Ajax Plumbing LLC / Leesburg, VA — Residential Plumbing
Residential Plumbing in Leesburg, VA From leaky pipes to full repipes
We handle the full range of residential plumbing in Leesburg homes, from a dripping faucet or a running toilet to a whole house repipe on a galvanized system that has finally given out. Father and son, 45 years combined, and we treat your house like we live in the neighborhood.
540-671-5417Free quoteLeesburg’s residential housing stock covers two extremes and everything in between. The 1750s and 1800s homes in the historic district have plumbing that was retrofitted and re-retrofitted over generations. The newer subdivisions along the Route 7 corridor have PEX and modern copper that is barely a decade old. Both types of houses have plumbing problems that need a plumber who knows what he is looking at, and we do.
Residential plumbing work we do in Leesburg homes
Here is the work we get called for most across Leesburg. Older homes and newer homes call for different skills, and we carry both.
Fixture Installation and Repair
Faucets, toilets, shower valves, tub surrounds, bathroom sinks, kitchen fixtures. We install what you buy or we supply the fixture. On historic homes, we take care not to damage original tile and trim during fixture swaps, because some of that material is irreplaceable. On newer homes we match manufacturer specs to preserve warranty.
Leak Detection
Hidden leaks in walls, under slabs, and under floors do real damage before you see a stain. We track them down with pressure testing and locating equipment. In Leesburg’s older homes with plaster walls and original hardwood floors, doing this without opening up unnecessary wall sections matters. We find the source before we open anything.
Whole House Repiping
Galvanized steel supply lines corrode from the inside and eventually restrict flow to a trickle. Old copper with pin hole leaks in hard water areas eventually needs full replacement too. When the system has run its course, we repipe. PEX or copper, we quote the project, explain the sequence, and do the work systematically so the house stays livable during the job.
Pressure Regulator Replacement
Loudoun County municipal water pressure runs high in some areas. Pressure regulators reduce that to household safe levels, usually between 50 and 70 PSI. When regulators fail, pressure either spikes, which damages fixtures and appliances, or drops below usable levels. A bad regulator is a common cause of “bad water pressure” calls that gets misdiagnosed as a pipe problem.
Appliance Hookups
Dishwasher, washing machine, refrigerator water line, gas dryer. We connect new appliances to existing supply and drain lines, and if the existing lines are in the wrong location for a kitchen or laundry layout change, we reroute. Particularly relevant for Leesburg homeowners doing kitchen renovations in the older homes where the laundry room or kitchen was moved at some point in the house’s history.
Shutoff Valve Replacement
Older Leesburg homes often have original gate valves on supply lines that have not been operated in twenty years. They seize in the open position, so when you need to shut off water for any repair, they do not close. Replacing with quarter turn ball valves while we are on site for another job saves the headache when you actually need a shutoff to work.
Reading a Leesburg house and knowing what you are working with
The residential plumbing challenge in Leesburg is that many houses have mixed systems, not a single vintage of pipe. The original supply might be galvanized steel from the 1930s, with a copper update from the 1960s on part of the system, and a PEX branch added in the 1990s when a bathroom was added. The drains might be cast iron on the main stack with PVC added for a second bathroom, and the original lead or oakum joints still present at the connection to the older cast iron sections. You cannot look at a house from the outside and know what is in the walls.
We ask the right questions and we look at what is accessible before we quote. If you are having a pressure problem, we want to know when it started and whether it is on hot, cold, or both, and whether it is at all fixtures or specific ones. If you are having a leak, we want to know whether you can hear water running when everything is off, and whether there is any visible staining. Those answers tell us what to look for before we open the first panel or pull the first access cover.
The galvanized that was here in 1958 is still here now. That is what the house inspection did not find.
The Leesburg neighborhoods that tend toward the galvanized repipe conversation are the mid twentieth century residential areas: the streets in and around downtown that were developed in the 1940s through 1960s, before copper became the universal residential standard. Houses in those areas with original supply lines are now sixty to eighty years old on those pipes, and galvanized does not age well. When we quote a repipe on one of those houses, we explain the sequence, the expected duration, and what access will be needed in each room. Usually a full house repipe in an average sized Leesburg home takes two to three days. We keep the water on as much as possible during the work.
See the gallery for examples of residential work, or reach us through the contact page. If the plumbing work ties into a renovation project, we also handle plumbing remodeling in Leesburg with full coordination for the scope and sequence of the work.
Leesburg neighborhoods we cover for residential work
We are in Leesburg regularly enough that we know which neighborhoods have the older pipe systems, which have the newer construction, and what each tends to need. Whether you are in the historic district near King Street, in the mid century neighborhoods north of Route 7, or in the newer subdivisions east toward the Greenway, we cover it. We also serve the broader Loudoun County area around Leesburg, including Ashburn, Sterling, Purcellville, and the smaller towns to the north and west.
We handle residential plumbing across Leesburg, VA and Loudoun County from our shop in Front Royal.
Residential plumbing questions from Leesburg homeowners
My water pressure is low. What is usually the cause in Leesburg homes?
The most common causes are a failing pressure regulator, supply line restriction from galvanized corrosion, or a partially closed shutoff somewhere in the system. On older Leesburg homes we often find that the pressure regulator on the main supply was installed in the 1970s or 1980s and has never been serviced. When it starts to fail it can drop pressure across the whole house, or it can fail in the high direction and spike pressure that damages fixtures. We check the regulator first, then trace the supply if the regulator is functioning normally.
How do I know if I need a full repipe or just targeted repairs?
Age is the main indicator. Galvanized steel supply lines in Leesburg that were installed before 1970 are at or past the end of their useful life. If you are seeing brown or orange tinted water, reduced flow at multiple fixtures, or pinhole leaks appearing in different spots over a few years, the system has reached the point where targeted repairs are not catching up with the rate of deterioration. A full repipe done once is better than continuous repairs on a system that will keep failing. We assess it in person and give you a straight answer on which path makes sense for your situation.
Do you work on homes that have a mix of different pipe materials?
Yes, and most older Leesburg homes do have mixed systems. Original galvanized steel, copper from a renovation in the sixties, PEX from a bathroom addition in the nineties. The key is understanding how those materials connect and what transitions are appropriate between them. We read the existing system before we start any work so we know what we are dealing with and what connections will hold over time.
Can you hook up a new dishwasher or refrigerator water line?
Yes. Appliance hookups are part of residential plumbing service. For a dishwasher we connect the supply and the drain line to the existing kitchen plumbing. For a refrigerator water line we typically run a quarter inch supply from the closest cold supply shutoff. If the kitchen layout puts the appliance away from the existing rough in, we reroute the supply line to where you need it.
I have a leak somewhere but I cannot find it. What do you do?
We pressure test the system to isolate whether the leak is on the supply side or the drain side, and then we use listening equipment on supply line leaks to narrow the location without opening walls. On slab built homes, slab leaks require acoustic detection to locate the pipe and minimize the concrete work needed to access it. We find the source before we open anything, which keeps the repair scope as tight as possible.
Do you do residential work on both old and new homes in Leesburg?
Yes. The historic district homes with 1800s era plumbing and the newer subdivisions off Route 7 built in the last twenty years are both in our regular work. Old homes need someone who can read an existing system and work with what is there. New homes need someone who keeps up with current materials and code. With 45 years combined experience we cover both ends of the range.
Residential plumber in Leesburg, VA
Tell us what the plumbing problem is and we call you back fast. Fixtures, leaks, repiping, pressure problems, we handle it all. The quote is free.
Prefer to call? 540-671-5417, 24/7.