Clark Drain CD880 140mm x 115mm x 75mm Stop Tap Stopcock Cover/lid PVC Locking Surround Box

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See our Which? Trusted traders’ tips on how to deal with a burst pipe. Prevention is better than cure The diagram below shows the typical pipework at most homes and who is responsible for maintaining it.

In an emergency, your local water company guarantee to come out within 24 hours. However, this is more than long enough for a leak within your property to create some serious damage. Just a tip, before winter make sure your inside and outside Stop tap isolates, remember what goes through the meter you pay for. If the T-bar handle is across the pipe, this should mean the mains are shut. If it’s in line with the pipe, the mains should be open.Your inside stop valve is inside your house and is normally located just after the water pipe enters the house. This is often under the kitchen sink, but can also be: We all have a list of things to do around the home that we may or may not get round to. Filing paperwork, sorting out the linen cupboard and in all likelihood, testing your stop tap is on that list too. The problem is, while not being able to find a record of your accounts or your towels being in a mess might be annoying, failing to test your stop tap can be disastrous. A gravity or low-pressure system, when there is a tank in the loft that supplies the toilets and basins, will have the mains stop tap that supplies water to the kitchen sink, plus a stop tap coming out of the tank for the hot-water flow and for the cold-water flow too. At the end of your road. This is common if your house is old and you share a supply with your neighbours.

Install a permanent isolation valve called an Aladdin valve. This can be installed on hot water or cold water pipes in around 5 minutes and can be done without turning off your water.

To protect your home, you should always have a working inside stop valve.Use this as the main way to turn your water on and off. Mark told us: ‘An old-fashioned stop tap that hasn’t been turned for a couple of years is unlikely to work, in which case you’ll have to get the Water Board out. They will have to fix the stop tap in the road before you can do anything in the house.’ You have several options if you cannot find your inside stop valve or if it's faulty and needs to be repaired. The external valve controls the flow from the water main that serves your street to the supply pipe into your house. An accredited plumber can use freezing and clamping as a short-term solution. This process creates an ice plug that lasts for around 30 minutes, allowing you to extend or repair pipework without draining the whole system.