stopcock in Communal Stairell

[BTDPS1]

Can anyone advise please. My Neighbour was getting water through there ceiling from an upstairs flat which was unoccupied at the time so I turned off the water at the stop-cock in the communal stair well however it would appear that the spindle has snapped and the stop-cock is now stuck in the off position. I will need to replace the valve but am unsure of the correct size (looks like a 28mm) but this is an old Edinburgh block of flats (Circa 1900) and, in my experience they usually throw you a curveball. As I'm going to have to turn off all the water at the street I don't want to then spend a couple of hours going round merchants with the broken valve body trying to get a match and was wondering if any forum members in the Edinburgh area had had experience of changing these valves and knows the right size, thread etc. I have phoned a couple of plumber friends but they haven't done one (and they have asked me to let them know the outcome)and also have called one of the plumbing trade centres but, again, no joy. Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[MRDrip]

When I was an apprentice (1970 ) and worked on local housing estates built from the 1900's to 1960's we had a big sack of stop tap tops collected over many years as every make had a different thread. I recall spending ages trying to find a fit! Is there enough spindle left to solder on a new handle ?

Good luck.

 

[BTDPS1]

Think break is internal as spindle still on but turning freely with no stopping point in either direction

 

[JCplumb]

I had a job of replacing a very old stop tap last year, unlike your situation - the toby in the back street only turned off the supply to the one property so I had all day to try to find replacement tap innards that would fit.
I went round to all the big sheds, a few merchants and 3 or 4 little plumbing shops and spent about 4 hours going through old taps at the scrap merchants with no joy. Ended up servicing the original stop tap and putting it back in without a handle and unofficially advised the customer to drill a hole through the spindle and stick a small bar through it. Because it was lead joints either side and the customer didn't want to pay for lead replacement - renewing the pipework and replacing the whole tap with a standard one wasn't an option.
In your case - I'm guessing you have copper either side of the tap so in my opinion you would be best to replace the tap completely as you will have one hell of a time finding replacement innards.

 

[MRDrip]

Is there not an insurance claim ongoing to fix the problem "Neighbour was getting water through there ceiling" ?

Who owns the building ? as this stop tap is in a communal stair well.

Where you just the good neighbour that came along to help in an emergency or do you own the freehold for the building ?

 

[smtplumbing]

i falkirk and do alot of work in edinburgh buddie where about is it there is not main stairs in edinburgh have stop cocks, i have had to change on before shut of in street and replace the full valve

Steven

 

[BTDPS1]

Thanks for all replies. I live in the stair but am a plumber and have never tackled this one before so thought I'd see if anyone had a quick solution so I didn't look like an amateur. Any way once I managed to 'scrape' off the insulation I discovered it was a 3/4" Gate Valve but the valve body and flange was much wider than a modern one so couldn't just swap out the workings. Took it off and was going to do a straight swap with the one I had in my bag but the threads on the two fixing nuts were old style and too narrow so ended up cutting pipe at the back of the olives and replaced with a standard 22mm stop-cock (which took up the extra gap left after the pipe cutting). Hope this helps anyone else that encounters same issue. Ta All

 

[BTDPS1]

P.s. Spoke to owner and all going on insurance claim :smile:

 

[tamz]

Although you turned the water off and broke the valve you were not responsible. Regardless of looking like an amateur, next time phone a local plumber and let them deal with it then share the bill between the stair. It is not your problem and the other flat residents won't appreciate it.
Btw the old valve was either a prestex or kuterlite. Learn your threads by looking at them.

Another btw: i've done this trade for a couple of years now and wouldn't have fixed it if it was my stair (well i might have if i was going out and needed a shower, but i would have broke it again when i was done :wink

 

[tamz]

P.s. Spoke to owner and all going on insurance claim :smile:

You ain't getting paid