Water Heater Replacement in Fairfax, VA
Fairfax County requires a permit for every gas water heater replacement, even like for like, plus a chimney vent certification; the independent City of Fairfax issues its own gas and plumbing permits. Fairfax Water supplies most homes, at a typical 84 to 170 mg/L hardness. From Reston to Springfield, we price the unit, the code items and the permit on one free, itemized estimate.
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- The water heaterBrand, model, fuel and size, so you can compare quotes like for like
- Drain, disconnect and remove the old unitLabor for the swap
- Haul-awayThe old heater leaves with us
- Thermal expansion tankWhere your water system needs one
- Relief valve discharge pipeRun down to just above the floor
- Drain panWhere a leak would damage the room
- Gas shutoff and sediment trapGas units only
- Vent connectorChecked and replaced if it is undersized or corroded
- Water connectionsShutoff valve and connectors
- 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.
Fairfax at a glance: what affects your water heater
A permit for every gas replacement, a chimney vent certification, Fairfax Water at moderately hard to hard, and houses that are mostly from the 1970s and 1980s.
- Permit
- Fairfax County: Household Appliance (HAPL) permit through PLUS for every gas replacement. City of Fairfax: its own gas and plumbing (or electrical and plumbing) permits. See both.Source: Fairfax County PLUS; City of Fairfax, Gas Permit (Residential)
- Water
- Fairfax Water: north county mostly from the Corbalis plant on the Potomac, south county mostly from the Griffith plant on the Occoquan. Typical hardness 84 to 170 mg/L (5 to 10 grains per gallon); in 2025 Corbalis averaged about 128 mg/L and Griffith about 96. The City of Fairfax sold its water system to Fairfax Water in 2014.Source: Fairfax Water, How hard is our water?; USGS hardness scale
- Gas and power
- Washington Gas for most homes, Columbia Gas of Virginia in parts of Chantilly and Herndon. Dominion Energy Virginia for most, NOVEC in parts of Centreville and Clifton.Source: Fairfax County utility providers
- Housing
- Fairfax County: median home built in 1983; 44% built before 1980; 46% single-family detached and 23% townhouses; 69% owner-occupied; 54% heat with utility gas. City of Fairfax: median 1967; 66% built before 1980; 57% heat with utility gas.Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2020-2024 5-year (tables B25034, B25035, B25003, B25024, B25040)
- Historic districts
- Fairfax County has historic overlay districts reviewed by its Architectural Review Board, including Hollin Hills, Lake Anne Village Center in Reston and Colvin Run; the county says review applies to exterior alterations that need a building permit. In the City of Fairfax, changes visible from the street in the Old Town historic overlay need a certificate of appropriateness.Source: Fairfax County historic overlay districts; City of Fairfax Certificate of Appropriateness
Fairfax communities, by housing age
Older communities mean more chimney-vented gas heaters and more code items to bring up to date; newer ones more power-vent and tankless setups.
| Median year built | Built before 1980 | Heat with utility gas | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annandale | 1968 | 80% | 64% |
| Vienna (town) | 1971 | 65% | 77% |
| Springfield | 1975 | 55% | 56% |
| McLean | 1977 | 56% | 71% |
| Burke | 1979 | 57% | 53% |
| Herndon (town) | 1983 | 43% | 37% |
| Oakton | 1983 | 43% | 51% |
| Reston | 1984 | 41% | 47% |
| Great Falls | 1985 | 38% | 45% (8% propane) |
| Chantilly | 1987 | 18% | 49% |
| Centreville | 1991 | 11% | 63% |
| Lorton | 1997 | 16% | 56% |
What that means for a replacement in Fairfax
Inside the Beltway and in the older suburbs (Annandale, Vienna, Springfield, McLean), most houses date from the 1950s to the 1970s. Gas water heaters there often vent into a chimney shared with the furnace, and once the furnace has been upgraded to a sidewall-vented model the water heater can be left alone in a chimney too large for it. The county's chimney vent certification checks this; so do we, before pricing.
Reston, Chantilly, Centreville and Lorton have more townhouses and newer single-family houses, which often have a power-vent or direct-vent water heater instead of a chimney. Replacing one like for like is usually simple, but a power vent needs an outlet and a clear vent run, and a tankless unit needs its isolation valves and condensate drain checked.
Fairfax Water is moderately hard to hard. A tank lasts longer with periodic draining, and a tankless unit should be flushed on a 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.
Where in Fairfax
Fairfax County, including Reston, McLean, Vienna, Herndon, Springfield, Annandale, Burke, Centreville, Chantilly, Oakton, Great Falls, Lorton, Fairfax Station and Alexandria- and Falls Church-addressed neighbourhoods, plus the independent City of Fairfax.
The middle of the county is about 14 miles and 25 minutes from our Arlington office without traffic.
Other areas we install in
Water heater questions from Fairfax homeowners
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