replacing house shut off

[jeff_rv]

I'm trying to fix the main shut off valve coming into my house. I turned it off yesterday to replace a hose bib and when I went to turn it back on, the handle broke off.

I shut off the main at the city meter, and was able to remove the large nut below the old shut off valve I'm replacing (where the plastic bag is covering in the picture). But now I'm stuck. Is there any way to unscrew the old valve from the pipes? Do I need to cut the pipe above the valve in order to get it off and install a new valve? You can see I'm dealing with some old and fairly corroded fittings here. Any help much appreciated.

 

[djmayhill]

No u can't Unscrew the valve it is soldered in you would need to cut the copper and re-pipe in order to replace valve

 

[frodo]

you need a plumber with a torch and knowledge of copper pipe soldering

 

[jeff_rv]

Thanks for confirming. It was an overly optimistic question. Will get out the saw. Thanks