Going rate for replacement of water stop-cock

Hi,

Has anybody out there got their stop-cock replaced on their main water supply into the house, it is the one under the sink/stairs rather than the one outside I am thinking of. If so can you give me an idea of how much it cost - I am searching around for prices at the moment and some of them are looking for 300euro which sounds like mega-bucks.

It could be a tricky job as you would have to shut off the water from outside before you can remove the existing stop cock. If you're any way handy would you consider trying it yourself? You would need to drain all the water from the tank in the attic: open the cold tap in the sink, flush the toilets etc. If the joints between the stop cock and the surrounding pipes aren't frozen together you could unscrew the stop cock unit, otherwise you would have to saw the pipes. Then fit the new stop cock. Hmmmm.....maybe €300 isn't so bad after all

Hi Rory,

That's what I was thinking - I started getting jittery at the point of turning off the outside water supply! Still 300euro for what would probably be a mornings work sounds heavy.

Why would you have to drain the tank in the attic? That water cannot flow back down.
You have to turn off the water from the outside alright and turn on the cold water tank in the kitchen to help release any pressure.
Then you can remove the stop cock. What is wrong with it?
Anyway it should be simple enough job. 300 euro seems a lot.
What type of pipe is it attached to.

Hi Beldin, The problem with the stop-cock is that is weeping, so recently we had to turn it off, then back on. When it was turned back on it started to weep lightly and constantly. I got a guy to come around and give a few well placed turns of the wrench and it sorted it out but he recommended it be replaced. To be fair it does look pretty ancient so could do with a re-vamp. I agree with you though - the amount of work for somebody who knows what they are at should be minimal. Not sure what exactly you mean by what type of pipe is it connected to - the pipe coming into the house and meeting the stop-cock is a big black one of undetermined makeup - not copper or stainless steel. Thanks for your reply - I'll get a few prices before proceeding any further, if anybody has had it done recently I would still be interested in hearing an actual price.

pbyrne said:

Not sure what exactly you mean by what type of pipe is it connected to - the pipe coming into the house and meeting the stop-cock is a big black one of undetermined makeup - not copper or stainless steel.

Click to expand...

You should really try this yourself, €300 is a lot for in my mind 1 hours work and that would include travel time. Of course €300 is very little to pay for the peace of mind of not flooding your kitchen.

These days the black pipe coming into the house is High Grade pipe and does not need adapters to fit a new 3/4" shut off valve but you may have a older ordinary pipe which needs something called a poly adapter. Ask for at plumbing merchants just in case you need.
So you need

1 3/4" shut off valve
Normal Grade poly adapter.
1 4" length 1/2" copper pipe
1 4" length 3/4" copper pipe
1 1/2" coupler
1 3/4" to 1/2" coupler

Turn off stop cock at road. Open cold water tap and leave to drain.

Cut the blackpipe below the existing fitting and the copper pipe above it before any branch.

Fit your new valve, fit new short section of the 1/2" above that.

I still think it's a job for a plumber or at least for someone with basic plumbing experience. It's very easy to overtighten a compression fitting when you're new to it. I still think €300 is pretty outrageous though, half it sounds about right with plenty of fat in case the installation is very old and takes that bit more time.

Will take a look at it again but am veering toward getting a professional in just for the peace of mind - will be looking for a more realistic price though.

Thanks again for the instructions above - very useful to see what is actually involved.