Plumbing Problem - How to stop the water supply

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LouisCribben

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I'm in my apartment in the UK (I am Irish), just moved jobs here a while ago.

I need to stop the water supply temporarily, because a cold water pipe to the toilet is leaking at the point where the copper pipe meets the plastic pipe). It leaks about a litre of water a day (I know the volume because I collect it !)

Once the water supply is stopped, I can fix the leak.

There is a copper "tap" through which all the water comes into the flat.
It's in the Hot Press very close to the ceiling (UK people call it the Airing cupboard, only Irish people call it the Hot Press apparently)

This is a link to a photo I took of the Tap.
[broken link removed]

The problem is, turning the tap completely clockwise or completely anti clockwise has no effect, the water still comes through high pressure through the cold water taps in the bathroom and kitchen. Turing the copper tap on or off has no effect.

I'm just wondering, is this device which looks like a tap, and rotates like a tap supposed to function as a tap to stop all water coming into the flat ?

I know very little about plumbing.

I would also add that there is another tap further down the chain (looks identical to the copper tap in the picture (cold water goes through it only).
Again, turning the tap completely anti clockwise or completely anti clockwise has no effect, the water still comes out of the cold taps at very high pressure

I'm confused ! I may need to take a day off work to get a plumber to fix a simple leak if I cant resolve it !
 
it looks like this is the valve to turn off (clockwise), you may need to allow the storage tank to empty, by allowing cold tap to run,

check that the water supply to the tank is turned off by the valve, valves sometimes look ok, but fail to work,

plumber may have connected toilet up to another mains feed, if so, this valve will not turn off the supply to the toilet, and you will have to find another valve.

you do need to be able to turn off the water, in case the leak gets worse,
 
Have you looked under the kitchen sink for one of these valves? Possibly concealed behind the back panel. My mains come in this way, the back panel is held in place by the shelf, remove this shelf and the back panel comes out.
 
Cheers TwoFor1

You are an absolute genius

There is indeed a valve under the kitchen sink which disconnects the water mains !

Problem solved.

The picture I showed was the valve which feeds upwards through the ceiling to feed the electric shower (I thought it was the valve for stopping the water coming into the flat, but not the case !)

Thanks
 
You should buy a 15mm ball fixer valve. you can put this on the pipe feeding the toilet so the toilet can be isolated from rest of system. also make sure the pipe entering the toilet is dead stairght as if it's at an angle, it will leak. Buy some P.T.F.E tape as well.

Good luck
 
Cheers

OK, now that I have found the valve which stops the water supply coming into my flat, I have another problem

The valve is a bit inaccessible.
I attach a link of a new photo (just 20kb) .
[broken link removed]

As can be seen, it is hard to get at.
I can't turn the valve to close it with my hand (not strong enough), the valve probably hasn't been closed in 20 years, so it's not easy to turn. You could say it's a little seized.

I think I need to buy a tool, is there a special tool I can buy to get leverage to close the valve ?
Plumbers must come across this type of problem every day !
 
pain in the behind. Don't know what type of tools you have but I would use two adjustable spanners. The first spanner is used to grip the valve head and is placed on the valve vertically, the second spanner grips the jaw of first spanner but horizontally. So you are left with an L shape formed by the two spanners. you will get a much better grip of valve handle and leverage. Try and hold the valve while you turn the handle. Does the above make sense?

It may be worth spraying the spindle of the valve with a little WD 40, but not too much as it will make valve slippy.

It is also worth noting that somewhere at the base of the apartment block you will have other stop valves that should be numbered to corrospond with your flat number.
 
Any chance of a photo of pipe leading to toilet? By law in the UK every applaince should have an isolation valve fitted before entering.

BTW, I worked in the UK for a few years and called it a hotpress and got some strange looks, equally I get strange looks here when I now call it an airing cupboard!
 
Cheers,

Here is a photo.
I know it looks filthy, but it is the underside of the toilet water holder (nobody over 2ft tall ever sees it !), the rest of the bathroom is spotless, I swear !


[broken link removed]

Does it meet the regulations the way they did it ? This place was built in 1987.
I'll take your advice about getting an extra ball fixer valve in B&Q.
 
Is there any fitting on that pipe? A ball fixer valve looks like a stairght joiner but has a flat head grove in it. when the grove is running with the pipe it is on and when it is across the pipe it is off.

If your still having trouble shutting of the water, you can always buy a frezzing kit. I think they are about £15, if memory serves me right. place the frezzing jacket on the toilet CW feed pipe down low and use the spray and nossle to pump spray into jacket. It does work and will give you between 15 - 30 minutes to fit ballfixer. Also get a 1/2inch nylon ring (explain what it is for) to use where the brass fitting meets the plastic. Once you have the ball fixer on you can work away at you own pace.

you will have to shorten the cut pipe to compenstat for the valve. One word of warning Though, be carefull when you thread the brass nut on the plastic thread. If you cross thread the plastic will get mangled and not seal right. If this were to happen you would need to cut back the plastic thread to where it is unaffected.

On second thoughts, get a 15mm ball fixer and a short 15mm felxi hose and get rid of the brass fitting altogether. the fexli hoses are much easier to connect and are easy to marry up.

Good luck
 
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