"George E. Cawthon" wrote in message ...
fixhouse wrote:
In my basement I have a standard washer hookup. Hot and cold supply
lines lead to a single valve with a vertical lever that, when down,
allows hot to go to the hot washer hose and cold to the cold washer
hose.

The single valve with the vertical lever (I do not know what it is
called) is failing. Water is slowly dripping from the interior of the
lever area, which looks rather corroded. The value is probably 40-50
years old.

I want to replace the valve, and it looks like there are two screws
facing the front that hold it on the hot and cold supply lines. I
unloosed one of the screws and received a nice spray. This is a good
sign (even though I got a bit wet) in terms of what the screws do.

On Monday I am going to go to a plumbing supply place and get a new
washer valve (hopefully they still make the same size valves...)
Assuming I do this, I see one problem. For the hot supply line, there
are no shutoff valves between the washer valve and the hot water
heater. For the cold supply line, the only valve between the washer
valve and the supply line for my house is a shutoff that will shut the
water off to the entire house.

So, I anticipate that I am going to have to turn off my main house
shutoff valve before I remove the washer valve. Is this a risky
thing? What is the main house shutoff valve fails?

Will I have to drain a ton of water after turning off my main house
shutoff valve? I presume that any water above the washer valve will
want to come down and out where I am working after I remove the washer
valve. Should I turn off the house shutoff and then, say, open an
upstairs sink fixture to get rid of any pressure upstairs before I
mess with the basement washer valve?

Thanks,

mh


First, if your valve is really 40-50 years old, you probably
won't find and identical replacement, so expect to do a bit
of work.

Second, Yes you need to turn water off to the whole house.
If you can easily get to the street valve, it would be best
to turn it off there, but some places frown on that or
require the turn off to be made by the water company.
Otherwise, just turn the main shut off valve for the house.

Third, yes the water above will have to be drained. The
water in the hot water tank will stay there. Normally there
is a valve at the water heater on the cold inlet side and
you should turn that off to prevent possible siphoning. You
are on the right track. Open hot and cold sink valves on
the main floor to release pressure and to drain water from
any floor above. Turn the washer valves off, and disconnect
the hoses from the washer and put in a sink or in the washer
drain and then open the valves to drain water from the upper
floor. Even if you have to catch the water in a bucket, you
can probably get by with one or two buckets as there really
isn't that much water that will drain from the system.

Forth, now is the hard part, removing the valve getting a
replacement that fits the pipes, and installing it. Good Luck.

Be sure to turn off the water heater before beginning.

Harry K