Old Flat Stopcock

[David Gray]

Hi
I am currently working on an old flat two floors up for my daughter. I want to rip the kitchen out and isolate the water supply. Unfortunately I can't find a stopcock anywhere in the flat and as I am now down to the bare walls of the kitchen it is quite worrying that there is not one at all. I have had the water board out who isolated the mains water from the street but that is where they stopped. All the other flats have stopcocks outside there front door but not my daughters. Is it possible that the property is connected straight from the street without any isolation. PS I'm not a plumber but just wanted to show my daughter where to isolate the water in an emergency. She has already paid a plumber who said he could not find it. The block of flats is around 100 years old. Is there a special tool or equipment that can locate a stopcock??????

Thanks

 

[Ian H]

Could you not fit one where the cold feed comes into her flat?

 

[David Gray]

Hi Ian
That's the problem know one knows where the main feed comes into the flat. The mains pipe goes right passed her front door in the common close straight up through the stair well and supplies to the neighbour above. I thought the water board would have helped and the plumber we called held hi hands up and said he had no idea.

 

[terryplumb]

What supplies the domestic hot water in the flat , combi boiler / hot water cylinder ,other ? Can you not follow the cold water pipework from bathroom / kitchen etc to determine the point of entry ?

 

[David Gray]

Thanks for the reply's.
I have followed the domestic hot water from the combi boiler and isolated the hot water supply at the turn off valve which was fine. I found the cold water mains supply feeding the boiler and isolated that thinking I had found the mains water inlet. This totally confused me when I turned on the cold tap in the bathroom and water flowed freely but the cold water supply for the kitchen sink was off.

Any ideas appreciated. I may be trying to figure out an installation that wasn't carried our correctly to begin with. The thing is if a domestic central heating system was installed a few years back surely the water supply must have be switched off at some point. I just find it hard to believe that out of the 8 flats in the building this one can't be isolated internally but can from the mains located outside on the main road

Cheers

 

[terryplumb]

As the bathroom cold still runs when boiler and kitchen don't I would look closer in the bathroom , is there a bath ? Stopcock may be behind panel ? Who knows what was done when boiler was put in , could have frozen pipes then fitted iso valve ,or turned off outside.

 

[bobasd]

theres no special tools beyond eyeballs for locating isolators.
even 100yrs ago most mains had shut-offs. one for the building an one to each flat.
what was the purpose of the utility doing a street shut off?
when you say the main rd do you mean out in the roadway or at the boundary of the flats?

 

[David Gray]

Hi
The water board replaced the main water shut off valve as it was seized. This was located just outside the entrance to the block of flats. Is it likely to be under a floor board ?? I suppose I should have located this first before completing all the decoration. It wasn't until we decided to replace the kitchen that this problem came to light.

 

[bobasd]

now at least you can stop the water in an emergency.
it could be under a floorboard but why dont you ask other flats to let you see how their main supply comes into there flat an feeds the installation?
is the kitchen now stripped to a shell,bare walls an floor?

 

[David Gray]

Hi
I have located all the neighbours isolator valves they all have them located just outside their front doors. I think I'll ask the solicitor to look into this as a survey was completed before she purchased the flat 2 months back. The schedule lists previous works gas electric reports but there is zero information relating to the mains water isolator. I didn't want my daughter to be in an emergency position where she keeps hold of a key and has to run outside to the isolator outside the main entrance of the flats and pull up the cover. I'll keep you guys posted and let you know if I ever find it.
Many Thanks

 

[Nozzle]

Does the property have a water meter? Water meters have a shut-off valve built in...

Nozzle

 

[martin43]

David
You don't mention whereabouts you are but in both Glasgow and Edinburgh this is a very common situation, I've been to many flats where there is no individual stopcock. Usually when built the kitchen cold tap was the only one mains fed, the bathroom cold and HW cylinder all being tank fed from the attic. I wouldn't mind betting you have the remnants of that original installation. It's also the reason why when all the flats have fitted a combi, nobody has a decent hot water pressure at certain times of the day.
Regards
Martin

 

[David Gray]

Hi Martin
The flat is located in Dundee. The kitchen tap has an isolator which I have managed to locate. I think the sale documents state that the combi boiler was installed along with double glazing 3 years ago. Are you saying that the water to the bathroom may still be feed form a tank in the attic?. I just wish there was something more simpler for my daughter to be able to use if there was any problem with water. Many thanks

 

[John D v2.0]

a survey was completed before she purchased the flat 2 months back

Don't get your hopes up, ours said there was no stop tap. We got a water meter fitted outside to get a free stop tap, then a year later we found it under a kitchen cupboard nowhere near the sink etc. And connected to an old lead pipe

 

[Nozzle]

Oh, Dundee! In Scotland where water quite LITERALLY falls out of the sky, water is "too cheap to meter" and therefore is not. And therefore you can't use the stop valve on the meter as there isn't one...

It's not all bad though - free prescriptions and free university tuition!

Nozzle