this question's beneath you...too easy!!

[deezer]

complete fool when it comes to plumbing so i thought someone here could offer advice. my toilet tank started dripping last night so i thought i'd just let it drip out until empty and get myself some form of sealant until i can buy a new toilet. for the first time in four years i've opened it up and found what would be obvious to all of you...the tank doesn't drip out. the bubble sinks and refills.
my bathroom is a mess. i took the top of my tank off and did a little experiment - flushed. once i flushed, the dripping stopped and has led me to believe that the problem isn't a tiny crack on the bottom of the tank but one between the pipes and tank. someone has already botched my idea of sealing it with something and it's a mass of cheap looking sealant in there. i guess it's starting to fall apart.
anyway, i want to try sealing it again but i don't know how to turn my water supply off. i will need to keep the sealant dry so i figure; turn the water off, flush, apply sealant and then turn the water on when i'm confident it's hardened. there's no chance of me finding the crack but the tank drips when full so i'm guessing it's around the main pipe on the top-right corner of the tank. i flushed a good 20 mins ago, water is still dripping slowely into the tank, but not out of it yet.
i have two taps under my sink which i'm sure turns my water off. hot and cold? if i turn them both will all my water shut off as i've tried turning them individually and water still flowed. any advice you could give me would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Bahco]

Turn your tap off under the sink and then flush toilet.

If it refills, then it will be tank fed from the loft. |

If so, Tie up the ball valve and open your cold bath tap to empty the tank.

Do your work and then refill etc

 

[gasandoilman]

f it takes 20 mins to fill i would say its fed from tank in the loft
what type of ball valve have you got?
I bet you have the high presure restrictor in the ball valve too?

 

[deezer]

nope, it doesn't take 20 mins to fill, it's full but keeps dripping. it's like the valve doesn't go high enough to totally stop. it drips until it gets to the point of the crack (hasn't happened yet). i figure if i use the toilet every 2 hrs there may not be a problem. i will try turning off the taps any flushing. thanks so far, i'll keep you posted.

 

[deezer]

oh, i have no water tank in the loft. got to be the taps under the sink then, right?

 

[deezer]

just turned both taps off (clockwise, both were turned all the way to the right to start with) and flushed the toilet but i still have an abundance of water. turned the taps on too but it didn't stop. very confused as i'm sure that's what the taps are there for. should i only try using one?

 

[gasandoilman]

YEP

Sounds like the valve is letting by so if you seal it i think it will overflow eventually

You can clean the valve but if your not sure it's cheap to just replace the ball valve

then set it. I would buy the hydro flow its small and easy to fit and repair

 

[deezer]

thanks so much for the advice all. it could just be the valve letting it drip out but wherever it's leaking from needs to be sealed. is it easy to replace the ball valve? don't want to make things worse and right now i can't even figure out how to turn my water off. can you get those hydro-flows in homebase or somewhere like that?

 

[gasandoilman]

Plumb center is best and it comes with instructions
Very east if you can turn water off

U will need a side entry and its a tiny float that u turn up or down to adjust water level

 

[JohnD]

you will often find you can unscrew the working part of the valve (usually plastic) from the tail that connects to the incoming copper water pipe and clamps to the cistern, and swap over the working (and worn) part. this is quicker and easier than remaking the tap connector and possibly getting a bad joint that will leak.

however, it would be a very good idea to fit a service valve in the pipe that supplies the cistern, so that you don't have to turn off all the water to change the ball valve next time it fails. To do this you wil need a pipe cutter and two large adjustable spanners.

 

[ChrisR]

You still need to find a way to turn the water off.
It might be that you haven't found the stop cock yet, or that you aren't turning enough.
You may find you can easily turn the water off at the pavement. Look for a cover... It'll be very easy if you have a water meter.