main water shutoff ?

[SteveCanada]

does this look like the main shut off ? guess you turn with socket to close ? I want to cut pvc in garage and install a easy access shutoff. cant find a main shutoff in garage just sprinklers

[Keefelane66]

There should be a access panel in garage near utility panel about 12 inches off floor.

[retiredguy123]

I don't know, but go to the water meter box. There will be a shutoff valve on the house side of the meter. You can buy a long T-shaped tool at Lowe's to shut off the valve. Here is a link.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Project-Source-Water-Shut-off-Curb-Key/5013951461

[retiredguy123]

There should be a access panel in garage near utility panel about 12 inches off floor.
Yes, most houses have these, but some don't.

[retiredguy123]

OP, are you sure there is an exposed PVC pipe in the garage that will allow a valve to shut off the water to the entire house? I have not seen that piping arrangement. In most houses, the main water pipe is under the slab and enters the house inside a wall. If you are referring to the pipe that goes to the water heater or to the washer, that may not shut off the water to the entire house.

[Altavia]

Photo looks like the top of a water meter?

Don't know about here but in some places, the water company will fine you for shutting off (tampering) at the meter.

Definitely don't want to modify the piping at the meter.

Old plumbing can easily break. To be safe, call and let them deal with it.

https://www.districtgov.org/departments/Utilities/NSU-Rates-and-Fee-Schedule.pdf?v=20231221

[Bogie Shooter]

There should be a access panel in garage near utility panel about 12 inches off floor.

Yes, most houses have these, but some don't.

Are you sure about "but some don't".
Seems that would be against code.
If i lived where there was no shut off in the garage and had a significant water leak.........would have to go and dig a hole to shut off the water......really??

[Blueblaze]

I went through this exact same exercise last year on my rental CYV off 466A in Sumter County. I suspect thousands of them do not have a shutoff valve inside the home accessible to the homeowner, as required by every plumbing code I have ever lived under. As near as I can tell, it just depends on whichever plumber did your house. My neighbor on one side has the usual cheap plastic shutoff in the garage. The neighbor on the other side can't find his, so it's probably like mine. That's not the case in Marion County where I live, on the North side. Everyone I know there has a shutoff in the garage, as required by code.

I called a plumber to install a shutoff valve, and he dug up the yard next to the garage and found the cheap PVC valve buried in the yard that was supposed to pass for a shut off valve. It was going to cost a fortune to extend it to the garage and make a hole in the concrete/stucco wall. So I had him replace the cheap valve with something that might actually work on the day it is needed, and had him put it inside a box that cannot be buried under gravel and landscaping, just like the city's two water meters less than 5 ft away. I also had him install a shutoff on the irrigation line, which was entirely missing.

[retiredguy123]

Are you sure about "but some don't".
Seems that would be against code.
If i lived where there was no shut off in the garage and had a significant water leak.........would have to go and dig a hole to shut off the water......really??
Yes, definitely some do not have a valve inside the house.

[Hape2Bhr]

OP, are you sure there is an exposed PVC pipe in the garage that will allow a valve to shut off the water to the entire house? I have not seen that piping arrangement. In most houses, the main water pipe is under the slab and enters the house inside a wall. If you are referring to the pipe that goes to the water heater or to the washer, that may not shut off the water to the entire house.

We have a courtyard villa with a PVC shutoff outside the garage about one foot off the ground. Inside, before the filtering system there is another PVC shutoff. Neither will turn enough to physically shut off the water; both stop turning at about an 1/8 of a turn rather than a 1/4 turn. It feels as though forcing it further will be doing some sort of damage. Any suggestions I could attempt, or do I need a plumber?

[gorillarick]

Yes (the picture), there should be a valve there under a few inches of mud.

(dig around with hand. You don't want to damage pipe, etc.)

Turn lever CW (clockwise) to close. That means OFF.
(lever should line-up with pipe before turning-off)

Turn lever CCW (counter clock wise) to turn back ON.

Make sure you are turning in the correct direction or you could damage the piping.
If correct direction, and still way too hard to turn; you should probably call a plumber, instead of doing hundreds? in damage.

Yes, turn-off in garage if possible.

