Valve symptoms
When a valveneeds work.
A valve is a part that sits still, which is why you discover its fault at the worst moment.
01
Closed, and water still comes
You turn the handle until it stops and it feels shut, but the tap still gives a thin flow. That means the closing part inside no longer meets its seat fully, because of deposits or wear.
02
Seized and will not turn
A valve nobody has turned for a long stretch sticks as deposits build around the spindle. Forcing it snaps the handle or opens the spindle up, and you end up with a leak where there was none.
03
A weep at the handle
A drop appearing around the spindle when you open or close it. The packing that seals the spindle has tired, and that is often repaired without changing the whole valve if the body is sound.
04
The fixture has no valve
A basin, a toilet or a washing machine with no valve of its own means any small repair stops water to the whole house. Fitting an angle valve to each fixture changes every future repair.
In short
The valve work.
Service
Water valve repair, replacement and fitting
Types
Main valves, branch valves, angle valves at fixtures
Where they sit
At the tank, on the roof, in the yard, under fixtures
Where it applies
Houses, flats, blocks, complexes and chalets
Hours
Daily, 6:00 in the morning to 12:00 midnight
The method
From above itto below it.
Changing a valve needs another valve above it, and that is the first thing we confirm.
We find the upstream shut off
We look for a valve able to stop the water before the failed one, and if there is none we shut off at the tank outlet or the supply point itself.
We drain before opening
The lowest tap on the run is opened so whatever is left in the pipework drains out, because unscrewing a valve on a full line soaks the area and makes the work harder.
We repair or replace
If the weep is only at the spindle and the body is sound, the packing is renewed. If the closing part is worn or the body is tired, a new valve goes in its place.
We open and close it twice
Pressure comes back and the valve is opened and closed several times with a tap watched after it, because a valve that works once does not necessarily close properly the next time.
The detail
Two kinds ofvalve.
Houses carry two kinds of valve. The first is a gate valve, with a round handwheel that takes many turns to close and a plate inside that drops across the bore. The second is a ball valve, with a lever that needs a quarter turn and a drilled ball inside that rotates to open or block the way through. The shape outside tells you which you have.
The gate valve causes most of the complaints. Its design lets it sit for years without moving, and deposits collect on the plate and in the channel it drops into. When you suddenly need it you find it either seized solid, or turning while the plate no longer drops fully, leaving a small gap that water still passes. That is the worst case, because you believe you have shut it and you have not.
A ball valve is far calmer on this point. The ball inside turns a quarter turn, contact with its seats is complete, and deposits find no surface to settle on in the same way. Which is why most of the changes we make take an old gate valve out and put a ball valve in, especially at points that need to be shut quickly.
One last point matters more than any other: the angle valve under each fixture. It is a small valve between the supply pipe and the unit itself, and having one means a basin can be repaired without stopping water to the house, and a leaking washing machine can be shut off on your way out of the door. Fitting one is small work, and it pays back every single time something happens.
External links for referenceMinistry of Electricity and Water (the public water network in Kuwait)
Questions
Asked aboutvalves.
It is usually an old gate valve whose plate no longer drops all the way, from deposits or wear. The practical answer is a ball valve in its place, because cleaning it brings the same fault back. We shut off from a point above it, or at the tank outlet, to do the work.
No. A seized valve will snap its handle or open its spindle if you lean on it, and you go from a valve that will not turn to an open leak you cannot stop. Call while it is still seized. That is a much easier case than the one after it breaks.
Yes, and it is among the work we recommend most. A small angle valve under each basin, toilet and washing machine lets you isolate any one of them alone. It is simple work with no breaking, as long as the supply pipe is visible.
That is the spindle packing giving up. On many valves it is repaired by tightening the nut around the spindle or renewing the packing itself, without changing the valve. If the body is corroded outside, or the weep returns quickly, replacement costs less overall.
Yes. We trace the runs from the tank and the pump to the points of use and mark which valve feeds which part. We suggest labelling them afterwards, because knowing where the right valve is saves a great deal on the day something happens.