Water Stop Valves ( stopcock )

boysim34

Hi All.
I need some help . we live in a council apartment and have 3 water stop valves, all of which are stuck and can not be turned. there is a service cupboard with a working valve but we have no access to this. so if there is a water leak we have no way of turning the water off unless we ring the repair team to get a plumber out, by which time damage is being done. this also applies to properties above us. I have asked if these stop valves will be replaced in the future work being carried out, but the reply was no and is up to the resident to inform the council if these 3 stop valves are not working. my question is , in building regulations does it say anywhere that there must be a working water stop valve accessible to the tenant/owner situated within the property and not locked away and not accessible?


thanks guys

wealdroam

boysim34 wrote: »

Hi All.
I need some help . we live in a council apartment and have 3 water stop valves, all of which are stuck and can not be turned. there is a service cupboard with a working valve but we have no access to this. so if there is a water leak we have no way of turning the water off unless we ring the repair team to get a plumber out, by which time damage is being done. this also applies to properties above us. I have asked if these stop valves will be replaced in the future work being carried out, but the reply was no and is up to the resident to inform the council if these 3 stop valves are not working. my question is , in building regulations does it say anywhere that there must be a working water stop valve accessible to the tenant/owner situated within the property and not locked away and not accessible?


thanks guys

It seems pretty straightforward.

As advised, inform the council that these three stopcocks are not working.

phill99

The answer to your wuestion is 'No'. I have worked in numerous ex council properties where the only stop valve is in the street, which ends up turning 3 or 4 properties off.

As above, just raise it as a maintenance request and get them out to replace the valves.

Biggles

boysim34 wrote: »

is up to the resident to inform the council if these 3 stop valves are not working

So you have your solution, excellent.

In the meantime, do you not have access to your water meter? There is always a valve with that, or is that one of the three you mentioned?

boysim34

thanks for your reply's,
yes I will be getting the council out to replace the valves, but the question is the rest of the tenants, there are over 40 apartments , what I wanted in my complaint to the council was them to inspect the valves in each property and replace where needed, which they will not do. second we do not have a water meter due to they way the pipe work is laid out.
this property is a high raised building

again thanks for your reply's

YouKwoteMe

Some times there are additional stop valves in between the stopcock and the length of pipe to your tap (i.e. kitchen), if there is that would be stopping main. To recall the building regulation on this would have to be in the grounds of safety, I am sure the council would job at it first thing :-)

Jamiesmum

Are you sure these are the valves you need and they're aren't any more anywhere else? We used to have a useless one under the sink, until we found a different one cut out in at the back of a cupboard which actually worked.

Oh have you tried to turn it with pliers? If it hasn't been touched for a long time it could just be stiff.

For a council property you could ring the council and ask if blue prints for your building are still around and they could tell you, otherwise as another poster said it's common to have a drain cover outside the property somewhere with one in. Find it, you may need a special tool to open it but I believe you can buy these online, in the event of a big leak at least you have that .. the neighbours would understand if it came too it.

If you walk down the street every few houses you can usually see a drain which is for those houses. But sometimes these can be hidden in communal gardens by sheds, under grass etc for blocks of flats.