Ask Experts Questions for FREE Help !
Ask
    wolverine01's Avatar
    wolverine01 Posts: 2, Reputation: 1
    New Member
    		  
    #1

    Mar 14, 2009, 10:19 AM
    Why No Water Shut-Off Inside House?
    I have a number of valves around my water heater (in garage), but none of them will shut-off the entire water supply to the house.

    Why do builders require home owners to go outside, remove a large metal plate covering the water meter in the yard, and then use the giant wrench and valve found there in order to shut-off the water?
    speedball1's Avatar
    speedball1 Posts: 29,301, Reputation: 1939
    Eternal Plumber
    		  
    #2

    Mar 14, 2009, 10:31 AM
    Why do builders require home owners to go outside, remove a large metal plate covering the water meter in the yard, and then use the giant wrench and valve found there in order to shut-off the water?
    They don't! You are referring to the water meter shut off. If you're on a slab walk around your house and look for a 3/4" pipe coming up out of the ground and going into your home.
    If you have a basement look for a pipe coming in from the street. Both pipes should have a shutoff valve close enough to see. Good luck and thank you for rating my answer. Tom
    wolverine01's Avatar
    wolverine01 Posts: 2, Reputation: 1
    New Member
    		  
    #3

    Mar 14, 2009, 11:09 AM
    Tom, I'm on a crawl space but the water enters my house below the garage slab, rises inside the wall between garage and house, and comes through the wall into a small closet inside the garage.

    There are three valves there, but closing all of these does not shut-off cold water going into house. My house is about 20 years old.
    letmetellu's Avatar
    letmetellu Posts: 3,151, Reputation: 317
    Ultra Member
    		  
    #4

    Mar 14, 2009, 12:30 PM

    At one time in my area it was required to have a water cut off just outside of the house where the water enters the house. This was called a stop and waste because after you turned the water off the valve have a small hole in the side that was suppose to drain the water from the lines in the house. A 3/8's square rod was used to turn this valve off and on, but the soil would rest off the iron rod and made the valve useless. Plus there was a question about cross connections.

    So it is possible that you have one of these underground somewhere.

    Another reason you may not have a cut off is a thing called gutting costs, there are lots of little things that a builder can cut on a house and first thing you know you are making another two to three hundred dollars off the house.
    speedball1's Avatar
    speedball1 Posts: 29,301, Reputation: 1939
    Eternal Plumber
    		  
    #5

    Mar 14, 2009, 01:11 PM
    There are three valves there, but closing all of these does not shut-off cold water going into house.
    Then what do they shut off? 20 years isn't old for a house. I have a ingrown toenail older then that. Cheers, Tom
Not your question? Ask your question View similar questions
 

Question Tools Search this Question
Search this Question:

Advanced Search

Add your answer here.


Check out some similar questions!

How to Shut Off Hot Water/ Water in house. [ 6 Answers ]

Hi. I need to replace an upstairs sink hot water valve to a sink. I found and turned off the water to the house on the outside of the house. It did turn down the water pressure but never shut the water off completely, and all the household faucets would still provide both hot and cold water... Is...

Does CPVC water supply leading to shut-off valve need to be secured inside wall? [ 2 Answers ]

I'm replacing the water supplies pipes to a bath and laundry room with CPVC pipe. The pipes will run inside the wood-studded wall. Do I need to secure the CPVC pipe in some way inside the wall before the stub comes out to a turn-off valve? If so, what are the best options for securing the pipe?

New House, noisy banging Pipes when water shut off. [ 6 Answers ]

Pipes bang when you close Hot or Cold water. Would you say that the plumber failed to install airlocks at each faucet? capthah

Shut water main to house, what happens to hot water heater [ 7 Answers ]

I've seen similar questions but didn't see the exact answer I was looking for. I want to know what happens if I shut off the water to the house and Go on vacation and leave the hot water heater on and then a leak in A hot water faucet develops. Would the heater tank drain, overheat, and Cause...

Shut of water to house and not boiler [ 3 Answers ]

We have a boiler. When we are not home we would like to shut off the water in the house. We have had conflicting opinions about the boiler. We were told that if we shut off water to the boiler and there are any pin hole leaks in the system, eventually the boiler could "dry fire" and have...

View more questions Search