Knowing The Location Of Your Stopcock Is Important.
Most people never think of replacing a stopcock. The thought usually only occurs when either it’s leaking or there is an emergency and it doesn’t work. The stopcock is the most important valve fitted in a property, failure of this valve can be catastrophic in an emergency. The only way to shut off the main water supply if the stopcock becomes faulty would be at the service valve situated outside the property, however locating this valve is not always a straightforward task.
Become familiar with the location of the stopcock fitted in your property and check its not seized. Never applying excessive force to a seized stopcock, this could be a recipe for disaster. Replacing a stopcock that has begun leaking is the best remedy for this type of problem. Most competent plumbers who provide a quality service will always replace a leaking stopcock with a new one, rather than merely trying to patch it up. The recall of an incompetent plumber is not usual to offer that plumber more work, but to rectify pass work that shortly after has become faulty.
The most common places where a stopcock can be located would be under the kitchen sink or towards the front of a property. Whatever the location, a stopcock should be easily accessible to shut off the water supply in the event of an emergency. A stopcock can be relocated to the specification of a customer choice, upgrades on some of the older properties from lead to plastic is sometimes required when the old lead pipe work fractures below ground, or a wider bore pipe is required to increase the flow rate of the water supply.
In order to replace a stopcock, the mains water supply will have to be isolated externally, at the service valve located outside the property. Some valves are dedicated to only serving one property. This is a lot more convenient for the plumber and property owner. Work can then be carried out without disturbing the neighbours. By shutting off some service valves, the water supply to several properties may be affected. Emergency plumbing repairs that require the water mains supply to be shut off after midnight are far less intrusive, because water demand is limited due to most of the occupants sleeping, thus water supply is in less demand.This makes it an ideal time to work on emergency plumbing repairs, such as replacing a stopcock or anything else that may need the water to be shut off.
