Sewer Line Repair in Arlington, VA

Warning signs in an Arlington house

• A basement floor drain that seeps or gurgles when an upstairs tub empties
• Toilets on different floors slowing down in the same week
• A sour sewage smell in the basement or near the front walk
• Water rising in the lowest shower while the washer pumps out
• A line that was cleared recently plugging up again

One slow sink usually means a local clog. Trouble at several fixtures at once points to the main building drain or the lateral that carries everything out to the street.

Local conditions

Arlington sits about five miles from downtown Washington and is fully urbanized, with high-rise corridors along the Rosslyn-Ballston Metro line and single-family streets around them in places such as Cherrydale. The median home in the county was built in 1976, and many neighborhoods are older than that. Drain lines from the middle of the last century can be cast iron, which corrodes and scales on the inside, or clay tile, whose joints let roots in. Because so many Arlington houses have basements, a partial blockage often shows up first at the floor drain, the lowest opening in the house.

Condominium owners should check with their association before calling, since shared stacks and building sewers are often association property. Single-family owners usually deal with the line themselves. Arlington County handles plumbing permits through its building and inspections program, with applications filed in the Permit Arlington portal, and replacing a section of pipe is the kind of job that typically needs one. Billing and service questions go to the Department of Environmental Services Customer Contact Center at 703-228-5000.

Cost drivers

• Depth of the pipe and how far the damage sits from the foundation
• Whether the line runs under a driveway, porch steps, a retaining wall or a mature tree
• Pipe material and whether a liner can bridge the damaged stretch
• Access through an existing cleanout versus cutting one in
• Permit and inspection through Arlington County
• Tight lot lines and street parking, which can limit equipment

When you call

You'll reach an independent plumber who works in Arlington. Be ready to say which drains are affected, whether water came up through the basement floor, and when the line was last cleared. The usual first visit opens the line to restore flow, then runs a camera to find the cause and mark its location. With that video in hand, you can compare a spot repair, a liner or a new section before agreeing to any digging.