Or simply ring and describe what is happening.
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Independent licensed professionals, 24 hours a day.