water doesn't seem to be turned off

[jso]

Just tackling a bit of last-minuet d-i-y before guests arrive for the weekend...updating an old Mira 33 shower with a thermostatic bar etc.

Turned off the water, emptied all the taps around the house...started to undo the fittings to the old shower control, and cold water gushing out.

Also couldn't find the grub screw that holds the central control to the back plate, assumed it wasn't fitted, but undoing the pipe connections seemed to be forcing the unit from the back plate.

Didn't want to break the existing, and then discover that the new one doesn't fit the pipework, so have put everything back!

Any advice on locating the grub screw would be appreciated, and an explanation of the water apparently not being turned off at the shower (but everywhere else) would also be appreciated. The shower is located on the ground floor, btw.

I'm not aiming to tackle this before Christmas now, so no urgency.

 

[terryplumb]

Would need to know more about your house plumbing. Is your shower cold from a tank and rest of house cold on the mains ? Is hot from cylinder or a combi ? As well as draining taps you should also drain the shower before u doing the supply pipes to it.

 

[jso]

AFAIK everything is off the cold tank. Hot from a cylinder on the ground floor (I'd turned off the cold feed to that).
Cold water turned off outside, and opened all taps. But I didn't drain the shower. The amount of water that came from the fitting as I loosened the connecting nut seemed like more than just draining the supply pipe. Maybe I should have let it run for longer, and then I'd have known for definite? It has to be that, surely, (I'm now thinking)?

I could try again tomorrow, but running out of time, and when I turn off our water, it turns off the neighbour's holiday let next door to us, and they've got people in tomorrow.

Also there's the problem of the Mira 88 (not 33 as previously suggested) back plate. I've put a screwdriver up into the hole at the back, where I'd expect there to be a grub screw, and can't see or feel anything.
If I knew that was going to be free when I removed the compression fittings, perhaps I'd go ahead with it.

 

[WabbitPoo]

so your supply also goes to next door? lol I hope you're not on a meter!

 

[JohnD]

Next time you turn the water off, the first thing you should do is install a full-bore stopcock for your own home.