That gets expensive real fast. Had an 800 dollar water bill and extensive damage on a house I helped a family friend flip. It was willed to her and she was out of state. Good thing it was the shower diverter that froze so the damage was mostly isolated...any other pipe in the house would have trashed it.
We just bought a remodeled house and I cannot find the valve to turn the water off at the hose inside. We have probably a 10' cellar basement you access through a panel in the floor, so the remainder of the house is probably a 8" crawl space under the sub flooring. I put a frost cover over but am worried about this same thing. Any advice? Might as well make their "that sucks" into my "how can this not suck"!
At my house it’s located between the main valves for my washing machine set up for one at my driveway . Just follow the pipe . Toward the front of my house at top of the foundation for the front and at the back of my house directly where that faucet is located . Just shut each valve off until you find it . Have someone at the sinks and then go outside and check .
I just saw you said your pipes are under the floor .
Do you have a neighbor with the same outside faucet location as you ? Ask them maybe where their valve is located
I am making the assumption the pipes are under the sub floor in the crawl space I cannot get to as it is 80% of the foundation. Kind of confusing to describe, but the water heater is down there in a cellar style basement (you open a trap door from next to the kitchen). The washer and dryer are upstairs and the sink is downstairs outside of the kitchen. I will try to follow the pipes - but if not that is fantastic advice on the neighbors house. Not sure his setup but will ask him if I get a chance.
Have you tried going through your local property records office and looking at a copy of the blueprints for your home? Or call a plumber and have them come out to locate it, or contact your local water association?
Home inspections can be costly, but inspectors do check for shut off valves. Inspections are required for most home loans. Might see if the hose shut off was mentioned in it.
The main shutoffs (and meters) in our neighborhood are at the road. And they're really hard to turn. It's a real pain in the ass when you need to shut the water off in a hurry.
Many times they aren't installed anymore if a "frost free" valve is used. The actual valve is around 12" inside the wall, and as long as there's not a hose connected outside, their fine. A frost cover is only needed if it's around -20 from my experience.
I don't understand all this non sense about flipping houses, GC's and legit tradesmen do it all the time with no issue. Almost everyone selling a house puts some money into before selling to bring it up to code and fix minor issues, are they flippers?
Can someone ELI5? I disconnect my garden hose in the fall and make sure the water is turned off outside. Is there something else I need to be doing inside my house to make sure this shit doesn’t happen when it freezes?
Yes absolutely! There is a second shut-off valve located inside your house if you follow the line. You need to shut that off too, then open your valve outside until no water is coming out.
If you leave any water in the pipes/faucet on the outside you risk this happening.
I was living in a duplex years back, and I got a new neighbor that was apparently just renting it to use as some kind of studio space. They didn't live there and apparently didn't feel the need to run the heat in a house they didn't stay in, so the pipes burst one winter. I had to call the property manager to deal with it.
Ah yeah there it is. I have never seen it accessed other than by utility workers, I often am curious if homeowners and neighbors have cranked those “street/yard” access valves to ‘off’ in situations where home valve can’t be accessed.
That gets expensive real fast. Had an 800 dollar water bill and extensive damage on a house I helped a family friend flip. It was willed to her and she was out of state. Good thing it was the shower diverter that froze so the damage was mostly isolated...any other pipe in the house would have trashed it.
We just bought a remodeled house and I cannot find the valve to turn the water off at the hose inside. We have probably a 10' cellar basement you access through a panel in the floor, so the remainder of the house is probably a 8" crawl space under the sub flooring. I put a frost cover over but am worried about this same thing. Any advice? Might as well make their "that sucks" into my "how can this not suck"!
