When going away I want to shut off my water for piece of mind. I know I can shut off the valve directly above where the line enters the house in the basement below the meter.I also have a shutoff above the meter with a pressure reducing valve in between the meter and this shutoff. Is there any disadvantage to shutting this valve off also just in case the other one was to fail?

Just shut the water off at the meter box.

When going away I want to shut off my water for piece of mind smart move! Shutting off the water is the cheapest insurance you can ever get. Shut the water off at any valve and turn the power off to the water heater. Have a great vacation. Good luck, TomN

I always advise my customers to shut the shut off valve AFTER the water meter and not the shut off valve before the meter just in case you have a problem with that shutoff. Here, if the shut off valve before the water meter is old and breaks somehow you need to get the city/town involved in shutting off the main water supply to the house before repairing the defective shut off valve. In my scenario, if you have an issue with the shut off valve after the water meter you can easily shut the shut off valve before the meter and repair the valve without having to wait on the city/town water department....hope that made sense!

Also, if going away for an extended period of time, you will want to consider shutting electricity of to your electric water heater (if you have an electric water heater), or set your gas water heater's thermostat at the gas valve to the PILOT or VACATION setting and when you return turn the water main back on, reset the temperature on the water heater (or turn on electric breaker) and you should have hot water in an hour or so. This is money in YOUR pocket!!

Good luck!

Mark