Water Heater Replacement in Alexandria, VA

An Alexandria address can mean two different permit offices: the City of Alexandria for ZIP codes such as 22314 and 22301, and Fairfax County for 22306 to 22310. City water comes from Virginia American Water and ran from 78 to 191 mg/L hardness in 2025. In Old Town and Parker-Gray, a vent on a street-facing wall needs the review board's approval. We sort all of that before we price the job.

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Your itemized estimateFree, with every line priced before work starts
  1. The water heaterBrand, model, fuel and size, so you can compare quotes like for like
  2. Drain, disconnect and remove the old unitLabor for the swap
  3. Haul-awayThe old heater leaves with us
  4. Thermal expansion tankWhere your water system needs one
  5. Relief valve discharge pipeRun down to just above the floor
  6. Drain panWhere a leak would damage the room
  7. Gas shutoff and sediment trapGas units only
  8. Vent connectorChecked and replaced if it is undersized or corroded
  9. Water connectionsShutoff valve and connectors
  10. Permit and inspectionWhere the job requires one

Lines your house does not need are left off, and each line that stays has its price beside it.

Alexandria at a glance: what affects your water heater

Two permit offices depending on the address, water that ranged from moderately hard to very hard in 2025, older attached houses, and review-board rules for vents in the historic districts.

Permit
City of Alexandria addresses: Department of Code Administration, through APEX. Alexandria-addressed homes in Fairfax County (22303, 22306, 22307, 22308, 22309, 22310, 22312, 22315) permit through Fairfax County instead. See both offices.Source: Alexandria APEX permit portal; Fairfax County PLUS
Water
Virginia American Water, which buys treated water from Fairfax Water's Corbalis (Potomac) and Griffith (Occoquan) plants. Total hardness ranged from 78 to 191 mg/L in 2025: moderately hard to very hard on the USGS scale.Source: Virginia American Water, Alexandria 2025 Water Quality Report; USGS hardness scale
Gas and power
Washington Gas; Dominion Energy Virginia.Source: City of Alexandria utilities
Housing
Median home built in 1974; 60% of homes built before 1980; 21% townhouses and rowhouses against 14% single-family detached; 42% owner-occupied. 47% of homes heat with utility gas.Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2020-2024 5-year (tables B25034, B25035, B25003, B25024, B25040)
Historic districts
Old and Historic Alexandria and Parker-Gray. Exterior changes visible from a street, alley, park or the water need a Certificate of Appropriateness. Board staff can approve a vent smaller than one cubic foot whose colour matches the wall, and a vent on a street-facing elevation needs proof there is no reasonable alternative.Source: Alexandria BAR administrative approval policies

What that means for a replacement in Alexandria

Check the jurisdiction first. A Del Ray or Old Town house is in the city; a Rose Hill, Franconia or Fort Hunt house with an Alexandria mailing address is in Fairfax County. The permit office, the fee and the process differ, and the estimate names the right one.

Rowhouses and townhouses usually have one or two exterior walls and a water heater in a closet or a narrow basement. That limits where a tankless vent can go, and in Old Town or Parker-Gray the board expects a vent off the street face. We settle the route on the site visit, before the price.

With hardness that reached 191 mg/L in 2025, sediment and scale build up faster than in softer water. A tank gains life from periodic draining, and a tankless unit needs isolation valves and a flushing schedule.

What a replacement includes

The heater, removal and haul-away of the old one, and whatever the house needs to run the new one safely and to code. Each numbered part is a numbered line on the estimate.

Parts of a gas tank water heater installationA gas storage water heater standing in a drain pan. Numbered parts: 1 the water heater, 4 the thermal expansion tank on the cold-water line, 5 the temperature and pressure relief valve and its discharge pipe ending just above the floor, 6 the drain pan, 7 the gas shutoff valve and sediment trap, 8 the vent connector, 9 the cold-water shutoff valve and water connections.
A gas tank install. 1 the heater, 4 expansion tank, 5 relief valve discharge, 6 drain pan, 7 gas shutoff and sediment trap, 8 vent connector, 9 water shutoff and connections.

Where in Alexandria

Old Town, Del Ray, Rosemont, Parker-Gray, Seminary Hill, Beverley Hills, Carlyle, Eisenhower, Arlandria, Potomac Yard and the West End: about 6 miles and 16 minutes from our Arlington office without traffic.

City ZIP codes 22301, 22302, 22304, 22305, 22311 and 22314. Fairfax County homes with Alexandria addresses are covered on the Fairfax page.

Other areas we install in

ArlingtonOur home county. Hard water, older houses, a chimney vent check on gas units.FairfaxFairfax County and the City of Fairfax: Reston, McLean, Vienna, Springfield, Chantilly.Falls ChurchCity fuel-gas permit, Washington Aqueduct water, mostly pre-1980 homes.Loudoun CountyAshburn, Sterling, Leesburg. Newer homes, two gas utilities, propane in the west.

Water heater questions from Alexandria homeowners

Yes for a gas water heater. Virginia's building code exempts replacing only appliances that are not fueled by gas or oil, and the city lists both gas and electric water heater replacement permits in its reports. City addresses apply through APEX; Fairfax County addresses with an Alexandria mailing address apply to Fairfax County.

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Service Area

Arlington, Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church and Loudoun

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