rtrenz2007
New Member
First time poster and fairly inexperienced DIYer here, so I appreciate any help. I'm sure these will seem like very basic questions to you all. I'm an accountant; not a handy man, but I like to try to figure things out.
We recently purchased our first home, and I'm looking to do some repairs on a leaking bathtub faucet. However, this post is primarily just about turning off/on the main water line in order to do the repairs.
1) There is no shut off valve at the bathtub, so I believe I will need to shut off the main water line. I've attached a picture of the main by the street. The left side of the picture is street-side of the meter. There is no shut off valve on the house-side of the meter that I can find.
a) From what I've researched, I thought that I should have a valve on the house-side and that I'm not supposed to touch the city-side?
b) If this is in fact the valve that I'm supposed to shut off, my understanding is that I'm supposed to turn it clockwise to shut off. I've seen varying things saying to turn it 90 degrees clockwise or 180 degrees clockwise. My neighbor told me I should turn it 90 degrees clockwise. Just looking at it, this seems odd to me as that would result in the "holes" being aligned opposite from each other. I would think that it would actually need to be turned 90 degrees counter-clockwise, as that would align the holes and I would assume that's how the city shuts off/locks down your water line in the event you're delinquent on bills. Any input?
2) When turning off the main line, I understand it's best to turn it off slowly and then open a faucet in the house to release pressure. It's a 1-story. Not sure if it makes any difference which faucet is opened.
3) I've heard that turning the main line back on can be even more important to be careful to not burst a pipe. I've been told to turn it back on only about 1/4 of the way at a time and wait a minute or so between each turn. Is this important? Also, should I have faucets open while turning it back on or just open them after turning it back on? If open during, should I have all faucets open or just one?
Appreciate any advice.
We recently purchased our first home, and I'm looking to do some repairs on a leaking bathtub faucet. However, this post is primarily just about turning off/on the main water line in order to do the repairs.
1) There is no shut off valve at the bathtub, so I believe I will need to shut off the main water line. I've attached a picture of the main by the street. The left side of the picture is street-side of the meter. There is no shut off valve on the house-side of the meter that I can find.
a) From what I've researched, I thought that I should have a valve on the house-side and that I'm not supposed to touch the city-side?
b) If this is in fact the valve that I'm supposed to shut off, my understanding is that I'm supposed to turn it clockwise to shut off. I've seen varying things saying to turn it 90 degrees clockwise or 180 degrees clockwise. My neighbor told me I should turn it 90 degrees clockwise. Just looking at it, this seems odd to me as that would result in the "holes" being aligned opposite from each other. I would think that it would actually need to be turned 90 degrees counter-clockwise, as that would align the holes and I would assume that's how the city shuts off/locks down your water line in the event you're delinquent on bills. Any input?
2) When turning off the main line, I understand it's best to turn it off slowly and then open a faucet in the house to release pressure. It's a 1-story. Not sure if it makes any difference which faucet is opened.
3) I've heard that turning the main line back on can be even more important to be careful to not burst a pipe. I've been told to turn it back on only about 1/4 of the way at a time and wait a minute or so between each turn. Is this important? Also, should I have faucets open while turning it back on or just open them after turning it back on? If open during, should I have all faucets open or just one?
Appreciate any advice.
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