New house can't find the water shut off

I bought a house this month and have been unable to locate a main water shut off other than the one in the meter (under the sidewalk) that takes a special tool.

I've followed directions from my home inspector and looked in entrance to the crawlspace, master bathroom, all around outdoors and in the converted garage.. no luck. The house was built in 1973. The meter in the sidewalk is on the side of the house that the master bathroom is on and opposite the side where the converted garage is. I'm thinking this house does not have a shut off.

How much will it cost to have a plumber come out and install one.. I dread to think. But I will have it done if I can not find a shut off.

Can anyone offer other suggestions as to where the shut off might be? Contacting the previous homeowner is pretty much out of the question.

Reply to
samfredjoe
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If you cannot find the shut off just buy the special tool.

btw I just use two 12" adjustable wrenches not special tool required

Bob

Reply to
BobK207

If you cannot find the shut off just buy the special tool.

btw I just use two 12" adjustable wrenches, no special tool required

Bob

Reply to
BobK207

The tool, often made of re-bar with a slot-head, needed to shut off the water at the meter is cheap and readily available at hardware stores. An ordinary adjustable wrench will also work, just turn it 90 degrees to the pipe direction, to turn it off. There may also be a shut off valve where the service pipe enters the house.. if you can find that. The valve should be just outside the wall of the house.

Reply to
Roger Taylor

Thanks.. yes I figured that but in the case of an emergency I would like a away to shut the water off without searching for a wrench.

Reply to
samfredjoe

Thank you, I will try to determine where that is then.

Reply to
samfredjoe

Ok thanks.. I'll look again when it gets light.

Reply to
samfredjoe

It may be near and resemble the faucet to which you connect a garden hose. That's where I finally found mine. Paul in San Francisco

Reply to
Paul MR

In alt.home.repair on Sat, 26 Feb 2005 19:36:25 -0800 snipped-for-privacy@aol.com posted:

If you haven't found the shutoff, have you found the pipe? You don't say what you *have* found. The shutoff is between the water heater and the outside of the house. Mine is behind the warddrobe I put in the basement, and 3 or 4 feet below the ceiling.

Meirman

-- If emailing, please let me know whether or not you are posting the same letter. Change domain to erols.com, if necessary.

Reply to
meirman

If your house is like mine, the cutoff at the meter is the only cutoff that you have and that special tool is something you definitely want. They are not expensive and can be found at HomeDept or Lowes. You'll be glad you bought one the first time you need it. Also, it would be a lot cheaper than paying a plumber to put in a cutoff near the house.

snipped-for-privacy@aol.com wrote:

Reply to
Joey

In alt.home.repair on Sun, 27 Feb 2005 00:18:54 -0500 Joey posted:

In my area, it's not the valve that needs a special tool (well maybe that too.) but I need a special tool to open the lid on the water meter. In the sidewalk that parallels the road. The bolt head has 5 sides. I've never seen one for sale, afaicr.

They decided long ago not to read the meters in our n'hood, because we would have to pay for it, and so they only read the meter that feeds all 109 homes, and we divide the cost evenly.

Meirman

-- If emailing, please let me know whether or not you are posting the same letter. Change domain to erols.com, if necessary.

Reply to
meirman

It's right over there, you dumb SOB!!!

Reply to
Red Neckerson

The shutoff valve is right where the water line enters the house.

Reply to
Oscar_Lives

It's possible that samfred is right, and that there's no water shutoff inside the house. There was none in our 1888 house when we bought it

33 years ago. The water pipe came in where the cellar wall & floor met, went through the meter, and then headed for the various water using things (heater, furnace, washer, etc.) We paid a plumber to install one in 1975.
Reply to
carolcohen

Your local building department might have construction drawings for the original building permit, which might show where the shutoff is. We live in a condo, and three shutoffs are under pavers in the atrium. The fourth is under the philodendron next to the walk by the front door. Easy to find and dig up when the washer hose bursts and the house is flooding :o)

Reply to
Norminn

If it is very cheap, that may be OK, but I'd rather not pay for the slobs up the street with 10 kids, eleven cars to wash and the lawn sprinklers going

20 hours a day. As it is, we pay about $400 a year for the two of us. When the kids were home it was about $500 a year.
Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

Newsgroups: alt.home.repair From: "Kathy" - Find messages by this author Date: Sun, 27 Feb 2005 16:37:47 -0500 Local: Sun, Feb 27 2005 1:37 pm

Wish I knew a plumber who would come out and do a little work for a hundred bucks.

Reply to
BobK207

I can't find where the water service comes into the house and I'm WAY too claustraphobic to do more than just poke my head into the crawlspace. All I see in the crawlspace are plastic drain pipes. I think I'll just buy the tool at home depot and turn the water off at the meter if I have an emergency and while I do plumbing repairs. The meter is less than 40 feet from the front door.

Reply to
samfredjoe

You may be overestimating what it will cost to get the valve installed. Unless your pipes are in an unusual configuration where they enter your house, or are particularly inaccessible, you are looking at less than one hour's labor for a plumber plus any trip fees, plus the cost of the valve. That should be well under $100 in most places. For something as important as a main water shut-off valve, it is more than worth the price.

By the way, I commend you for even looking for the valve. Too many people buy houses and don't bother to find the important utilities until a problem occurs. Don't forget your smoke detectors and fire extinguishers...

C.

PS: If you have a neighbor who is experienced with such things (this is not a high-skill task), you might get off with the price of a pizza and the valve.

Reply to
Collin

If you actually have no shut off, other than the one that takes a special tool, it is easy enough to put one in.

I am no plumber, but have put in two, and can do it in under an hour; assuming the other shut-off is tight.

If you do that, check your water pressure first and see if you also need a pressure regular installed (or replaced).

Reply to
toller

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