Stop Taps and Water Supply Repairs in Blackburn

Why your stop tap and supply pipe matter

The stop tap is the valve that shuts off the water to the whole property. It is usually under the kitchen sink or where the supply pipe enters the house. Because it is rarely used, it often seizes, corrodes or starts to drip at the spindle, and the day you need it is the day it will not turn. The supply pipe is the pipe that brings water from the street to the house. If it leaks, you lose water and pressure, and the leak can wash out the ground around it before you notice. A simple habit helps: twice a year, close the stop tap fully and open it again. If it moves freely, you will be glad of it in an emergency. If it is stiff, or drips afterwards, get it seen to while there is no water on the floor.

Signs of a problem

Look out for:

• A stop tap that will not turn, or that weeps water around the spindle
• No stop tap at all, or one nobody can find
• Low pressure or no water, with no problem in the street
• A wet patch or sunken ground along the line of the supply pipe
• Water standing in the meter box or the external stop tap chamber
• A very old supply pipe: lead was used for water pipes in the UK until around 1970, and some older properties still have it

How we fix it

A seized or leaking stop tap is replaced with a new valve, and where a property has no reliable way to isolate the supply, an additional isolation valve can be fitted. Where the supply pipe itself is leaking or ageing, we cut out the damaged length and replace it with new pipe, using the blue plastic supply pipe that is standard for the job, joined with compression fittings. We tidy up the meter box where one is fitted, reconnect the supply and check there are no leaks before we backfill. Our burst and leaking pipes page covers leaks inside the house.

Whose responsibility is it

In England the water company owns the pipe in the street up to your boundary, including the external stop tap at the boundary. You own the supply pipe from there to your house. If a problem is on the water company's side, we will tell you and point you to the right number to call. If it is on yours, we can repair it.

What affects the price

How deep and how long the pipe run is, what has to be dug up and put back (lawn, path or drive), whether the old pipe is lead or plastic, and how easy the access is all matter. A stop tap swap is a different job to renewing a long underground run. A firm price is agreed before work begins.

What happens after you call

You speak to the team. Tell us what the problem is and where the stop tap and supply pipe run, and we will say whether it sounds urgent. We agree a time, find the problem, explain it and the price, and fix it. If your water has to be off, we tell you for how long.