Hi, I need some help. I have to change dishwasher but I cannot close the water because the valve under the sink is broken. I also cannot close the water for the house because a regulation of my condominium. Does anybody think I will be able to change the walve without closing the water? I know I will get wet, but I want to know if it will be possible and how hard it is, or if you have other suggestion.... Thanks a lot.
I wouldn't try if I were you. Re-read the regulation; I suspect you are misconstruing it.
I recently worked at a condo community. I had met one of the board members for the association and a water turn off *might* be necessary, so I asked where it might be. He really didn't know himself.
-- Oren
"I don't have anything against work. I just figure, why deprive somebody who really loves it."
I'm all in favor of do-it-yourself work, but working with water in multi-family housing has huge liability exposure -- I would not want to try replacing the valve without turning off the water. It can be done, but a *lot* of water sprays around even if things go well. If something goes wrong and the new valve can't be installed after the old valve is removed, you could be on the hook for extensive water damage to the building and contents.
Re-read the condo regulations and ask your building rep what needs to be done to shut off the building. There has to be a process for doing it, buildings do occasionally need their water shut off to replace an interior valve or pipe.
Now, it could be they won't allow *you* to turn off the building valve, they might want it to be done by a licensed, insured plumber, because it involves water service and possible water damage for multiple unit owners. If that's the case, I would look into the layout of the plumbing and see if you could have a licensed plumber install a shutoff valve for your entire unit, so that any subsequent work does not require a full-building shutoff.
Only way I could see feasible would be to crimp the supply line and that doesn't really solve the problem because then you would need to replace it... :(
I wouldn't recommend even thinking of trying it, but the only way I see to even tackle it would be to have a valve ready and a helper (and a whole lot of pans/pails to collect the mess) and try to cap the line quickly w/ a new valve. But, then you have to repeat that procedure, too...it just ain't practical.
Condo or not, you have to be able to shut the water off to your own unit to effect a repair. Having never had the misfortune to have to deal w/ one, I don't have a clue as to what an agreement might actually say, but they can't prevent you from cutting off the water to stop further damage if, for example, you had a pipe break somewhere.
And, of course, while you have it off to do the dishwasher, replace the cutoff valve, too... :)
Are the hoses to the washer flexible?
You MIGHT succeed by: a: Clamping the hose. b: Cutting the hose c: Fashioning a new connector for the cut-off end.
No sane person would try this, but you can offer it as an alternative plan to the condo management. They will instantly see the potential disaster and accede to your request.
If you DO manage to get the water turned off, for god's sake, replace the defective valve.
does your unit have its own hot water tank? if it does is there a valve on that tank. dishwashers use only hot water, try turning off the hot water tank/
have realitives who lived in condos, they said each unit had its own valve so in a emergency it was easy to turn off the unit.
you shouldnt need to shut off all the water for the entire building
You really mean the lower levels?
-- Oren
..through the use of electrical or duct tape, achieve the configuration in the photo..
On Mon, 28 May 2007 15:06:42 -0700, Oren graced this newsgroup with:
LOL..if the pressure is good enough, you'll need to notify the upper levels as well.
Go for it. Do you live near Atlanta? I have been wanting to capture an America's Funniest Video.
Call a plumber. No, really, if you have to ask this question about changing a vale under pressure, you are not qualified to do the job. Do yourself a favor and avoid a lot of damage.
As for the condo rules, screw them. You MUST be able to turn off the water in an emergency. The plumber will turn the water off, replace the broken valve, then connect the DW for you.
On Mon, 28 May 2007 22:20:31 -0400, "Edwin Pawlowski" graced this newsgroup with:
AND most likely, it's at or near the water heater.
All the apartments are controlled by that one valve? How many apartments is that?
Do you live in the basement? Not only will you get wet but so will everything below you, plus your kitchen and maybe other rooms too. If it takes you only 5 minutes to do this that is loads of water.
And what if you can't fix it in 5 minutes? Then what will you do. Water will still be rushing out.
< but I want to know if it will be
I watched an episode of "Ask This Old House" a few months ago and the same subject came up.
The plumber went to a condomimum high rise set up to help the guy with something to do with the bathtub. He said that hopefully if all goes well, he would not need to turn off the entire water. At that point, the owner commented "that's good because the association rule is you have to give 48 hours notice to do that."
My take was that in a NON emergency situation, they require adequate notice as a courtesy to the other tenants (which makes sense--you don't want your water shut off as your big party is starting etc.).
So I think you can shut it off, it's just a matter of finding out what the actual approved procedure is.
-- John
I'm surprised no one has mentioned the obvious: They make a tool for just this purpose (or, I think, more for changing the main shut off valve). It consists of a bandage-type sleeve which wraps around the pipe and through which they flow some sort of very cold gas or liquid. The water in the pipe freezes forming a plug. Change the valve and then warm up the pipe. My local plumbing supply store told me someone (he doesn't know who--really helpful) rents them. Oh, yeah, and if you're going to question "Doesn't the freezing crack the pipe?" the plumbing supply guy says "No" but can't explain why not.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.