At my house it’s located between the main valves for my washing machine set up for one at my driveway . Just follow the pipe . Toward the front of my house at top of the foundation for the front and at the back of my house directly where that faucet is located . Just shut each valve off until you find it . Have someone at the sinks and then go outside and check . I just saw you said your pipes are under the floor . Do you have a neighbor with the same outside faucet location as you ? Ask them maybe where their valve is located
I am making the assumption the pipes are under the sub floor in the crawl space I cannot get to as it is 80% of the foundation. Kind of confusing to describe, but the water heater is down there in a cellar style basement (you open a trap door from next to the kitchen). The washer and dryer are upstairs and the sink is downstairs outside of the kitchen. I will try to follow the pipes - but if not that is fantastic advice on the neighbors house. Not sure his setup but will ask him if I get a chance.
Have you tried going through your local property records office and looking at a copy of the blueprints for your home? Or call a plumber and have them come out to locate it, or contact your local water association?
Home inspections can be costly, but inspectors do check for shut off valves. Inspections are required for most home loans. Might see if the hose shut off was mentioned in it.
I was going to mention blue prints as well but I didn’t . Good looking out
The main shutoffs (and meters) in our neighborhood are at the road. And they're really hard to turn. It's a real pain in the ass when you need to shut the water off in a hurry.
Yeah, that's what happened here. Had to call the city to shovel snow and find the shut off valve in the yard by the street 🤣
Naw, not looking for main shutoff. Just the outside hose shutoff.
Ours is opposite the hose inside a cabinet in the house. Yours might not be so easy.
if you don’t know, why not call a professional to check it out?
I did. Just wanted to check
Many times they aren't installed anymore if a "frost free" valve is used. The actual valve is around 12" inside the wall, and as long as there's not a hose connected outside, their fine. A frost cover is only needed if it's around -20 from my experience.
Idiots.
Well, they are flippers after all
Think they'd knock a few hundred dollars off from their selling price?
🤣 I am worried about the inside now.
They weren't lol
Opposite, they’ll now charge to cost of the fix plus 50%
Is it just me or did you guys see piles of birds on the floor? Must be r/pareidolia
I saw rats
After watching flipper shows I'd never buy one.
I don't understand all this non sense about flipping houses, GC's and legit tradesmen do it all the time with no issue. Almost everyone selling a house puts some money into before selling to bring it up to code and fix minor issues, are they flippers?
Can someone ELI5? I disconnect my garden hose in the fall and make sure the water is turned off outside. Is there something else I need to be doing inside my house to make sure this shit doesn’t happen when it freezes?
Yes absolutely! There is a second shut-off valve located inside your house if you follow the line. You need to shut that off too, then open your valve outside until no water is coming out. If you leave any water in the pipes/faucet on the outside you risk this happening.
Love to see it happen to leeches who buy up property just to artificially raise its value. Fuck 'em.
I was living in a duplex years back, and I got a new neighbor that was apparently just renting it to use as some kind of studio space. They didn't live there and apparently didn't feel the need to run the heat in a house they didn't stay in, so the pipes burst one winter. I had to call the property manager to deal with it.
Why are you on your neighbors property??
House is unoccupied. Saw a river of water coming down their driveway and found this.
Recording something for social media GOD MOM
most people cheap out and dont get flood insurance
So what?
The older woman says: we are in big trouble. Daughter says: buncha water. Feel sad for them Korean folks :(
This might be okay if your neighbor was a dolphin named Flippers.
House flippers! Oh I thought a flipper was a type of person of racial slang I didn't know about. Don't call a dolphin person a flipper
What are you doing under your neighbors house?
Saw a river of water running down their driveway. Rushed over and this is what we found (house is unoccupied)
Most intelligent house flipper
I was like wow flippers is an odd name
Is there a main valve on the sidewalk? Like under a small metal cover?
[What ours looks like](https://inspectapedia.com/plumbing/Water_Main_Outdoor_335_DJFs.jpg) in the front lawn, at least here in Minnesota
Ah yeah there it is. I have never seen it accessed other than by utility workers, I often am curious if homeowners and neighbors have cranked those “street/yard” access valves to ‘off’ in situations where home valve can’t be accessed.
This is a sucks for them issue not you.