[tophcfa]

We have two water shut offs at our home. The valve in the garage shuts off everything except for our pools auto leveling system, the hose bib in our birdcage, and our irrigation. I replaced the cheap plastic valve that came with the house with a quality brass fitting so I can turn the valve on/off as needed without worrying about it breaking. To shut off the water to everything, we need to dig a hole in the ground next to our driveway and open a box that contains a very difficult valve to turn that requires a special tool. I MacGyver’ed up a tool by bending a piece or rebar and grinding down the end that fits into the valve fitting. Our house is located north of 466, where the irrigation water is the same as our homes potable water, so others may have a different configuration.

[retiredguy123]

We have a courtyard villa with a PVC shutoff outside the garage about one foot off the ground. Inside, before the filtering system there is another PVC shutoff. Neither will turn enough to physically shut off the water; both stop turning at about an 1/8 of a turn rather than a 1/4 turn. It feels as though forcing it further will be doing some sort of damage. Any suggestions I could attempt, or do I need a plumber?
I purchased this tool to turn the plastic valve, and it works great for me. I use the 3/4 inch tool. I don't know if it will work in your situation.

Amazon.com (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09JB8W8P5/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1)

[jamorela]

Are you sure about "but some don't".
Seems that would be against code.
If i lived where there was no shut off in the garage and had a significant water leak.........would have to go and dig a hole to shut off the water......really??

This has been discussed before. I live in a courtyard villa and the main shut off is outside!

[Pgcacace]

When we had a major leak in 2021 with 1995 China copper tubing, we had Mike Scott Plumbing replace all the pipes in the house. They ran a pipe into the garage after the main and water sprinklers. It has an easy lever to shut off water into the house. It was a good decision.

[Malsua]

does this look like the main shut off ? guess you turn with socket to close ? I want to cut pvc in garage and install a easy access shutoff. cant find a main shutoff in garage just sprinklers

I am a Home Inspector. I report on the main water shutoffs on every report.

You're looking at the utility shut off. You can use that in an emergency or if your valve is damaged.

You do have a valve somewhere for the home that is for your use. Every home in TV has one. If it is not in the garage, it is outside within about 18 inches of the wall of your home.

They are often buried under mulch and dirt.

The easiest way to find it, is to stand on the utility box, hold your arms about 25 degrees apart as you face your home. The valve will be somewhere in that angle, usually within about 10 feet of the corner.

The chances that the valve will be functional are pretty low. I always recommend people have a curb key in the garage, you can buy them at Home Depot for about $20. These are made to turn off the water on the valve you have pictured.

I would recommend getting a plumber to relocate your shutoff valve to the inside of your garage. Make sure they install a ball valve, not a gate valve.

[Blueblaze]

We have a courtyard villa with a PVC shutoff outside the garage about one foot off the ground. Inside, before the filtering system there is another PVC shutoff. Neither will turn enough to physically shut off the water; both stop turning at about an 1/8 of a turn rather than a 1/4 turn. It feels as though forcing it further will be doing some sort of damage. Any suggestions I could attempt, or do I need a plumber?

The one on your filter was installed by the company that installed your filter, to turn off the water to change the filter. The one you see sticking up out of the ground is not your house shutoff, it's for your irrigation system. The fake shut off valve installed by the developer's plumber is still buried in your yard somewhere, but if the filter's valve actually shuts off the entire house, there is no reason to find the developer's valve.

And yes, it's worth a couple of hundred bucks to pay a plumber to replace the cheap plastic house shutoff valve with something that works. Or at least buy a shutoff tool for the city's valve on the meter in the yard. The day one of those cheap pop-off valves on your toilet lets loose is a poor day to learn how to shut off your water. In fact, it's worth paying a plumber a few hundred dollars to replace ALL the cheap plastic shutoff valves in your house.

[BostonTom]

Plumber replaced all 14 cheap interior shut off valves and lines in my courtyard villa at cost of around 500 many plumbers wanted over double. I have red plastic water main shut off in the garage that my home watch service uses weekly should I replace that also ? and do I have an additional shut off somewhere outside and if so should I have tool available and what tool ?

[retiredguy123]

Plumber replaced all 14 cheap interior shut off valves and lines in my courtyard villa at cost of around 500 many plumbers wanted over double. I have red plastic water main shut off in the garage that my home watch service uses weekly should I replace that also ? and do I have an additional shut off somewhere outside and if so should I have tool available and what tool ?
See Post No. 3 for the outside shutoff tool.

Yes, it is a good idea to replace the plastic shutoff valve, but not necessary.

