Workmanship first
“Dependable workmanship”
Those two words ran across our earlier website. Most plumbing ends up inside a wall or under a house where nobody will look at it again. It should be right anyway.
47
years at the trade
- Led by
- Johnny Eiban, Master Plumber
- Office
- Mon–Fri 8–5, Virginia Beach
- We serve
- Residential & commercial
- Discounts
- Seniors, churches & Christian schools
The accounts
Six kinds of work, kept in one book.
Our advertisement lists what we do in a single line: “Residential – Commercial – Water Heaters – Sewer & Drain Cleaning – Water Pumps – Sewage Pumps – Toilets – Faucets – Disposals – Repairs.” Here is what stands behind each entry.
Water heaters
Hot water restored: tank water heaters repaired and replaced, gas and electric.
Sewer & drain cleaning
Slow sinks, backed-up tubs and main sewer stoppages cleared, and the cause found.
Water & sewage pumps
In low, flat country, pumps do what gravity cannot. We repair and replace them.
Toilets, faucets & disposals
The parts of the plumbing you use every day, repaired or replaced properly.
Repairs & piping
Leaks, failed pipe, gas line repairs and the plumbing behind a new bathroom.
Commercial & church plumbing
The same master plumber’s standard for shops, offices, churches and schools.
How we work
Four lines we have always written under.
These are our own words, taken from our advertisement and from the website we kept for years. They have not needed changing.
A fair price
“Conscientious service and competitive pricing”
We said then that our plumber “won’t charge you an arm or a leg.” Charging fairly for honest work is the reason customers have called us back for decades.
Homes and businesses alike
“Residential – Commercial”
It is the first thing on our advertisement. A kitchen faucet and a restaurant’s sewer line get the same care and the same master plumber’s judgment.
Those who serve, and those who built
“Senior Citizens, Churches & Christian Schools Discounts”
This is the last line of our advertisement in the Shepherd’s Guide, a directory of Christian-owned businesses. Ask about the discount when you call.
In the customers’ hand
Entered by the people we worked for.
These are public Google reviews, copied word for word.
Great company, the best Va beach has to offer if you are in need of any commercial, residential, and service plumbing needs. Johnny Eiban (owner) of 1plumber 4 U is a stand up guy with strong morals and even stronger values , the quality and efficiency of himself and his employees are beyond comparison to his competitors! Don't usually post reviews, but felt compelled to write this as I am also a local contractor in the Tidewater area for 30 years, and can see excellence in a company that goes the extra mile. I highly recommend this plumbing contractor to anyone in the Hampton Roads area.
Called Johnny on Sunday late afternoon. He said he would get someone out Monday morning. He called me back and asked if I had called the City of Norfolk. He said they would cover if it was their system. They came out and it was a clog between the house and sewage line. Johnny sent out Brian Monday morning. They arrived early and got it all fixed. Good price too.
Absolutely great service! Scott and Jason did a wonderful job amending our plumbing for our ice maker. Only called a day before and Kristen was able to send them out the very next day. Very pleased and highly recommend!
Local soundings
Plumbing at sea level is its own trade.
Tidewater is hard on plumbing in particular ways. After 47 years, they are simply how we read a house.
Low, flat and close to the water table
Most of South Hampton Roads sits only a few feet above sea level, and groundwater is never far down. That is why homes here stand on crawl spaces and slabs rather than basements, and why sump pumps and sewage pumps matter more than they do inland.
The polybutylene years
Much of Virginia Beach and Chesapeake was built while grey polybutylene pipe was in fashion. It fails from the inside, often without warning. We check for it before quoting any repair on a home of that age.
Storm season
Hurricanes, nor’easters and king tides push water where it does not belong: into crawl spaces, up floor drains, over sewage pump basins. A pump that is tested in May is worth far more than one that is replaced in September.
Salt, sand and humidity
Salt air corrodes outdoor valves and water heaters kept in garages near the water. Damp crawl spaces rust cast iron from the outside. Sandy soil washes away from a leaking pipe and lets the line settle. We plan repairs with all three in mind.
Service area
All of South Hampton Roads.
Our office is in the Kempsville area of Virginia Beach, and we have long served all of South Hampton Roads: Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Norfolk and Portsmouth.
See the cities and neighborhoodsStraight answers
41 plumbing questions, answered.
Sewage pump alarms, polybutylene pipe, crawl spaces, storm season, who pays for a sewer backup, and how to check a Virginia plumbing license. Written for homes in Hampton Roads.
Read all 41 answersWhy do so many homes in Virginia Beach and Chesapeake have sump pumps or sewage pumps?
Because the land is low and flat and the groundwater is close to the surface. Most of South Hampton Roads is only a few feet above sea level, so water collects under houses and, on some lots, sewage cannot reach the city main by gravity alone. Pumps do the lifting.
How do I know if my house has polybutylene pipe?
Look for flexible grey plastic pipe, usually half an inch to an inch across, often stamped “PB2110”. Check where the water line enters the house, at the water heater, and under sinks and toilets. Outdoors, the main line from the meter may be blue or grey polybutylene.
How long does a water heater last in Hampton Roads?
A tank water heater typically lasts about 8 to 12 years. Heaters that are flushed now and then and fitted with a working expansion tank tend to reach the upper end; heaters in salty, humid garages often rust at the base sooner.
Who is responsible for a sewer backup: me, the city or HRSD?
In general the homeowner is responsible for the sewer lateral from the house to the property line or the city’s cleanout, and the city is responsible from there to the main. HRSD, the Hampton Roads Sanitation District, runs the large regional pipes and the treatment plants.
Where is my main water shut-off valve?
In most South Hampton Roads homes it is where the water line enters the house: on an outside wall near the front hose bib, in the garage, in a utility closet or beside the water heater. There is also a valve at the water meter, in a box in the ground near the street.