One of the most commonly asked questions on our YouTube video for this topic was whether it is safe to access and turn off the main water supply for your home. Is It Safe To Turn Off The Main Water Supply? Yes, but be careful. They should be able to identify it for you and have the tools necessary to gain access. So if you are having difficulty locating your water main access point, reach out to your local water company for assistance. In this subscriber’s case, the water valve was directly in line with the “W” in the concrete but was located approximately eight feet back from the curb with bushes and sod partially grown over it. The indicator corresponds to the left-right location relative to the watermark for that house. When the water company arrived, they advised Grogbelly that there is often a “W” or other indicator etched into the curb’s concrete. They could not find the main shutoff at the curb, so they called the water company, who came out within a few hours to assist. What To Do If You Can’t Find The Water Main Hello Water Company?Īs mentioned above, finding the water main access location can be challenging, but one of our subscribers, Grogbelly, provided an excellent solution if you can’t find the entrance. This process will shut off the water coming into your house, and then you can service your main water line or main water shutoff valve. Once you have your curb key, simply attach the end of it to the valve inside the access hole, and rotate either 90 or 180 degrees depending on the valve style. Especially for those located in colder parts of the country, this tool is essential for accessing the deeply buried valve. It has a long shaft with a large T-handle at one end and a U-shaped fitting on the bottom. The one I used for this project is called a curb key, though it may have a different name depending on the store you frequent. While the depth of the hole itself may differ, this is the stage of the process where you will most likely require a specialty tool. One of our subscribers in Florida stated that their water shutoff is located only 2 inches deep in the dirt as there is no frost line there. The depth of the hole will differ again depending on where you live in the midwest, it is approximately three feet deep where the frost line will be. Once you have the lid safely removed, you should see the main water line a meter and the shutoff valve. Ensure that you’re wearing gloves, and lift the lid open carefully and set it gently to the side. What this means for us homeowners is that there will likely be a load of electronics and hardware directly underneath the lid.
TURNING IOFF WTER AT WATER MMETER MANUAL
It is essential to be careful when you lift the actual lid up after unlocking the latch, as most cities have moved from a manual meter to a digital meter. There are special tools that can make this part easy, but in most cases, a pair of vice grips or a crescent wrench will do the job perfectly well. To open this cover, you will need to rotate the pentagon-shaped latch 90 degrees to get the lid to open. The cover plate itself will look different depending on when your city was built and where you live, but in this example property, it is a circular lid and actually services two houses, which means it is a bit larger than other single home-sized ones. Most of the time, t hese shutoff valves are located underneath a cover that is indented just below your grass level.
TURNING IOFF WTER AT WATER MMETER HOW TO
How To Find And Shut Off Water At The Curb With 5 simple steps If you prefer to learn visually, check out our video for this process on our YouTube channel, or read on to learn more about shutting off your water at the street level. Next, use either vice grips or a specialty curb key to shut off the valve.įinding these valves can sometimes be challenging, and there are several precautions you should take before interacting with the main water line. Once you have located the water source, open the lid and look for the valve, which is located between one or a few feet underground. The exact location is slightly different for every city, but there will be a valve located somewhere on your property, close to the street, that controls the water flow to your house. However, what if you need to service that valve or the water line just before it? In that case, you should shut off the water at the street or curb level. So if you find yourself needing to turn off the water to make some adjustments, the easiest way is by shutting off your main water shutoff which is located on the main water line often found in a utility room or closet. As water can cause a tremendous amount of damage if left unchecked, this fear is pretty well-founded. It’s often said that one of the scariest sounds to a homeowner is the steady trickle of running water. Vice grips or a specialty curb key will help reach the valve and shut off the water