Repiping in Annandale, VA

Annandale's housing and its pipe

Annandale grew fast after World War II, filling in around Little River Turnpike, Columbia Pike and the Beltway with neighborhoods such as Ravensworth and the homes around Lake Barcroft. Houses from the late 1940s and 1950s were often plumbed with galvanized steel, which corrodes from the inside and slowly chokes flow. Homes from the 1960s usually have copper, which can thin and pinhole after decades of service. Many have been partly repaired over the years, leaving a patchwork of materials.

Fairfax Water supplies the area and owns the meter. The underground line from the meter or street valve to the main shutoff in the house belongs to the homeowner, and Fairfax Water notes that inside meters are common in houses built between 1971 and 1980. Its Lead Free Fairfax survey asks owners to identify the material on their side.

What your house likely has

Signs to act on

• Brown water that clears after a minute of running
• Low flow at upstairs fixtures
• Leaks at threaded joints near the water heater
• A third leak repair in a short period

Galvanized pipe is hard to judge from outside, because the corrosion builds on the inside wall. If a plumber has cut out a section during an earlier repair, ask to see it: a pipe half filled with rust scale explains weak flow better than any test, and it tells you the rest of the run looks much the same.

Timing and seasonal notes

Galvanized pipe tends to fail gradually, which gives you time to plan, but exterior-wall runs and crawlspace lines in older homes are vulnerable in a deep freeze. Scheduling before winter avoids an emergency repair on pipe you were going to replace anyway. Hardness from Fairfax Water's Potomac plant averages about 7.5 grains per gallon, so plan for accessible shutoffs. Unincorporated Annandale is permitted by Fairfax County Land Development Services through PLUS.