Water Shut Off Valve Outside The House

The city s valve is always located on the street side of your water meter often near the edge of your yard.

Water shut off valve outside the house.

There s usually a water supply shutoff valve next to your water meter outside where the city can easily turn on or off your water. That s where the main water shut off valve comes into play. This valve is usually in the basement or on an outside wall in a utility area of the house. If you ve never shut off the main water valve before test it before you leave on vacation.

The main shutoff valve allows a full flow of water through the pipe when it s open. If you have trouble reaching the valve. This allows water to be shut off for small repairs or replacements to the fixture itself without interrupting water flow to other areas. It will likely be below an access panel buried in the ground.

This guide reviews the types of water shut off valves how they are used and where to find them inside and outside your home. If you have a water leak or just need to turn off the water in your home for remodeling or repairs you must turn off your water upstream at some point. Water faucets on the outside of a building still use a valve assembly to regulate the flow of water in a similar way to how indoor faucets operate. To keep the neighbor kids from running your hose when you re on vacation or to keep the pipes from freezing over winter it is necessary to shut off the valve to the outside faucet.

For typical city dwellings there are actually two main shut off valves. Turn on a faucet somewhere in the house and shut off the main water valve. The street side valve is designed for city use only. Like indoor faucets an outside faucet valve that has worn out can come to the point where faucet will not shut off completely.

It s simply a matter of locating the outside faucet which is the point where the water is accessed outside of the house. Your valve is located on the house side of the meter. These fixture shutoff valves can take many appearances but a very common one is a small silver colored valve with an oval handle with ribbed edges for gripping. Shut off water in your house.

You ll need an adjustable wrench a bucket and slip joint pliers. An old gate valve can break so be gentle when you re handling it. Simply turn it clockwise to cut off the water supply flowing to your home. This turns off water to the entire house even outside spigots.

One that the city controls outside of your house and one that you can control inside the house. The main water shut off valve stops the flow to the entire home from the water meter while other water valve types shut off the water at individual appliances fixtures and faucets. All water flow should stop. Turning off this valve by turning it clockwise cuts off the water supply to the entire house.