Plumber in Richmond, VA, for Older Homes and New

Richmond, VA

A plumber in Richmond works in some of the oldest houses in Virginia. The row houses of the Fan, the Museum District and Church Hill, the bungalows on the Northside and the brick ranches across the South Side each come with their own plumbing, often from several eras at once. Galvanized supply pipe in one wall, copper in the next, plastic added during a kitchen remodel, and a cast iron drain stack running through the middle of it all. Knowing what to expect behind the walls is half the job.

The plumbing we see in Richmond

In the oldest parts of the city, the original supply pipe is often galvanized steel that has rusted inside until the pressure drops at every shower. Many of these houses have had sections replaced over the years, so a repair in one place can uncover a different material a few feet away. Drain lines are often cast iron inside the house and clay out to the street, and the joints in old clay pipe are where tree roots get in.

Newer neighborhoods have their own patterns. Houses from the middle of the last century may have copper supply that is wearing thin, and some homes built before the mid-nineties still have gray polybutylene supply pipe. We tell you what we find, and we only recommend replacing pipe that is actually failing.

Basements, crawl spaces and row houses

Many Richmond houses sit over a basement or a crawl space, which makes their pipes easier to reach for a repair or a repipe. Row houses share walls, so we plan work carefully and keep it on your side of the party wall. In narrow houses with long runs from front to back, a slow drain at the back of the house often traces to a sag or a joint in the long horizontal line under the floor.

Winter in the city

Richmond doesn’t stay frozen for long, but a few hard freezes each winter are enough to split a pipe in an outside wall, a crawl space or an unheated porch. Disconnect hoses from outside faucets in the fall, close crawl space vents during a hard freeze and let a faucet drip on a pipe you know is at risk. If a pipe does split, shut the main off first and call our emergency plumbing line.

Working with the city

Inside city limits, the City of Richmond issues plumbing permits and inspects the work, and the city utility handles water, sewer and gas service up to the meter. When a job needs a permit, such as a water heater replacement or a repipe, we file it and book the inspection, and you get the closed permit at the end.

Every service we offer is available across the city, from clearing a slow drain to tracing a hidden leak. The full list is on our plumbing services page, and the service area page covers Glen Allen and Midlothian as well.

Services in Richmond

• Emergency plumbingA burst pipe, an overflowing toilet or no water at all: same-day visits when we can, with the after-hours rate told to you before we come.
• Drain cleaningSlow sinks, backed-up toilets and floor drains that gurgle, cleared and checked, with a camera look at the line when the clog keeps coming back.
• Leak repairDrips under the sink, wet spots on the ceiling and a water bill that jumps for no reason, found and fixed with a written price first.
• Water heater repair and replacementNo hot water, rusty water or a tank that leaks at the base: repaired when it's worth it, replaced with tank or tankless when it isn't.
• RepipingOld pipes that leak again and again, low pressure or discolored water, replaced with new lines and the walls patched behind us.

Guides

• Frozen and Burst Pipes in Richmond: What to DoWhat to do about frozen and burst pipes in Richmond, which pipes are most at risk, how to thaw a line safely and how to keep it from happening again.
• Repair or Replace a Water Heater? A Richmond GuideHow to decide whether to repair or replace a water heater in the Richmond area, with the signs to watch, what each choice involves and what to ask.
• Repiping an Older Richmond House, Step by StepWhat repiping an older Richmond house involves, which old pipes cause trouble, how to tell if yours need replacing and what to ask before you agree to a quote.
• Tree Roots in Sewer Lines Around MidlothianWhy tree roots get into sewer lines around Midlothian and Richmond, the warning signs, camera inspections and the choices for clearing or repairing a line.

Questions from Richmond

• Do I need a permit for plumbing work in Richmond?

  Repairs like a faucet, a toilet or a clogged drain usually don't. A water heater replacement, a repipe, a new bathroom or moving fixtures does. Inside city limits the City of Richmond issues the permit and inspects the work, and we file it for you.

• My house has cast iron drain pipes. Should I replace them?

  Not just because they are cast iron. Many cast iron stacks still have years left. Cracks, rust lines, a sewer smell or repeated clogs are reasons to look inside with a camera, and that shows whether a section needs replacing or the whole line does.

• Who do I call about a problem at the meter or the street?

  The meter and the public main belong to the city utility. The line from the meter into your house is yours. If we find the problem is on the city side, we tell you so you can call them.