Turning water back on
Discussion
Next Friday we move into our new house and I will need to "bring it all back to life." It has been unoccupied for the past year (probate) and during that time the water has been mostly off.
We're planning to do quite a lot of work to the house so aren't unduly concerned about minor niggles but equally I would like to avoid water flooding it.
So my question is... What is the best practice when turning the water back on. I know you need to do it slowly and crack a few taps to avoid pressure issues but is there anything else I should do/check first? I'm reasonably handy so can replace/solder pipe if need be bit i'd prefer to avoid issues in the first place if at all possible
We're planning to do quite a lot of work to the house so aren't unduly concerned about minor niggles but equally I would like to avoid water flooding it.
So my question is... What is the best practice when turning the water back on. I know you need to do it slowly and crack a few taps to avoid pressure issues but is there anything else I should do/check first? I'm reasonably handy so can replace/solder pipe if need be bit i'd prefer to avoid issues in the first place if at all possible
Just turn it on and see what leaks! Don't need to do anything special. You'll need to open the taps to get the air out anyway, so just open the a couple and then turn on the main stop valve.
The biggest risk could have been frozen pipes if it was not drained, but you'll only know that when you turn everything on and just go from there.
The biggest risk could have been frozen pipes if it was not drained, but you'll only know that when you turn everything on and just go from there.
Firstly, is the water off at the service stopcock in the footpath outside the property?
Make sure the house inlet is off, then open this up, you might need a long adjustable.
Then, and with two people present, open the kitchen cold tap, a downstairs cold tap, and an upstairs cold tap.
Then with you at the house inlet, slowly open this and have the other person run around the place checking water coming out.
If there's a leak, it's usually in the first run of pipe up to the hot water cylinder. Check this.
If all okay, then run all taps through for a couple of minutes.
If not okay, isolate and make good leaking joints - press fit / compression fit plastic can be leaky if not kept wet and pressurised.
The hot water cylinder should fill, but will need venting; there'll be a overpressure drain valve for this; open it and let the gurgling out until water runs solidly through. Check it's discharging outside.
Once cylinder full, open all hot taps for a couple of minutes.
Pressurise your boiler via the filling loop.
Is your boiler oil or gas?
Select HW, fire the boiler and heat the cylinder. Once hot, check all hot water taps, then showers.
Select CH, fire the boiler and check the circulation pump is operating; bleed all radiators.
Repressurised filling loop to boiler if required.
If no HW or CH, check if the diverter valves are operating correctly; if need be used their manual latch to force open or closed.
Make sure the house inlet is off, then open this up, you might need a long adjustable.
Then, and with two people present, open the kitchen cold tap, a downstairs cold tap, and an upstairs cold tap.
Then with you at the house inlet, slowly open this and have the other person run around the place checking water coming out.
If there's a leak, it's usually in the first run of pipe up to the hot water cylinder. Check this.
If all okay, then run all taps through for a couple of minutes.
If not okay, isolate and make good leaking joints - press fit / compression fit plastic can be leaky if not kept wet and pressurised.
The hot water cylinder should fill, but will need venting; there'll be a overpressure drain valve for this; open it and let the gurgling out until water runs solidly through. Check it's discharging outside.
Once cylinder full, open all hot taps for a couple of minutes.
Pressurise your boiler via the filling loop.
Is your boiler oil or gas?
Select HW, fire the boiler and heat the cylinder. Once hot, check all hot water taps, then showers.
Select CH, fire the boiler and check the circulation pump is operating; bleed all radiators.
Repressurised filling loop to boiler if required.
If no HW or CH, check if the diverter valves are operating correctly; if need be used their manual latch to force open or closed.
Edited by Regbuser on Wednesday 15th January 10:55
Having had a burst pipe over the weekend, I do hope the system was drained down. Our previous house, boughf in 2017 from probate having been unoccupied for 18+ months, was fully drained down and turning the mains water back on in mid-summer didn't give me any cause for concern. I did have to do it at the water company point in the front hedge because the stopcock was seized, but at least seized open.
Refilling the vented heating system was more of an issue because of the manual opening each in turn to bleed air and the fact it filled the radiators very slowly from the header tank. Keeping an eye on any tanks in the loft to make sure ball valves aren't seized is also important.
Over the year or so after moving in, we had a couple of issues - one was that the ~50 yr old copper gained a pinhole which gradually flooded the void under the spare room floor. It was fixed easily once we'd spotted it. The other was after we'd changed the water cylinder, the main cold feed in the loft had been joined with a plastic fitting and that popped off, causing an interesting water feature out of one of the light switches. Again, easy to fix fortunately but I'm glad I was around when it popped. Anyway, keep your eye on things for a good while after turning it back on.
