I got my internal stopcock replaced for a fixed priced job - 79.99 I think. That was parts and (in my case) 3.5 hours labour! Well worth having done as it was a tricky job.
But here's the interesting bit - it was done by the local water company. So get your local company to come and fix the internal stopcock - then they'll *have* to sort it out...
Is the spindle turning and does it ever stop turning?
Sorry if these questions seem silly but they need to be asked. Do you mean it turns or it refuses to turn? May just need a quarter turn. Your neighbours perhaps?
Hmmm. Maybe they thought you were asking them to fix your internal stopcock. Make it clear that its the street c*ck that is not working. I couldn't turn mine once without bending the key. Asked the water company to free it up and they did so.
Almost sure the answer to that is yes, but its more likely to be sticking than faulty. May not even be faulty. Ask them to check it out and go through the industry complaints procedure if they refuse. That will be more work for them than checking it out. If you are lucky you might get £20 compensation to buy the freezer.
Mm. Don't get me started on the water co's - my least favourite of all the utilities.
AFAIK, there's no actual requirement for you to have a stopcock in the street outside. I've lived in places where there wasn't one, and the only way round this would have been either to freeze the pipes, as someone else mentioned, or to 'go upstream' and turn off half the street instead.
I would have thought that if such a stopcock was already fitted, then there would be some obligation on the part of the water co to maintain it, but nothing would surprise me...
Ask for a water meter to be fitted (they will have a new valve in the meter box). It might save you a lot of money aswell unless you have a largish bath loving family/car-washing/lawn-sprinkling/pool-swimming family.
If the incoming pipe is lead you may be able to squeeze is shut enough to replace the valve and then unsqueeze it after.
If the incoming pipe is copper you might be able to freeze it. This is a risky process and you would do well to have a the new valve lined up ready with a push fitting in case.
We had a burst between the street and house recently. Our local water man kindly lent us a clamp to shut off water whilst we sorted it. Nobody could find the street tap but it was of no consequence at the time. We do however live in a small village where co-operation rules. Could a clamp be the solution in your case ? S'pose it will only work on "plastic" pipes though !!
If it helps, it is possible to replace them without turning off the water.
Wear old clothes.
Obtain high quality quarter turn lever ball valve.
Open new valve. * critical step
Cut rising main pipe at prechosen location.
Rapidly bend existing house pipework out of the way.
Jam new valve onto pipe.
Tighten compression joint.
Turn off valve.
Breathe.
Mop up.
Connect house pipework to outlet of new valve.
Not for the faint hearted. Ensure insurance is in order and carpets/trinkets etc. removed.
I used the above technique, but had the advantage that the existing stopcock would close down to about 1/3 flow, whilst still opening fully. I thus installed the new one above the old one. The amount of water released was surprisingly small. The time from pipe cut to water off was about ten seconds. The wettest part for the operator was the high pressure water squirting sideways into the face as the pipe was cut.
Not sure about this one. I think mine is my responsibility. The water company offered to turn off the entire street for an hour if I wanted to fix it. It might be regional/age of house variation.
Well you've got more balls than I have! Perhaps a trick to try in warm(?) August rather than icy December. But is there any reason not to use a pipe-freezing kit before chopping the rising main?
Yip seen this done, by a plumber who couldn't find a street/garden stopcock at my mates next door. I only came round as I had been chatting to plumber and offered to watch/help with cloths. I think basically the plumber wanted someone competant there in case it went pear shaped. Problem was stopcock turned and water didn't go off (broken shank ?) so he couldn't replumb the house without turning the water off first.
Anyway he filled kitchen cupboard, where the blue plastic main came up, with polythene and cotton sheeting and wore a waterproof coat. He checked replacement valve was easy to fit, tighten up etc on length of pipe so wouldn't find it didn't fit after he cut the plastic rising main. Put a long length of blue pipe on valve leading to outside, cut the rising main with a big pair of cutters, bunged new valve on, most of the water now shooting outside, tighted up the nuts, job done, a very disappointing small amount water was spilt/sprayed around the kitchen. (I was expecting a flood).
I would not have attempted it as I know my luck, once committed having cut the pipe, new valve wouldn't fit, new valve would turn off, get thumb caught trying to block pipe, get electrocuted, flood garden with other end of temporary pipe etc etc.
Certainly, if you have suitable place to put it and the appropriate kit (major size due to 22mm). Unfortunately, I wouldn't have been able to do so, as the main incoming was iron. There was no more than 1cm of suitable 22mm copper before the required stopcock.
On Mon, 20 Dec 2004 12:51:19 -0000, "Christian McArdle" strung together this:
Or, if you're a dippy plumber on a site somewhere in Brighouse;
Inadvertantly rip stop tap from 1 1/4" mains.
Shout a lot.
Try to stop the water and spray every newly plastered and decorated wall and ceiling within 10m with water.
Rope in the data and telecoms guys, 2 electricians and a site manager to assist.
Get no further for 20 minutes whilst filling the new adjoing offices with water.
End up with most people wet and wanting to stab you.
Wait for the site labourer to turn the stop c*ck off in the street.
Do this at gone 5pm.
When you've finished mopping that up remove a sink from the cleaners closet and lower the end of the waste pipe.
Leave it like that so that the $aniflo you just fitted pumps piss and shit into the room everyone is using to store the cable and fittings etc for 2nd fix.
I had to do the same bodge, (damn near identical procedure) and for me it was not balls, more a case of being desperately desperate, (due to a leak that had to be urgently mended elsewhere in the house).
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