Stop tap chamber blockage

Discussion in 'Plumbers' Talk' started by Neil16ml, Mar 17, 2018.

  1. Neil16ml

    Neil16ml New Member

    Hi all,

    Just moved in to a new house, gone to re-do the bathroom and couldnt locate a stop cock. I checked the survey and it says that the only one is the stop tap in the front garden under a metal lid. In opening the metal lid, I was greeted with mud and hardcore which I have removed but have gotten down to a layer that I can only describe as a hardened putty. It chips but seems fairly solid.

    Has anyone come across this before?

    Many thanks in advance

    Neil
     
  2. terrymac

    terrymac Screwfix Select

    Any chance of some pics please. Have come across insulation ,but its usually a firm styrene.
     
  3. Neil16ml

    Neil16ml New Member

     

    Attached Files:

  4. Neil16ml

    Neil16ml New Member

    I hope that helps Terry, thank you!
     
  5. WillyEckerslike

    WillyEckerslike Screwfix Select

    Clearly the surveyor didn't lift the lid to identify said stopcock. There may be another or some water meters are designed so that you can turn the water off there. You might find a stopcock under the kitchen unit behind the kick panel. Can you identify the rising main?
     
  6. Neil16ml

    Neil16ml New Member

    Thanks Willy,

    I’ve been around all of the kitchen units and taken photos up the back and no stop cock inside. No water meter either. There is a manhole cover between the stop tap chamber and the house. Could it be in there?

    Thanks again
     
  7. spirits are real 2016

    spirits are real 2016 Screwfix Select

    some times in older houses the stop tap was put inside the manhole plus have you checked in the street for a metal or plastic lid even look over the road you never know you should have one indoors even under the stairs or you could be sharing one with a neighbour.
     
  8. terrymac

    terrymac Screwfix Select

    Thanks for pic Neil . That's not like any stopcock I have ever seen. How far below ground level is it ? Do you know where the water supply pipe surfaces inside your property ? Are your floors timber with a crawl space below or solid concrete ? If you can lift floorboards you may get sight of the supply pipe ,even a stopcock. How old is the property ?
     
  9. WillyEckerslike

    WillyEckerslike Screwfix Select

    Got to be worth a look.
     
  10. candoabitofmoststuff

    candoabitofmoststuff Screwfix Select

    On some houses it's under a floorboard just inside the door.
    I'm not kidding!

    Regards,
    Cando
     
  11. KIAB

    KIAB Super Member

    Seen that on quite a few new build houses.
     
  12. Neil16ml

    Neil16ml New Member

    Hi Terry,

    The white blockage is probably a foot beneath ground. No idea where the water supply surfaces in the house. I’ve taken pictures up the back of all of the kitchen cabinets and below the boiler, checked the downstairs toilet and anywhere else obvious. It’s a nightmare!
     
  13. Neil16ml

    Neil16ml New Member

    Hi spirits,

    I’ll check the manhole cover. No sign of anything in the street, the only water equipment I in the front garden. Is this why a usual stop tap chamber looks like?
     
  14. metrokitchens

    metrokitchens Screwfix Select

    Ask a few neighbors.
     
  15. terrymac

    terrymac Screwfix Select

    If it is only one foot below ground I think its unlikely to be a water stopcock. Follow the cold pipework from your kitchen sink to try to trace where it goes /comes from.
     

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