In article . com,
Joe wrote:
The valve that shuts off the water that leads to my house is dripping
pretty steadily. My brother in law told me that I could fix the valve
by packing the pipe with dry ice until it freezes then replace the
valve. This seems a little dangerous to me since any mistake will
result in disaster. Has anyone else attempted this kind of repair and
am I just better off going with a plumber?


Are you talking about a house shutoff valve such as commonly found in
the basement? If so, your water can also be turned off at the street
valve, or "vault" where the meter is presumably located. Call your
water company if you cannot find it yourself. Sometimes you can reach
the valve just by sticking your arm down the hole after removing the
vault cover (often looks like a small manhole cover) but usually IME
you'll need a special wrench that has a long rod that reaches down
into the vault and turns the valve. Sometimes you can get by with a
makeshift.

The water utility may turn it on & off for you but if your area is
like mine, good luck with getting it scheduled in a reasonable time.

Before you go to this trouble though, what kind of leak is it? If it
is just a packing leak at the valve stem, maybe the packing nut can
just be tightened? If packing replacement is necessary, it often
can be done without even shutting off the water. (Theoretically. I
would shut it off anyway in case unforeseen problems arise... DAMHIKT)


--
Contentment makes poor men rich. Discontent makes rich men poor.
--Benjamin Franklin
Larry Wasserman - Baltimore, Maryland -