It all started yesterday with a new fridge. Wife said can you fit this bracket that stops the fridge falling forward if the door is open and filled with heavy stuff. No problem, the bracket fits to the wall or the floor so I choose the floor. First hole drilled no problem, second hole - whoosh water hitting the ceiling. Luckily I was right next to the stopcock so I shut off the water.
It seems that a feed from the incoming mains is teed off after the stopcock to go to the kitchen sink and dishwasher. All layed under the tiled kitchen floor. Luckily the kitchen is due a complete refurb but will probably not happen until late this year.
Out with the SDS drill with chisel. and 'lift' the tiles near the burst. Turns out pipes layed directly into the concrete - great! (BTW - I have had so much trouble with this in my house that I have vowed never to buy a house where they have done this again).
Luckily I manage to chisel all the concrete out and after a lot of cleaning and messing solder in a new piece of 15mm pipe, good as new.
Go to turn the water on and just a trickle of water from the tap. This has been getting steadily worse, everytime I turn off the stopcock (I'm in the middle of a new bathroom) the flow is less when I restore the flow. So I think I'll replace the stopcock - but it is threaded at both ends with a steel? inlet and 15mm outlet. Firstly I don't have one of these and am worried that replacing it may cause me other problems. But I think it is probably the washer come off in the stopcock.
Out in the road to turn off the water to dismantle the stopcock in the house and I find 2 unmarked covers. Both do not reveal a stopcock and are full of rubbish which I can't clear as they are very deep. I know my gas one because that is marked as is the Cable TV. So onto the water company. "Yes it is our responsibility but we charge £70 at weekends!" So I booked for them to come out Monday cos that's free (Won't even go into the conversation with the guy the other end as that is another story).
Anyway finally to my questions to the plumbers out there.
Is my theory about a faulty stopcock likely. Is this a common problem?
Can I buy just the tap/spindle part and leave the body in place?
Thanks in advance.
It seems that a feed from the incoming mains is teed off after the stopcock to go to the kitchen sink and dishwasher. All layed under the tiled kitchen floor. Luckily the kitchen is due a complete refurb but will probably not happen until late this year.
Out with the SDS drill with chisel. and 'lift' the tiles near the burst. Turns out pipes layed directly into the concrete - great! (BTW - I have had so much trouble with this in my house that I have vowed never to buy a house where they have done this again).
Luckily I manage to chisel all the concrete out and after a lot of cleaning and messing solder in a new piece of 15mm pipe, good as new.
Go to turn the water on and just a trickle of water from the tap. This has been getting steadily worse, everytime I turn off the stopcock (I'm in the middle of a new bathroom) the flow is less when I restore the flow. So I think I'll replace the stopcock - but it is threaded at both ends with a steel? inlet and 15mm outlet. Firstly I don't have one of these and am worried that replacing it may cause me other problems. But I think it is probably the washer come off in the stopcock.
Out in the road to turn off the water to dismantle the stopcock in the house and I find 2 unmarked covers. Both do not reveal a stopcock and are full of rubbish which I can't clear as they are very deep. I know my gas one because that is marked as is the Cable TV. So onto the water company. "Yes it is our responsibility but we charge £70 at weekends!" So I booked for them to come out Monday cos that's free (Won't even go into the conversation with the guy the other end as that is another story).
Anyway finally to my questions to the plumbers out there.
Is my theory about a faulty stopcock likely. Is this a common problem?
Can I buy just the tap/spindle part and leave the body in place?
Thanks in advance.
