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Hi all,

I've realised that our 2nd floor flat doesn't have a stopcock where the rising main comes into the flat or it is under a floor or something. We have gate valves or stop cocks in front of kitchen sink and cold water cistern for bathroom for servicing, however all of them are either seized or don't close fully. This is not a great situation to be in when there are 2 flats below you. Ideally I think we should be able to cut the water off as close to where the water comes into the flat as is reasonably accessible without having to resort to cutting off all the flats down at the street level stop valve. Doesn't seem like a lot to ask!

I have traced the old lead rising main to the corner of the kitchen where it comes down parallel to the outer stone wall and then runs under the tiled kitchen floor (see attached image). As this pipe is still lead at the point it disappears under the floor I assume somewhere the lead pipe has been connected to copper either by wiping? or if it is more modern a lead-lock (this room was made the kitchen back in 1988) but I don't know where this lead-copper change over is.

My feeling is that we should install a stopcock perhaps on the lead main coming down the wall as you can see on the image. As this is behind a fridge normally and not very accessible I'm thinking of getting a SureStop stopcock with remote switch fitted.

I guess my question is does this seem like a sensible idea? My main issue with this is that to fit the Surestop this has to be connected to copper or plastic pipe I think on either side of it. So currently this would look like lead to copper to surestop to copper to lead then running under the tiled floor, somewhere connecting back to copper. The arguably better but more invasive option is to pull up the kitchen floor, find where the lead connects to copper and cut the lead back as far as possible to the corner of the kitchen (attached image) but then you still have lead to copper to surestop but then its at least copper thought the property. I'd get a plumber in to do all this but would like to get some general advice first. The water is coming on lead pipe anyway so perhaps having some in the flat is not a big issue and at least we would be able to cut the water off!

20171026_183809_resized.jpg
 
Hi all,

I've realised that our 2nd floor flat doesn't have a stopcock where the rising main comes into the flat or it is under a floor or something. We have gate valves or stop cocks in front of kitchen sink and cold water cistern for bathroom for servicing, however all of them are either seized or don't close fully. This is not a great situation to be in when there are 2 flats below you. Ideally I think we should be able to cut the water off as close to where the water comes into the flat as is reasonably accessible without having to resort to cutting off all the flats down at the street level stop valve. Doesn't seem like a lot to ask!
Most likely there is a maintenance room downstairs where all the valves are with the flat numbers attached.
 
There will be a stop tap somewhere for your property as that main is too small to feed the whole complex
 
There will be a stop tap somewhere for your property as that main is too small to feed the whole complex
Agree however feel the OP is going to be a twonk about this with his comments and the use of !!!!!!!!!!! so signing off now.
 
Would love to know where the property stop tap is then. Maybe a local plumber would be able to find it but it shouldn't involve pulling up floors etc or if it does someone's been a bit silly in the past in covering it. Also if it's been hidden so long it's probably seized too.
 
I agree the main in the picure is a branch just to supply our flat but why hasn't a stopcock been fitted here at some point.
 
but why hasn't a stopcock been fitted here at some point.

My Mother's last house was a 1904 Terrace.

Originally a Lead supply into outside toilet, no stopcock.
Another lead supply into the kitchen , no stopcock.

Stopcock was in the ground in the alleyway in the common feed to the row of 6.
Every house had one outside, plus there was one in the street to isolate the lot.

Yours will be as suggested in post #2, either in a room / cupboard or cellar common to all flats.
 
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