Purcellville, era by era
Purcellville is an incorporated town, the largest in western Loudoun County, with its own mayor, council and water and sewer utility. It sits on the older line of Route 7 between Hamilton and Round Hill, and the W&OD Trail ends here, following the old railroad line that helped the town grow.
The old town
Along Main Street and the blocks just off it are buildings from the late 1800s and early 1900s: brick commercial buildings, some with apartments upstairs, and frame and brick houses on deep lots. Many of the houses have cellars or crawl spaces rather than full basements, plaster walls, and plumbing and heating updated in stages over the decades.
The middle years
Mid-century ramblers and split-levels fill some of the in-town streets. Their plumbing has usually been replaced at least once, and their lower levels have often been finished long after they were built.
The newer neighborhoods
Since the 1990s, larger subdivisions have been built in and around town, mostly single-family homes with full basements and sump pits, many of them finished. These are on town or county public water and sewer, while properties further out in the 20132 ZIP often rely on wells and septic.
Plaster, old floors or a stone cellar? Tell us.
Call About an Older HomeIn every era: the small connections that fail
Whatever the age of the house, most indoor leaks start at the short connections between the plumbing and the fixtures rather than in the pipes inside the walls. Toilet and faucet supply lines, the shut-off valves under sinks, washing machine hoses, the icemaker line behind the refrigerator and the fittings on top of the water heater cause more calls than anything else.
Each wears out differently. Plastic supply lines turn brittle and crack at the nut. Braided lines fray and then give way. Rubber washer hoses swell before they split. Old multi-turn valves seize, or start dripping at the stem the first time someone turns them in years. In the old town these parts have been swapped many times, often mixing old and new; in the newer subdivisions many are still the originals, all the same age.
Once a year, look under every sink and behind each toilet and the washer. Replace anything corroded, stiff or bulging. Braided stainless lines and quarter-turn valves cost little, and a leak sensor by the water heater and washer catches slow drips before they reach the rooms below.
Gutters, downspouts and window wells
Purcellville's older streets are shaded by big trees, and the trees planted in the newer neighborhoods are now large enough to fill gutters every fall. A blocked gutter overflows along its whole length and drops roof water straight against the foundation. A downspout ending on a splash block beside the wall does the same thing in one spot.
In homes with basements, window wells are the other common entry point. Their drains fill with leaves and soil, and in a heavy storm the well fills like a bucket until water comes over the sill. In the older houses, downspouts sometimes run into old underground pipes that have long since clogged or collapsed, so water that seems to vanish is actually soaking the soil beside the cellar wall.
Clean gutters in late fall and again in spring. Extend every downspout several feet onto ground that falls away from the house. Clear window well drains, and consider covers. Then watch the house in a hard rain; it shows you exactly where the water goes.
Older houses here usually take on water through the cellar walls and the plumbing they've collected over a century. Newer ones usually take it on through a sump pit, a window well or a part that has reached the end of its life.
Extraction first, then drying checked with a meter.
Get the Water Stopped and DriedIn the newer basements: the sump pit
Most of the newer homes around Purcellville have a sump pit in the basement, collecting water from the drain tile around the footing. In a wet spring the pump may cycle many times an hour, and a pump that has done that for fifteen or twenty years is due for replacement.
The usual failures are a float that sticks against the pit wall, a worn switch, a motor that burns out in a long storm, a discharge line that freezes in winter or empties too close to the house, and a power cut in the same storm that fills the pit. A basement that's finished right up to the utility room means a failed pump quickly becomes wet carpet and drywall.
Test it each spring by pouring a bucket of water into the pit and watching the pump start and stop. Keep the pit clear of silt, check where the discharge ends, and add a battery backup with a high-water alarm. If it has already failed, restore pumping first, then extract and dry.
Pit full and the pump silent? Start here.
Sump Pump Stopped? Call NowAround Purcellville
Purcellville is part of our Loudoun County service area. Neighboring pages cover Round Hill to the west, Hamilton and Paeonian Springs to the east, Lovettsville to the north and Middleburg to the south.
Services for Purcellville homes
- Basement Water Damage
- Sump Pump Failure Cleanup
- Burst Pipe Water Damage
- Gutter & Drainage Water Intrusion
- Water Heater Leak Cleanup
- Structural Drying & Dehumidification
Apartment above a shop, or a bathroom upstairs: we'll help trace it.
Water Coming Through the Ceiling? Call NowPurcellville service area
We connect property owners across ZIP code 20132: the old town, the newer neighborhoods and the farms and country homes that share the Purcellville address. Route 7 traffic from the east can be slow, so we'll tell you honestly when a crew can reach you.
ZIP codes served: 20132
Purcellville water damage questions
Water came through the ceiling of a Main Street shop from the apartment above. Who needs to know?
The tenant or owner of the apartment, so the water can be shut off, and the building owner if they're different people. Take photos in the shop before anything is moved, and tell your own insurer. The crew will need access to both spaces to trace the water and dry each floor.
Our house is in one of the newer neighborhoods. Is the sump pump likely to be original?
If nobody has replaced it, probably. Look for a date on the pump or ask the previous owner. A pump that has run for fifteen years or more is worth replacing before it fails, ideally with a battery backup at the same time.
Our Purcellville house has original plaster. Is it handled differently?
Plaster on wood lath holds water and dries slowly, but it can often be dried in place instead of removed, particularly after a short, clean-water leak. The crew tracks it with a meter and only cuts out sections that stay wet or have come away from the lath.
Why did the HVAC closet leak in our Purcellville house?
Usually the condensate line. The air conditioner makes water as it runs, and it drains through a small line that can clog with algae or debris. When it does, the pan overflows, or a condensate pump fails. Keeping the line clear each season prevents most of these leaks.
Our Purcellville window well filled with water. What now?
Bail or vacuum out the well, clear its drain of leaves and soil, and check that water inside has stopped coming in. Then dry the wall and floor beneath the window. A cover keeps leaves and rain out, and a downspout moved away from the well helps too.
Why do gutters matter so much for a basement?
A single blocked gutter can drop a whole roof section's rain at the foundation in one storm. On older houses with little slope around them, that water goes straight into the cellar. Clear gutters and downspout extensions stop much of the basement water from coming back.
Is the carpet in our Purcellville basement salvageable?
If the water was clean and dealt with quickly, the carpet often can. The pad underneath usually can't, because it holds water and dries slowly. Carpet soaked by a toilet overflow or drain backup is normally removed.
Is there a guarantee on repairs to our Purcellville house?
Yes. Completed work carries a workmanship guarantee, and the crew explains what it covers before any work begins, so you know what to expect.
Will we need to move out of our Purcellville house?
That's your decision, not the crew's. Most losses can be dried with people living in the house. The crew will explain how much of the home is affected, how loud the equipment is and how long it will run, so you can decide.