Clark Drain CD880 140mm x 115mm x 75mm Stop Tap Stopcock Cover/lid PVC Locking Surround Box

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Mark told us: ‘An old-fashioned stop tap that hasn’t been turned for a couple of years is unlikely to work, in which case you’ll have to get the Water Board out. They will have to fix the stop tap in the road before you can do anything in the house.’ I worked for a water company and have seen this very many times, customers always wanted to blame us until it was explained that the internal S/Tap or if they have installed an extra one in the garden it was theirs. You can try gently using a spanner to get leverage, but it is easy to snap the spindle, at which point the stop tap will need replacing in its entirety. Mark cautioned: ‘Too much torque from a spanner can twist the spindle like toffee, as it’s made from brass.’ You might not want to cut off water to your entire house, and with small jobs, like fixing a tap, it usually isn’t necessary – all you’ll need to do is to find the right isolation valve (also known as a service valve).

You'll usually get to a point where you can’t turn it anymore. You shouldn’t use force to turn it further. The diagram below shows the typical pipework for most homes and who is responsible for maintaining it. Your property will likely have several stop valves inside your home. You will likely be able to turn off your water for the room or area of your property where you have a leak, or you’re doing some plumbing. This means you can continue to use your water in the remaining rooms of your property.The diagram below shows the typical pipework at most homes and who is responsible for maintaining it. Even a simple plumbing job, such as changing a tap on a sink, becomes more complicated and more costly if you’re unable to shut off the water effectively within your home. We all have a list of things to do around the home that we may or may not get round to. Filing paperwork, sorting out the linen cupboard and in all likelihood, testing your stop tap is on that list too. The problem is, while not being able to find a record of your accounts or your towels being in a mess might be annoying, failing to test your stop tap can be disastrous. Your inside stop valve is inside your house and is normally located just after the water pipe enters the house. This is often under the kitchen sink, but can also be:

If the T-bar handle is across the pipe, this should mean the mains are shut. If it’s in line with the pipe, the mains should be open. Working/delivery days are Monday to Friday, deliveries will not normally be made Saturday or Sunday.Mark does not recommend using lubricating oil, WD40 or similar to try to loosen a stop tap. He explained: ‘Oil and WD40 work on rust, so on ferrous metals. There’s nothing worse than arriving to find a customer has sprayed the stop tap with WD40, as it just makes it slippery to work with.’ If you’ve got a water-meter, there’ll be a modern plastic tap next to the meter. Mark says: ‘A modern water-meter comes with a plastic stop tap, which doesn’t corrode.’ In other words, it should work and is relatively simple to turn off by hand or a universal stop tap key (available from any hardware store) if it’s too deep to reach. It may also take a few minutes for the water to stop running from your taps, as there will be some water left in the pipes from before you turned the water off. There are two types of water systems – direct, and indirect. As the name suggests, in direct systems, the water comes directly from the mains, whereas in indirect systems, your water comes from a cold-water tank, which is fed by the mains. If in doubt, call in a plumber who will advise you on whether it’s possible to fix it or replace it. You can find an endorsed plumber in your local area with Which? Trusted Traders. Can you turn off the water from the street?

Indirect systems utilise both a hot water and a cold-water storage vessel, which are usually located in the attic, loft, or an upstairs cupboard. A gate vale is located under each of these tanks. Our builder isn't sure this is permitted as you're not allowed to cover with paving even though it will have an access key, but Thames Water say that provided it's accessible then it's fine (although they won't put this in writing). Anyone got any experience of this? Install a permanent isolation valve called an Aladdin valve. This can be installed on hot water or cold water pipes in around 5 minutes and can be done without turning off your water.An isolation valve should be fitted to the water pipe that feeds each tap, and water-using device in your home, including washing machines, toilets, showers and dishwashers. It may take a few turns to stop the water. You'll usually get to a point where you can’t turn it anymore. You shouldn’t need to use excessive force to turn it further. Is my water company responsible for the mains water stop valve is a common question and one that the answer has recently changed. The water utility companies provide two main piped services to your home. The first is the delivery of fresh water. The second is the removal of waste water from both sewage and drainage. In the past it has been unclear as to who is responsible between the homeowner/landlords and the Utility Company for which of the piping and associated taps within each boundary. Very recently the government and utility companies have moved to clarify this as follows. Depending on your system, you may have one or three stop taps in your home. If you have a high-pressure system – usually found in homes with combi-boilers or a mega-flow hot water tank, there will be one single stop tap that turns off water from the mains. An accredited plumber can use freezing and clamping as a short-term solution. This process creates an ice plug that lasts for around 30 minutes, allowing you to extend or repair pipework without draining the whole system.