Mains water stopcock

ukwoody

I wonder if Canuklehead or any other experienced plumber can shed some light for me please.

I live in a ex-authority 1958 semi in a cul-de-sac of houses semi rurally. I cannot for the life of me find a waterboard stopcock in the close outside of any houses. The pipe coming into my kitchen is 15mm copper. We dont have brillant pressure, and occasionally when next door runs a tap we have a loose pipe knock up stairs (i must clip that!). It seems to me the mains comes in from the road, Tees off for every house. Could the only stopcock be out in the middle of the main road somwhere? and serve the whole close?

One of my neighbours thinks they re-ran some water mains many years back making a connection in the front garden and the pipe goes under the house to reappear in the rear kitchen.
Does all this sound plausible or should there indeed be an individual stopcock outside for each property somewhere?

Woody

Canucklehead

Hi

Bit of a nightmare, are you saying you don't have a stopcock in the house?
Possibilities,
The main runs across the front garden,with a stopcock pit at the end of a row of houses, so one stopcock would turn off the row.Outside the house(by the front door) is a stopcock under the usual metal flap. Then maybe another one in the kitchen boxed in .
Stopcock under the floor just inside the front door. (only if you have suspended floor.)
Other popular locations .Under the stairs. Buried in the wall so only the handle sticks out. Outside wc.
Can you run the water and listen for the 'hissing' noise and track down the pipe run..

Can't think of any thing else just now.
Corgi Guy.

bookduck

had the same problem and it confused my plumber too. My flat is ex-local authority, but some people here are not, so when the council plumber visited other people I stooped and asked him where the stuff was

ukwoody

I do have an internal stopcock, but it could do with replacing/lubricating as it is so stiff It is impossible to turn without a wrench. I was trying originally to ascertain why my water pressure is low and wondered if the outside !!!! was not fully open, hence the question of where it could be?
I'm gonna have to guess one stopcok somewhere out in the main A road does all 8 houses, as there is nothing out the front or back of any of my neighbours either. Bummer.

Do you reckon Welsh Water would be able to tell me?

Woody

Canucklehead

bookduck wrote: »

had the same problem and it confused my plumber too. My flat is ex-local authority, but some people here are not, so when the council plumber visited other people I stooped and asked him where the stuff was

Hi

Where's the punch line? Did you find it and where was it.?

Corgi Guy.

Canucklehead

I'm gonna have to guess one stopcok somewhere out in the main A road does all 8 houses, as there is nothing out the front or back of any of my neighbours either. .

Do you reckon Welsh Water would be able to tell me?

What about to the side? Is there an access path between two rows of terrace?Or a road at the end of the terrace?
Where does the drainage go,front ,back,across the gardens?
Welsh Water should be able to find it.
Corgi Guy.

t_r

I have had to speak to Dwr Cymru on a couple of ocasions last year(waste division) and they were very hepful. They also faxed me drawings of the drain routes. They might have simialar info for the supply.

nptes

hey i do not have a stopcock outside my house as the water guy told us so, because we want a meter put in. is this against the law?i have a leak in my internal stopcock and need to replace it but cant do that without turning the main supply off!!! HELP IM SCREWED!!!!!!!

irrelevant

No external stopcock might mean you have a common supply pipe and there is a shared one at the end of the row: see http://www.unitedutilities.com/?OBH=4912

Strangely, we just had a leak in our internal stop !!!! too... Although we have a water stop hatch on the street, there appears to be nothing under it, so decided to get professional help. Our home insurance comes with a repairs package that covers leaking pipes, and they seemed to be quite happy to send someone to come out sort it, despite it being for emergencies only. (mind you, it was in our internal meter cupboard, and due to the arrangement of them, could have leaked onto /next door's/ electric meters!)

The plumber said he does four or five a DAY; it's very common for them to start leaking if they've not been touched for ages and you suddenly then turn the water off. He just loosened the top nut and wrapped it all up with PTFE tape before tightening it up again. Seemed to do the trick.

hewhoisnotintheknow

top tip

when you next use your stop cok open it fully then turn it back 1/4 or 1/2 a turn

then you have a bit of play both ways if it becomes stiff in the future

ormus

when you leave the house for your holidays then turn off the water. that way the stop cok gets a turn every year.
a bit of WD40 may help a stiff cok.