HELP! - water does not come back On after turning the water main back On

I needed to replace an outside faucet that went to the garden hose.

So turned off the water supply using valve out by the sidewalk that goes to my house.

Water stopped OK. Replaced faucet OK.

Now when I turn the water main back to the ON position the entire house still has NO WATER.

I have left the main ON for about an hour now with faucets all closed off in case the pipes needed to fill up or something, but still no water - none- not even a dribble.

I have repeatedly turned the main on and off - still no water. Could the valve be stuck in some way - it feels OK when I turn it back and forth. Could something have been dislodged like mineral buildup that blocks the line?

This is a two story house.

Anyone have any ideas whats going wrong here?

Reply to
virginphone2000
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There are many types of valve, but you are probably screwed and have to call the utility.

A "gate" valve can have the gate fall off inside. A compression stop can have the washer fall off/disintegrate.

Fixing it means disassembly/replacement and that means shutting off the water *somewhere* upstream...

Jim

Reply to
Speedy Jim

Try turning one tap in the house on a little. If you hear air escaping then just wait for the water. If you dont get any air noise or water you will have to contact your water company.

Reply to
marks542004

The valve may have stuck closed at the meter - it happens especially when the valve is left open for decades at a time.

As for turning on the water, you need to leave a faucet OPEN when the water is off so that air can be pushed out - but even so I would expect some water flow.

Open the lowest and the highest cold water faucet in the house and try again.

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Reply to
Eigenvector

i now find that I can turn the valve open forever - it does not hit any stop point.

This fits with the idea that the gate has broken off the end of the stem and is stuck in place.

Who owns this valve? Is it my cost to fix it - its the one between the meter and the house - comes after the water company shutoff vale on the meter. Bet its me huh?

If so should i just calla plumber and not bother the water company?

This will require a digout and valve replacement I guess...any idea what this will cost?

Reply to
virginphone2000

Yeah, bet it's up to you...

Is the space big enough to swing a wrench if the meter is removed (by the utility)? IOW, can the valve be unscrewed without a lot of digging up?

Never mind cost; you better hope *somebody* will come out!

PLAN "B": (You might need utility permission) What will often be done in an emergency is to "backfeed" one property from another (neighbor) using a hose with female hose bibb threads each end.

Jim

Reply to
Speedy Jim

yep utility says i am on the hook for it

SO how tuff is it to fix this?

Its in a 6" diameter PVC tube about 18" below ground. So I will have to dig a hole around it to work.

Is this a threaded coupling on each side of the valve or what?

I am fairly handy and have done a lot of other home repair and carpentry stuff - not alot of plumbing though (just replaced 2 outside faucets which led to this problem),. So is this something I could do myself or leave it to the pros?

Reply to
virginphone2000

Can't tell from here what it looks like. Or what pipe materials, etc.

You need *2* hefty pipe wrenches working against each other .

Jim

Reply to
Speedy Jim

Before calling anyone, try pushing the valve stem in. If it moves, push in and turn the valve to open I had a similar problem and that fixed it for me. Well, maybe not really "fixed", but the water came back on after the valve opened.

It that does not work, the valve will have to be repaired or replaced at your expense. A plumber can either turn the main off or contact your water department to do so.

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

My sidewalk shutoff valve is before the meter and therefore the city's responsibility. They will repair them on their dime.

Where the line runs into my slab, there is another valve and that one is all mine.

A plumber charges about $250 to replace a valve when he has to dig, but they are fast and effective.

Reply to
Ned

18"???? You must live in the deep south!

When you take the valve off you will have full pressure running off it. Suggest the pros on this one as it requires special equipment to contain the pressure as the valve is replaced. You can save some money by doing the digging yourself.

Reply to
Mike Dobony

No. He says there is a utility shutoff on the other side of the meter.

Reply to
Speedy Jim

Just had my main shutoff replaced about a year ago. Everybody I talked to said gate valves are the worst. My gate valve stuck in the ON position, not a good thing if something in the house sprung a leak, would have had to shut the water off at the curb. My shutoff valve was out in the open (live in the Phoenix AZ area, no freeze worries), so access was easy, and no problem accommodating the longer handle on the ball valve. This might not work for you, unless you can make more room for the handle, maybe replace that 6" PVC tube access with something the size of a sprinkler valve box?

In my case, soldered copper fittings, YMMV.

I'm not comfortable with plumbing myself, changing a faucet or snaking a drain is about as far as I want to go. Never soldered copper, don't plan to start now. If you have the tools and the skills, go for it.

Jerry

Reply to
jerry_maple

IMHO, with the water off, install an inside isolation valve. Curb valves can be differcult sometimes.

later,

tom @

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Reply to
Tom The Great

See my recent thread "gate valves" in which I said simply "gate valves suck."

I suspect you'll agree?

If so, sorry to hear of the failure of your main cutoff valve. :-\\

Reply to
Todd H.

Typically, you own everything from the water company's Buffalo box on your front lawn on in.

A plumber is the right person to call. They may need help from the city if they can't locate your B box at the street, or if there's too much crud crusting it over preventing them from operating the cutoff valve in the B box.

It cost me exactly $533.00 to replace the 2 failed main cutoffs (one on either side of water meter), plus $178 in wait time to get the city water guy out there to clean up the B box. Chicagoland, union master plumber and an assistant, large company, responded within 2 hrs of my call, weekday, during city water folk's regular working hours. YMMV.

-- Todd H.

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Reply to
Todd H.

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