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#1
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Adding main water shutoff
The only water shutoff valve for my house is located in a recessed box
at the front curb, some 50 ft away. Using it requires a special long-handled "tool" which is kept in the garage 80 ft in the opposite direction. Adding to potential for confusion, the valve itself is very unclearly marked as to on/off, plus there's another valve for the entire street just a few feet away, which this tool also operates. With +100lbs water pressure this makes me very nervous about how much water could potentially spill should something disasterous happen. It looks like the pipe runs underground up to the footings, either under or through the footings, and vertically up on the inside of the foundation in the crawlspace. Can a pumber add a shutoff at the house, by drilling through the foundation? Are permits usually required for this kind of work? |
#2
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Axial wrote:
The only water shutoff valve for my house is located in a recessed box at the front curb, some 50 ft away. Using it requires a special long-handled "tool" which is kept in the garage 80 ft in the opposite direction. Adding to potential for confusion, the valve itself is very unclearly marked as to on/off, plus there's another valve for the entire street just a few feet away, which this tool also operates. With +100lbs water pressure this makes me very nervous about how much water could potentially spill should something disasterous happen. It looks like the pipe runs underground up to the footings, either under or through the footings, and vertically up on the inside of the foundation in the crawlspace. Can a pumber add a shutoff at the house, by drilling through the foundation? Are permits usually required for this kind of work? Put the shutoff *in* the crawlspace by just cutting the pipe which runs vertically up the wall of the crawl. And if the crawl is difficult to get into when you need to operate the valve, move it further downstream or maybe come up with a clever remote operator using cable or chain. Jim |
#3
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Axial wrote:
The only water shutoff valve for my house is located in a recessed box at the front curb, some 50 ft away. Using it requires a special long-handled "tool" which is kept in the garage 80 ft in the opposite direction. Adding to potential for confusion, the valve itself is very unclearly marked as to on/off, plus there's another valve for the entire street just a few feet away, which this tool also operates. With +100lbs water pressure this makes me very nervous about how much water could potentially spill should something disasterous happen. It looks like the pipe runs underground up to the footings, either under or through the footings, and vertically up on the inside of the foundation in the crawlspace. Can a pumber add a shutoff at the house, by drilling through the foundation? Are permits usually required for this kind of work? Check with the local building department about permits. If OK, wherever you put it, you're going to have to close and open that street shutoff at least once. :-) If possible, I would put the new shutoff more readily available somewhere inside the house above the crawl space. I would use a 1/4 turn ball valve for the new shutoff. |
#4
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Faster accessibility to the shutoff is what I'm aiming for -- the main
water pipe comes in at the opposite side of the house from the crawlspace entrance, about 60 ft away and down two 3ft levels, so access will have to be outside the crawlspace. The main pipe runs vertically about 12-16 inches from the inside of the foundation wall, and the first pipe leading off of that is very close, so major relocation the incoming line isn't an option, but a plumber could probably move the line closer to the foundation wall (right?). Is it possible to have a shutoff valve & handle assembly that could span the distance from the outside of the foundation (6", 8", whatever it is), plus whatever few inches the pipe is inside the foundation? Putting the shutoff further up vertically, inside the house, isn't an option, either, as above this area is living room, nowhere for a shutoff valve to be hidden as it possibly could be if it was a kitchen cupboard or something. THx. |
#5
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Concerning your desire to shut off the water quickly when the pipes rupture.