In my opinion, it is not a good idea to have the home watch service opening and closing the water valve every week, especially if they are flushing the toilets. I have seen 2 houses totally destroyed because of a toilet leak when someone forgot to turn the water back on. Cover the toilet bowls with plastic wrap, and they should be safe from drying out for at least 3 to 4 months. Leave the water off unless the home watch service really needs water.

[Wondering]

does this look like the main shut off ? guess you turn with socket to close ? I want to cut pvc in garage and install a easy access shutoff. cant find a main shutoff in garage just sprinklers
Terrible picture. You aren't showing enough. Did you remove the cover? There shouldn't be that much dirt. The water main FOR YOUR HOUSE SHOULD BE IN THE FRONT LEFT of your driveway. There is a special tool - about a two foot steel rod with a T handle, The bottom is U shaped.

[Topspinmo]

I put cover housing over mine. Something like this.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/NDS-10-in-Round-Valve-Box-and-Cover-Black-Box-Green-ICV-Cover-111BC/100037622?source=shoppingads&locale=en-US&pla&mtc=SHOPPING-CM-CML-GGL-D26P-026_006_IRRIGATION-NA-NA-NA-PMAX-5707984-NA-NA-NA-NBR-NA-NA-NEW-NA&cm_mmc=SHOPPING-CM-CML-GGL-D26P-026_006_IRRIGATION-NA-NA-NA-PMAX-5707984-NA-NA-NA-NBR-NA-NA-NEW-NA-71700000118508445--&gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIooi4ptn2hQMVeptaBR1dhQRAEAQYDyAB EgJyIvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds


Took about 30 mins with little digging and modifications so the housing slip over line.

[Topspinmo]

Plumber replaced all 14 cheap interior shut off valves and lines in my courtyard villa at cost of around 500 many plumbers wanted over double. I have red plastic water main shut off in the garage that my home watch service uses weekly should I replace that also ? and do I have an additional shut off somewhere outside and if so should I have tool available and what tool ?

I have one at the meter, one as enters house. Two on top water heater, one above irrigation zone valves, and numerous ones under sinks and at toilets.

[ElDiabloJoe]

RetiredGuy123 and Masula are correct. I used to investigate water (and electrical) theft for the Anaheim (CA) municipal utility. That tool they are calling a curb key we used to just call a water stick. There is generally a utility company meter (brass with a dial or gauge on top) in a vault (box) in your yard. There is usually a "house valve" on the "house" side of that utility meter, either in a landscape box or the garage. The house valve is what you would normally use to shut off water for short periods of time. The utility meter valve is what you shut off if you have a massive emergency or you don't have / cannot locate your house valve. The "bar" that the tool grabs onto should be inline with the piping. That is the on position and you can picture water flowing through that bar just as it flows through that pipe upon which it rests. If you turn the 'bar" so that it is perpendicular to the piping, that is- going across it- it is the closed, off, or blocked position. It's the exact same for natural gas meter shut-offs also. Same or similar "bar" and directionality.

Helps to keep that water stick handy somewhere in the garage for fast retrieval in emergencies. Keep a cheap garage sale standard screw driver next to it so you can pop off the valve box or vault lid to access the meter when you need to do so.

Tip: If you ever suspect a leak in your house, you can look at the load indicator on the meter. Make certain nothing is running in the house (spouse doing laundry, using restroom, sprinklers, etc.). Go look at the face of the meter. Usually need to lift the plastic lid or wipe the glass face so you can read it clearly. There should be a little, smaller gauge on the face of the meter. It might look like a red triangle or arrow about the size of a dime. Watch that intently for about a minute. Try not to blink. If there is "ANY" movement of that triangle or arrow indicator, it means water is flowing through the meter, i.e. being used or a leak. If it is clearly spinning and not just tick..tick...ticking along, then you have a serious problem. If it is spinning fast, you have a VERY serious problem. Or the spouse is running a bath.

[retiredguy123]

I have one at the meter, one as enters house. Two on top water heater, one above irrigation zone valves, and numerous ones under sinks and at toilets.
Just for information, if you close the valve on the cold water pipe where it enters the water heater, you will shut off the hot water to the entire house, but not the cold water. This is good to know if you have a leak in the water heater or the expansion tank. You can close that valve and still have cold water available. I don't have a valve on the hot water pipe.