Every home has two main water shutoff valves: one inside the house and the other by where your property meets the street. The simplest way to shut off all water running through your house is to know where the main valve is located inside your house.
Main Water Shut-Off Valve Basics and Importance
Most homes actually have two such valves: One for outside water sources, which is generally controlled by the city you live in, plus one for your indoor plumbing and water areas.
For your washer machine and sinks, there will be separate hot and cold water supply lines with separate shut-off valves, while your toilet only has one cold water shut-off valve.
❖ Within the dwelling, a shutoff valve is required on the fixture supply pipe to each plumbing fixture except for bathtubs and showers. Bathtubs and showers typically do not have shutoff valves because it could be difficult to provide access to valves for locations such as upper-story bathrooms.
Every home has two main water shutoff valves: one inside the house and the other by where your property meets the street. The simplest way to shut off all water running through your house is to know where the main valve is located inside your house.
In most cases, the master shutoff valve to the home will have a wheel (gate valve) or a straight handle (ball valve). Gate valves (pictured to the right) are operated by turning the wheel clockwise until the water is off. Ball valves are operated by turning the handle a quarter-turn clockwise until the water is off.
A ball valve is almost always used for a main water pipe. They are large metal valves, usually with lever handles, designed to quickly turn off water. They have a small ball inside with a hole through the middle, which rotates by 90 degrees to open and close the water when the valve's handle is used.
If your home is built on a slab, check in the garage or near the water heater for the shut-off valve. Next, check outside your house. If the water main shut-off valve is located outside, it will be buried underground near the street. Look for a round or rectangular metal cover flush with the grass or sidewalk.
The average cost to replace a main water shut-off valve is $500, but most homeowners pay between $375 and $600 depending on the valve type, material, and whether trenching is involved. The cost can reach as high as $800 for stainless steel valves that require a trench.
Supply stop valves, also called shut-off valves, are designed to stop the flow from a water supply. While most water valves can do this, stop valves provide easy shut-off mechanisms to allow people to find a leak near fixtures or when doing other plumbing work, without shutting off the water supply to the entire house.
In most homes, the inside front wall would be the answer to “Where is the water shut off valve” for the entire home. Garage: Some homes have the shut off valve located in the garage, particularly if it's attached to the house. Look along the walls or in an access pit near where the water line enters the garage.
Once inside, the water main line runs directly to your water heater. Just before connecting with the water heater, however, your main line splits into two different pipe paths. These paths are called the hot and cold service lines.
The water valve Inside your house is your property. No one can sue you for turning that one off. The valve in the street or meter pit for your house belongs to the water utility. You could have to pay for the repairs if you damaged it.
There are usually multiple shut-off valves in a property — one for each of the appliances that use water, but only one main shut-off valve for the entire building.
Pipes: Turn off water supply to the house and drain pipes to protect them from freezing. You can empty pipes by running the water and flushing the toilets after the water has been turned off. After draining the pipes, it is a good idea to leave the faucets open to prevent pressure build up from any water that remains.
Most main water shutoff valves are located inside the home. The most common locations are the basement, the crawlspace, the mechanical room, an exterior wall, or the yard.
Leaks and bursting pipes can cause thousands of dollars in damages to our residences and businesses. That's why homes built within the last 20 years typically have two shut-off valves, one for the water utility (called a supply-side shut-off) and one for you (called a house line shut-off.)
A stopcock looks like a tap, but without an outlet spout. It will be between two lengths of pipe, acting as a connector. This allows the stopcock to block the flow of water when it's closed off.
Every home was required to have a main water shut-off valve installed inside the home when it was built. For most emergencies or repairs, shutting off the proper inside valve is all you will need to do. However, there are also underground shut-off valves installed outside at the property line.
There will actually be two main shut off valves at the typical suburban residence. One valve will be at the city water meter (usually located in a buried box near the street). This city valve is usually under a locked lid, but with commonly available tools it can be accessed and shut off in the event of an emergency.
Remember, the toilet tank fills up right after a flush and remains that way until it is used again. That means it should be full in the event your water supply is cut off, so you still have one flush to burn. The wise homeowner saves that flush to use only in the event of an emergency.
There should be separate hot and cold-water supply lines with separate shut-off valves for showers, sinks, and dishwashers. Toilets tend to have a single, cold water shut-off valve.