Woke up this morning to water dripping off the light fitting and everything in the airing cupboard's soggy.
Isolator valve on the cold water tank feed failed, it's dripping from the screw in the middle. Never seen that before. When I turned it a small fountain shot up the side of the screw.
Spent most of the day trying to clear a working space in the loft, it's chock-a block with junk. I floored it years ago on top of 100mm of insulation. Been to the tip and got several bags of wet fibreglass now to go.
Ceilings seem to have survived, although I'll reserve judgement until it's all dry.
Anyone been there before to offer tips and advice?
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I am seeing the benefits of not having loft insulation:)
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When you say 'isolator valve' is it one of those you get on the run up to a tap which you turn with a flat screwdriver or is it a proper valve with a red knob on it? If the former it's fubar and needs replacing. If it's the latter a repair can be made with hemp and plumbers paste wound round the spline inside.
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I try to operate stop cocks, gate valves ( with the round handles) and the little isolator valves so that they do not fur up. I try to remember to do it every six moths or so.
Gate valves and stop cocks should be opened fully and the closed say half a turn so that they can be turned either way to free them without damaging them.
I still recently had to change a gate valve as the shaft broke.
I re plumed my house so I know what quality parts I fitted but still I had a problem but no leak.
In my experience I avoid cheap isolating valves and buy from a proper plumbers merchants.
Quality 15mm ones have about a 15mm bore, some cheap ones have about a 10mm bore.
Of course you do not know what was originally installed.
n
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I got writ of any water tanks in the loft and in the airing cupboard for that reason.
Used to have the cold water tank and top up tank in the loft for the central heating.Sometimes the ball cock jammed in the water tank or the one in the central heating top up tank.Fed up climbing in the loft for messing about with water.Combi boiler makes live a bit easier mind you water leaks anywhere when it wants to.
Agree about valves never fully open halve turn back stops the valve jamming.
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>>When you say 'isolator valve' is it one of those you get on the run up to a tap which you turn with a flat screwdriver
That's the type. I recall fitting it yonks ago, the last time I had to have a go at the ball valve in the cold water tank, because I thought it would make any job simpler. Ironic, innit?
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Ghastly, water dripping off the light fitting, electrics fusing and old plaster ceiling starting to sag...
been there more than once actually.
More than once had to turn the water off under the pavement and run the tank dry by turning on all the cold taps in the house. Just to let the dog see the rabbit... goddam nightmare.
The house we live in now has a system I don't begin to understand. But it's in a cupboard thing on the ground floor. Sometimes I have to telephone helpful techies who tell me what to do. But no need for umbrellas in the bedroom or risk of having a hundredweight of plaster coming down on your bed. Happened to us once in the Grove (fortunately we weren't in bed at the time).
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I'll use those isolator valves that take a screwdriver just below taps but I've heard too many horror stories to use them anywhere hidden or important.
I much prefer to use full-bore quarter turn valves with a handle. These Pegler valves are good quality and worth the extra. I have about half a dozen spread throughout the house.
www.screwfix.com/p/pegler-ball-valve-blue-15mm/11085
By co-incidence a friend woke up to water dripping through his kitchen ceiling this morning, so I spent all morning helping him replace a pipe beside his hot water cylinder in the airing cupboard. The pipe had developed pinhole corrosion despite being only about five years old!
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We had a water leak come through the ceiling once. I rang the house insurance people and by that night it was all fixed and replaced, by the next day a new ceiling had been sorted and a week later they sent me a cheque for £400 odd.
That's what house insurance is for.
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A friend returned from holiday to find every ceiling in their house down and the whole house wet. A mains pressure joint in their loft failed while they were away. They were covered by insurance but it was a considerable hassle to return to normality. I live in a smallish modern bungalow and had the boiler moved to the loft when the builders cheapo boiler died. This freed up some cupboard space but there is still a mains pressure supply in the loft, (there was a header tank). I turn the water off at the stopcock if we are away for more than a couple of days, it keeps the stopcock free and easily turned too. This does not stop the heating working for anti frost purposes.
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Wise move to turn the water off before the meter - then any leaks do not result in a potentially massive bill!
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>> Wise move to turn the water off before the meter - then any leaks do
>> not result in a potentially massive bill!
>>
What's a water meter?
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>>What's a water meter?<<
Saves a lot of money for a 2 /3 person household unless you have a swimming pool to allow you to practice your historically aquired survival skills.
PS I have mine installed inside the house - it means any supply pipe leaks are not an immediate (expensive) issue.
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>> What's a water meter?
>>
Not have them north of the border?
We got one straight after the first bill, knocked 65% off the bill.
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Surprising how many times water damage occurs in most peoples houses.Daughter rang me in a panick.Dad there is water everywhere in the dining room through the ceiling.I manage to to convince her to turn the stopcock off which is outside her house.Damage was caused by a toilet overflow.
Insurance paid but lots of stress..;)
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we had a leak at work a few months ago from one of those screw-driver isolator valves. It suddenlt started dripping. I tried turning it backwards and forwards but that made it drip faster. I put a bucket under it, but while messing around trying to work out the pipe runs to turn off the supply, it mysteriously stopped dripping.
It's been fine since. I think they just need a bit of regular exercise.
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Now I've got the floor and insulation up I can see it may have been leaking for a long time. Underneath the water tank (in the immediate area of the leak) the timber and plasterboard has a white, fluffy coating and a mushroom type smell.
I suppose I need to let it all dry completely and then give it some sort of treatment. Any suggestions?
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Before treating the wood that has been soaked and has white mould growing on it, you should jab it comprehensively all over with a screwdriver or similar to see how rotten the wood is. If you're going to have to replace any it's best to know while everything is still uncovered.
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Cuprinol 5 star would be my bet. I used it prophylacticaly on the body frame of the three wheeler.
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<< Anyone been there before to offer tips and advice? >>
When we went on holiday our daughter and family came to stay in our house to enjoy the delights of Suffolk. A pipe joint in the loft chose that week to leak. Access to loft is not easy as it is low, and I hate going in there. (Not sure I could do it at all now). Son-in-Law had it all sorted before we returned.
So the lesson is, make sure your daughters marry competent diy-ers, and ensure they come and stay just before anything is going to go wrong.
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Water leak in loft - Manatee
