Water main tap

[BenStiller]

Hello All,
Tried to turn off water mains today from the tap outside the house.
After opening the lid, the tap was to far down to reach...
1. Are the water board only allowed to turn this off?
2: If not, were and how much is the tool for turning tap?

 

[breezer]

i know not the law but afaik you can turn the tap off

there is a special tool to do it with but you can make one

is one version, but you can use a piece of timber (say 2 x 2) and cut a slot in it (enough for tap handle to fit) and fix a another piece on the top for a handle

although the one shown is only £8.00 you may have some odds and ends to make your own version

 

[BenStiller]

Thanks breezer, thats just the jobby i was looking for today

 

[Slugbabydotcom]

You can turn it off yourself but if you get a problem you could be in trouble. I do it if its easy but nowadays if theres a chance of a problem or getting my hands dirty I just utter the words "call the water board" and it gets done by the 'fairy's' for free and with no further physical effort.
In the days before I discovered this labour saving method I would just cut a notch in the end of a piece of wood. 2"X1" would usually suffice.

 

[doitall]

Another problem with turning outside stopcocks off is water meters.

When turning them on you should slowly load the pipe beofre turning it full on or you'll damage the meter which is chargable