Confused about stopcocks!

[janiehee]

Hello. Wondering if anyone could help me. I'm confused about our stopcocks. We have the one I knew about, left photo, which is behind a panel in our downstairs toilet. I think it comes up out of the ground and is what plumbers have used when needing to turn the water off. However, I've noticed this other one in our shoe cupboard under the stairs. I'm not sure what it is! I don't think we've ever used it. I want to have drawers fitted in this area and don't know if I need access to this tap. Our house is a 1980s Wimpey house.
thanks!

 

[Jurassicspark]

You could always find out yourself, just turn off the downstairs stopcock and see what taps don't work.

I'm guessing it feeds the kitchen. Older properties usually had a stopcock for the washing machine supply so check that too.

 

[bernardgreen]

Might be the supply to an outside tap or an outside building

 

[janiehee]

You could always find out yourself, just turn off the downstairs stopcock and see what taps don't work.

I'm guessing it feeds the kitchen. Older properties usually had a stopcock for the washing machine supply so check that too.

Thanks. Yes I tried but couldn't move either of them! I'll get my husband to do that once he's home. It seems to be coming from the downstairs toilet, and then into what was the old garage (now converted into a room). So actually maybe there was a tap in the garage previously?

 

[janiehee]

Might be the supply to an outside tap or an outside building

ooh good point. It looks as if it may go into the wall which used to be the garage, but is now converted to a room with no water supply. So I guess we won't need to access it as it must have already been closed off.

 

[janiehee]

Might be the supply to an outside tap or an outside building

You're a star, I've done some research and managed to find an old photo of inside the garage before it was converted and there was a tap in it!

 

[Agile]

You may need to loosen the gland nut on the stopcock under the handle to make it easier to turn off.

Stop cocks need to be exercised every three months.

The one going to the old garage may be what holds the water in so do not turn it on as you might find yourself flooding the new room.

 

[Stuckinarut]

You're a star, I've done some research and managed to find an old photo of inside the garage before it was converted and there was a tap in it!

If it's redundant then it should have been disconnected at the branch no more than 30mm or removed altogether (preferable). This is part of the water regulations regarding dead legs and bacteria growth in systems.