Outside tap

[Tegid Owen]

Hello,

Looking for some advise before I start cutting into walls or lifting floors.

I have an outside water tap (on the external wall of a lower floor bedroom) that doesn't work, took the tap off and still not a drop of water. There is no visible stop tap/valve anywhere near. Is there any other reason why there is no water coming out?? Any ideas where stop taps/valve would usually be on outside tap??

Thanks in advance

 

[terryplumb]

Can be anywhere upstream of the tap. Doesn't necessarily need to be close to it. Can't you follow the pipe work internally ? Has the tap ever worked ?

 

[Tegid Owen]

It has not worked since I've moved in. The pipe goes into the wall directly behind the tap and cannot be seen from the inside so not easy to follow without possibly taking off plaster boards on the inside.

It there some sort of gadget that can detect pipes behind a wall??

 

[terryplumb]

It will almost certainly have an isolation valve ,in an accessible place. So look for that ,if pipes are not visible, in rooms or cupboards next to the bedroom ,then working further away.
Isolation valves come in many forms. Some look like stop cocks ( similar looking to garden tap) ,gate valves ,( round ,red ,wheel head) and lever operated ones ,and then there is the ballofix type ( in line valve ,nut on either end ,and has a slot for a screwdriver in the centre of its length)
Happy hunting ,good luck.

 

[Tegid Owen]

Thanks. I wonder what's the reason for turning it off in the first place was . I will keep searching for the elusive stop tap/valve.
Thanks

 

[terryplumb]

In winter ,isolating the outside tap prevents it from freezing ,bursting the pipe ,and a load of grief !!!

 

[Tegid Owen]

That makes sense. Thanks for your help

 

[CBW]

I attended one of our new build properties whereby the garden tap was fed through wall, but couldn’t see it the other side in the living room, so assumption was made it was in the cavity, however maybe yours was partly installed? (Eg, they only fed pipe though wall?).

 

[Tegid Owen]

Hi all,

Still no obvious sign of a stop tap so I've started opening some boxed in pipes to try to find a stop tap for the outside tap.

I have found a pipe that was boxed up with a stop tap that's fairly close to the outside tap that goes upstairs. The stop tap was in an open position. I've tried turning it the opposite way and I can't for the life of me find out what is linked to as all taps in the house still work when turned off. Could this be a gas pipe?? How do I differentiate between a water and a gas pipe??

I have attached a drawing of what I've found so far and labeled them on a floor plan. My thoughts at the moment is that the outside tap goes into the bedroom behind the plaster board... Comes out again into the conservatory and goes back into the bedroom (weird pipe formation). Here it is boxed up and has a stop tap... The pipe goes upstairs.... Not clear where upstairs.

I hope this makes sense. Any help would be greatly appreciated

 

[CBW]

Fittings can be a clue (to the experienced), the photo with a plug cock is a gas pipe, I haven’t seen any of those used on water.

 

[Tegid Owen]

Thanks, that explains why all the taps still work. Judging by the height of where the pipe in the conservatory goes into the bedroom I now think the pipes leading to the outside tap is under the raised chipboards floor in the bedroom. A strange place to put a stop tap though??