Did you think you would be home when this happens? HA! "Axial" wrote in message ... Faster accessibility to the shutoff is what I'm aiming for -- the main water pipe comes in at the opposite side of the house from the crawlspace entrance, about 60 ft away and down two 3ft levels, so access will have to be outside the crawlspace. The main pipe runs vertically about 12-16 inches from the inside of the foundation wall, and the first pipe leading off of that is very close, so major relocation the incoming line isn't an option, but a plumber could probably move the line closer to the foundation wall (right?). Is it possible to have a shutoff valve & handle assembly that could span the distance from the outside of the foundation (6", 8", whatever it is), plus whatever few inches the pipe is inside the foundation? Putting the shutoff further up vertically, inside the house, isn't an option, either, as above this area is living room, nowhere for a shutoff valve to be hidden as it possibly could be if it was a kitchen cupboard or something. THx. |
#6
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Point taken g. But seriously, even if I was home, dashing up hill and
down dale to get the handle thingy, then out to the street and trying to find the curb shutoff in the dark & pouring Seattle rain (no streetlights here), plus trying to remember which way is "off" ... or, imagine trying to leave instructions for a plumber about where the handle is, where the shutoff is, etc etc, all in all the current setup is unsat. Joe Fabeitz wrote: Concerning your desire to shut off the water quickly when the pipes rupture. Did you think you would be home when this happens? HA! |
#7
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Axial wrote:
Faster accessibility to the shutoff is what I'm aiming for -- the main water pipe comes in at the opposite side of the house from the crawlspace entrance, about 60 ft away and down two 3ft levels, so access will have to be outside the crawlspace. The main pipe runs vertically about 12-16 inches from the inside of the foundation wall, and the first pipe leading off of that is very close, so major relocation the incoming line isn't an option, but a plumber could probably move the line closer to the foundation wall (right?). Is it possible to have a shutoff valve & handle assembly that could span the distance from the outside of the foundation (6", 8", whatever it is), plus whatever few inches the pipe is inside the foundation? Putting the shutoff further up vertically, inside the house, isn't an option, either, as above this area is living room, nowhere for a shutoff valve to be hidden as it possibly could be if it was a kitchen cupboard or something. THx. You didn't say where you lived, but where I live in the NE, putting any water shutoff or pipe out side in the winter air would require a lot of closing and opening of that curb shutoff in order to make repairs to freezing pipes. |
#8
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Axial wrote:
Point taken g. But seriously, even if I was home, dashing up hill and down dale to get the handle thingy, then out to the street and trying to find the curb shutoff in the dark & pouring Seattle rain (no streetlights here), plus trying to remember which way is "off" ... or, imagine trying to leave instructions for a plumber about where the handle is, where the shutoff is, etc etc, all in all the current setup is unsat. Where is the meter? That would be really good place for a shut off. In fact, when the village re-did my water connection, they installed a pair of shutoffs, on each side of the meter, "the village meter plumbers don't like to get their hands wet". |
#9
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Agree with quarter turn ball valve.
I had a gate valve and it was a pain to open/close Would it be worth running some extra pipe to a convenient space like a kitchen cupbord? JD "Axial" wrote in message ... The only water shutoff valve for my house is located in a recessed box at the front curb, some 50 ft away. Using it requires a special long-handled "tool" which is kept in the garage 80 ft in the opposite direction. Adding to potential for confusion, the valve itself is very unclearly marked as to on/off, plus there's another valve for the entire street just a few feet away, which this tool also operates. With +100lbs water pressure this makes me very nervous about how much water could potentially spill should something disasterous happen. It looks like the pipe runs underground up to the footings, either under or through the footings, and vertically up on the inside of the foundation in the crawlspace. Can a pumber add a shutoff at the house, by drilling through the foundation? Are permits usually required for this kind of work? |
#10
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Where's the water meter? Mine has a ball valve on each end and it's easily
accessable. Ray "JD" wrote in message news:z0Xdd.17649$%t3.16137@lakeread01... Agree with quarter turn ball valve. I had a gate valve and it was a pain to open/close Would it be worth running some extra pipe to a convenient space like a kitchen cupbord? JD "Axial" wrote in message ... The only water shutoff valve for my house is located in a recessed box at the front curb, some 50 ft away. Using it requires a special long-handled "tool" which is kept in the garage 80 ft in the opposite direction. Adding to potential for confusion, the valve itself is very unclearly marked as to on/off, plus there's another valve for the entire street just a few feet away, which this tool also operates. With +100lbs water pressure this makes me very nervous about how much water could potentially spill should something disasterous happen. It looks like the pipe runs underground up to the footings, either under or through the footings, and vertically up on the inside of the foundation in the crawlspace. Can a pumber add a shutoff at the house, by drilling through the foundation? Are permits usually required for this kind of work? |
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