Turning off my water supply

[afronaturelle]

Hi Everyone

I was hoping to change my bath taps but have discovered that this will not be as easy as I initially thought.

I have tried turning the water supply off but there is neither a service valve nor a stoptap on the pipe(s) leading to the current bath taps.

I live in a converted first floor flat in a Georgian house. I have looked for a main stoptap in my flat and cannot find one. Is it likely that I share my main indoor stoptap with my neighbour who lives on the ground floor?

Any advance would be deeply appreciated. I am new to DIY so assume I know nothing and you would probably be right.

Thanks

aNNick

 

[fatplumber]

If you have a shared main then you have to tell you neighbour that you are turning it off. Ring the water company in the morning and ask them what is listed for your house.

 

[JohnD]

I am a householder not a pro

if you DO turn it off (preferably with the agreement of your neighbours, and preferably when they are out) the first thing you should do is put a stop-cock on the rising main into your property, close to the point of entry. Then you can turn it off and the turn the street supply back on.

With a pipeslice, and all the parts and tools to hand, it should only take you a matter of minutes.

I would get a few spare olives and compression nuts, just in case you damage one, or it rolls through a gap in the floorboards (this does happen) and a couple of stop-ends as water may run back down from the pipes above your cut.

I have recently started putting PTFE tape on olives as a precaution against leaks, it is a lot cleaner than jointing paste. Some pro's frown on this as they say they can make a perfect joint that doesn't leak.

However I have seen old joints with a crust of scale or green stain round them, that were made by professionals.

p.s. if the cold-water main is 15mm copper, or even old half-inch which is almost the same, it will be easy. If it is steel or lead it will be a lot harder as a DIY job and I would suggest looking for a recommended local plumber. You can post some photos on here if you like.

 

[dextrous]

if you DO turn it off (preferably with the agreement of your neighbours, and preferably when they are out) the first thing you should do is put a stop-cock on the rising main into your property, close to the point of entry. Then you can turn it off and the turn the street supply back on.

Quite right - use a stoptap prefeably with a drainoff valve integral to it

With a pipeslice, and all the parts and tools to hand, it should only take you a matter of minutes.

we live in hope

I have recently started putting PTFE tape on olives as a precaution against leaks, it is a lot cleaner than jointing paste. Some pro's frown on this as they say they can make a perfect joint that doesn't leak.

However I have seen old joints with a crust of scale or green stain round them, that were made by professionals.

I used to use ptfe, but now don't. Don't even bother with compound. Just don't overtighten and it'll be fine either way.

 

[Axel]

Most important tool = a towel. It's amazing how much water one can absorb, and when you cut a pipe, even after isolating pressure and opening all taps, a fair old amount of residual water can come out of the pipe; enough to stain a downstairs ceiling. A dry towel pressed tight around pipe below your cut will prevent this water going places.

 

[muggles]

if you DO turn it off (preferably with the agreement of your neighbours, and preferably when they are out) the first thing you should do is put a stop-cock on the rising main into your property, close to the point of entry. Then you can turn it off and the turn the street supply back on.

Quite right - use a stoptap prefeably with a drainoff valve integral to it

Haha good luck finding one of those. Even better luck finding one that complies with Water Regulations. As far as I'm aware (and if Dextrous can prove me wrong then I'll happily bow to his superior knowledge) you can't use stopcocks with integral drain offs as they don't comply. You'll need a stopcock, a tee, and a seperate drain off.