Outside Tap In The Back Garden

[chokkie]

Hi ABers, just wondering if you could possibly answer this question, please. My mother in law lives in a ground floor maisonette with access to the back garden. She's got an outside tap which she uses quite frequently when watering the garden, filling watering cans, etc, but we have just discovered that we can't find the stopcock so that we can turn off this tape for the winter months. We thought it might be under the kitchen sink, but it's not. The stopcock to turn off the water to the entire flat is in the street, under a little cover. So .... we have a feeling that the only way to turn off the water to the outside tap is to turn off the stopcock in the street, but you would also obviously turn off the water to the whole property. Would it be possible for her to get a plumber to install a completely separate stopcock (somewhere accessible for her, of course) which would only turn off the water to this outside tap? Hope someone can help. Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and happy new year. Cheers, Chox.

[donny48]

Possible but expensive, put a box around it with good insulation.

[gingejbee]

Is the outside tap exclusively hers....does anyone else have the use of it? Are you sure that there is no stoptap to her flat...it would be normal to have a stoptap in each flat. And, it's usual to have a stoptap fitted when an outside tap is....rather silly not to have one!
(Perhaps this was a cheap, DIY job?)

[New Judge]

Provided the plumber can easily access the feed to the outside tap it should be no problem. If the feed to the tap is buried somewhere in the flat (e.g. in the wall or under the floor) it may be more problematic.

[vulcan42]

lots of tap covers available.
http://offers.kd2.org/pics/bd/aa/bdaaf0cff4e1e443266a7eedbb9599abf471fb74.jpg

[gingejbee]

....I think it might be part of Water Regs that each flat has it's own stoptap....it's certainly a lot more practical!

[RobNorth]

The best thing to do is to fit a jacket over it to prevent freezing. They are available for around £10 - Coopers mail order.
Or, like me you can make your own from a block of packaging polystyrene...

[mallyh]

we just put an insulating 'jacket 'on ours had it ten years with no problems x

[gingejbee]

Yes, insulation may well prevent the tap freezing....but I would be unhappy if I didn't have my own internal stoptap to isolate my own property in the event of a problem, major leak etc.

[chokkie]

Thanks for all your suggestions, folks. just to answer your questions .... it's a two storey property converted into two flats, she's got the ground floor flat. We're under no illusions of the possible cost of installing a separate stopcock for the garden tap, but do feel that it needs it. It's pretty daft for the only way to turn it off is to turn off the water to the whole flat! We have got some tap insulation things, which we're fitting for her over the holidays, and she's got some of that polystyrene tubing stuff for the pipe, so hopefully that will do the trick in the meantime. And, yes, the outside tap is exclusively hers, no-one else uses it. Thanks so much for your help folks, much appreciated.

[The Builder]

It's just a question of finding where the outside tap goes through the wall, and fitting a service valve. Should be a simple job, chokkie.

[bhg481]

Outside taps are supposed to have a non-return valve in the plumbing to stop contamination getting into the main water supply. Some taps have a built-in valve, other installations have a valve fitted into the pipework leading to the tap. It's worth checking that your tap has a non-return valve ; if not and you're going to get a plumber in to fit a service valve you could get him to fit one at the same time. As a guide a tap with built-in valve costs about £1 more than a plain tap and a separate valve costs about £5. I tend to prefer the separate valve, which is inside the house and in no danger of being damaged by frost. Some people don't bother at all but I'm fairly sure it's a legal requirement. The Builder?