no stopcock in flat above ...

[emma_middlebrook]

Hi

I live in the basement and ground floors of a three storey building. The mains water for the upper flat goes through my flat. There is currently no way to turn off the upper flat's supply without access to my property, the stopcock being in my basement. This scares me.

I'm going to try and convince my neighbour to add an isolation valve just as the mains enters his property.

Which type of valve should I mention to him? I've read about 1/4 turn ball isolation valves but am a bit confused about the flow issue/narrow bore. All the pipework is 15mm.

Is this sort of thing correct/best?

?cId=101600&ts=36373&id=21860Thanks Emma

[Sparks]

?cId=101600&ts=36373&id=21860>> Thanks

Full bore is the key to not restricting the flow, just like the one you posted.

I would rather have one of these

you are restricted on the space, as it will give you more leverage on the thing if it gets a bit sticky in the years to come!

Sparks...

[emma_middlebrook]

?cId=101600&ts=36373&id=21860> >

Good thinking, I think there may definitely be room! How far does the lever come out from the joint (not when it rotates) - about 1 inch?

Emma

[Aidan]

Probably 2 metered supplies with the meters located externally (?). There's usually an isolating valve in the meter chamber. Very many householders don't know where their stopcocks are located.

[Guy King]

The message from "emma [e-mail]" contains these words:

Hah! I lived in a row of three 1850s "cottages" in Hounslow which shared a common water supply. If you wanted to play with the pipes you had to go an ask Rene up at Number 2 if she'd turn it off for a while, but you also had to ask the family at Number 4 if they minded. The drains ran underneath each kitchen extension to a York stone slab in Rene's garden.

Anyway, I'd be tempted to use the one with a long lever handle instead of a little knob - easier to get a grip on when you're in a rush 'cos there's water coming out everywhere.

Strictly, I think you should have one of these

since it's all downstream of the main c*ck anyway it's academic.

Depending on what the other person's like, they may prefer something like this

[Richard Conway]

Would it have been difficult to branch off where the water entered your property so that one branch went through to number 4 and the other to an isolation valve feeding the rest of the property?

[Guy King]

The message from Richard Conway contains these words:

Dunno. In the end the landlord paid for a new feed to our house from the road outside.

[emma_middlebrook]

No meters. Just one stopcock in my cellar. He knows it's there, he just can't get at it!

Emma