The Old Tradesman

Bench note No. 5

Find Every Shutoff in Your House Before You Need One

Where the water shutoffs are, how each kind closes, and how to know they work.

  1. The Old Tradesman walks through a room with a small steel flashlight, looking for shutoff valves

    Panel 1. The Old Tradesman says: Do this on a dry, boring day. Nobody wants to meet the main shutoff for the first time at two in the morning.

  2. The Old Tradesman rests a hand on the lever of a brass ball valve on a copper pipe; the lever sits across the pipe, the closed position

    Panel 2. The Old Tradesman says: The main. On a ball valve the lever tells you. In line with the pipe is open. Across it, like this, is closed. A quarter turn.

  3. The Old Tradesman lifts a faucet handle at a bathroom sink and holds his hand under the dry spout

    Panel 3. The Old Tradesman says: Now prove it. Open a faucet. If the water stops, the valve works. If it does not, you just learned something cheap.

  4. The Old Tradesman ties a blank paper tag onto the lever of the main shutoff ball valve

    Panel 4. The Old Tradesman says: Tag it. Then show everybody who lives here where it is.

  5. The Old Tradesman kneels with a flashlight at an open sink cabinet with two supply lines and their oval shutoff valve handles

    Panel 5. The Old Tradesman says: Then the small ones. Under every sink, behind every toilet, at the washer, the dishwasher, the icemaker. Clockwise closes them.

  6. The Old Tradesman reaches up to the shutoff valve on the cold water pipe above a tank water heater

    Panel 6. The Old Tradesman says: And the one on the cold pipe going into the water heater. That is the list. Now you know your house.

The note

A burst pipe gives no notice. The City of Bellevue’s water utility says it straight: if a pipe breaks, close the main shutoff valve right away. That only works if you already know where the main is. So go find it today, with a flashlight and no emergency.

Where to look. Denver Water says the main is usually in the basement or crawl space, on a wall facing the street. In a house built on a slab, WSSC Water says it is typically near the water heater or under the kitchen sink. There is another valve out at the meter, and the rules on touching that one differ. Some water providers let you shut off at the street. San Francisco’s utility says its meters are for its own field staff only. Ask yours before the day you need to know.

How it closes. A ball valve has a lever. In line with the pipe is open, and a quarter turn puts it across the pipe and closed. A gate valve has a round wheel, and it closes clockwise. An old gate valve can build up inside until it will not close all the way. If a valve seems stuck, do not force it. Call a plumber. I do not force things. You may have noticed.

Then the small ones. BrassCraft’s list of what a stop valve serves is faucets, toilets, dishwashers, icemakers and washing machines. The multi-turn kind closes clockwise, two to four full turns. The water heater has its own valve on the pipe where the cold water goes in. The outdoor spigot may have a shutoff inside the house, and a sprinkler system can have a valve of its own.

Close the main and open a faucet to see that the water really stops. Keep the test short: open one cold faucet, watch it stop, then open the main again, slowly. If you are going to leave the water off and drain the pipes, WSSC Water says to shut off power to an electric water heater first, or turn a gas one to pilot. Tag the main. Show everyone in the house. Work the valve a couple of times a year so it still moves on the day it counts.

References

  1. City of Bellevue Utilities, Prevent Frozen Pipes (and what to do if one breaks)
  2. Denver Water, Tips to prevent (and thaw) frozen water pipes in your home
  3. WSSC Water, Find and Operate Your Main Water Valve
  4. Regional Water Providers Consortium, Emergency Water Shut-Off
  5. San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, Home Water Shutoff Valve
  6. Dummies, Finding the Main Water Shutoff Valve
  7. NIBCO, T-FP-600A Ball Valve
  8. Family Handyman, Home Repair: How to Replace the Main Shut Off Valve
  9. This Old House, Shut-Off Valve Leaking? Here's a Quick and Easy Fix
  10. BrassCraft, Water Stops
  11. Family Handyman, How to Locate Your Gas Shutoff Valve and Water Shutoff Valve
  12. Portland Water Bureau, How to prepare your plumbing for winter weather
  13. East Bay Municipal Utility District, DIY Guide for Leaks and High Bills
  14. Seattle Office of Emergency Management, Utility Control Tasks (PDF)
  15. City of Decatur, Indiana, Meter and Main Valve (PDF)

The technique in this note comes from these sources. He is the voice. They are the authority. The panels are cartoons, not photographs.