Refilling the vented heating system was more of an issue because of the manual opening each in turn to bleed air and the fact it filled the radiators very slowly from the header tank. Keeping an eye on any tanks in the loft to make sure ball valves aren't seized is also important.
Over the year or so after moving in, we had a couple of issues - one was that the ~50 yr old copper gained a pinhole which gradually flooded the void under the spare room floor. It was fixed easily once we'd spotted it. The other was after we'd changed the water cylinder, the main cold feed in the loft had been joined with a plastic fitting and that popped off, causing an interesting water feature out of one of the light switches. Again, easy to fix fortunately but I'm glad I was around when it popped. Anyway, keep your eye on things for a good while after turning it back on.
Regbuser said:
Firstly, is the water off at the service stopcock in the footpath outside the property?
Make sure the house inlet is off, then open this up, you might need a long adjustable.
Then, and with two people present, open the kitchen cold tap, a downstairs cold tap, and an upstairs cold tap.
Then with you at the house inlet, slowly open this and have the other person run around the place checking water coming out.
If there's a leak, it's usually in the first run of pipe up to the hot water cylinder. Check this.
If all okay, then run all taps through for a couple of minutes.
If not okay, isolate and make good leaking joints - press fit / compression fit plastic can be leaky if not kept wet and pressurised.
The hot water cylinder should fill, but will need venting; there'll be a overpressure drain valve for this; open it and let the gurgling out until water runs solidly through. Check it's discharging outside.
Once cylinder full, open all hot taps for a couple of minutes.
Pressurise your boiler via the filling loop.
Is your boiler oil or gas?
Select HW, fire the boiler and heat the cylinder. Once hot, check all hot water taps, then showers.
Select CH, fire the boiler and check the circulation pump is operating; bleed all radiators.
Repressurised filling loop to boiler if required.
If no HW or CH, check if the diverter valves are operating correctly; if need be used their manual latch to force open or closed.
Thanks, that's really helpful and exactly what I was looking for. The water and boiler were disconnected by a plumber according to the seller and so I would hope have been drained down properly (no tank in the loft mind). I will follow your steps to get everything flowing and bled. Make sure the house inlet is off, then open this up, you might need a long adjustable.
Then, and with two people present, open the kitchen cold tap, a downstairs cold tap, and an upstairs cold tap.
Then with you at the house inlet, slowly open this and have the other person run around the place checking water coming out.
If there's a leak, it's usually in the first run of pipe up to the hot water cylinder. Check this.
If all okay, then run all taps through for a couple of minutes.
If not okay, isolate and make good leaking joints - press fit / compression fit plastic can be leaky if not kept wet and pressurised.
The hot water cylinder should fill, but will need venting; there'll be a overpressure drain valve for this; open it and let the gurgling out until water runs solidly through. Check it's discharging outside.
Once cylinder full, open all hot taps for a couple of minutes.
Pressurise your boiler via the filling loop.
Is your boiler oil or gas?
Select HW, fire the boiler and heat the cylinder. Once hot, check all hot water taps, then showers.
Select CH, fire the boiler and check the circulation pump is operating; bleed all radiators.
Repressurised filling loop to boiler if required.
If no HW or CH, check if the diverter valves are operating correctly; if need be used their manual latch to force open or closed.
Edited by Regbuser on Wednesday 15th January 10:55
Thanks again PH brain trust
Watch out for any tanks in lofts going mad when they refill.
I turned the water off for a fews weeks in a commercial building.
When I turned it back on water was spraying out of a random tank that I never knew was there and which had been fine for 10 years!
I think the float got jammed, limescale formed as well , only did it for a minute but enough to soil a ceiling!!
I turned the water off for a fews weeks in a commercial building.
When I turned it back on water was spraying out of a random tank that I never knew was there and which had been fine for 10 years!
I think the float got jammed, limescale formed as well , only did it for a minute but enough to soil a ceiling!!
Richard-D said:
So, does every room now have a free, built-in fire suppression system then?
Ha ha thankfully no. Took me about two hours to find the stopcock (helpfully hidden in an enclosed compartment beneath a shelf that was invisible unless you removed the shelf) but once located all went well.The executors had had a plumber round to turn the water off and so everything appeared to have been drained down properly.
We have a leaky toilet in one of the bathrooms but that's an entirely different issue (which I kind of suspected when we viewed the house) and is my crap (hopefully not literally) job for today
TwistingMyMelon said:
Watch out for any tanks in lofts going mad when they refill.
I turned the water off for a fews weeks in a commercial building.
When I turned it back on water was spraying out of a random tank that I never knew was there and which had been fine for 10 years!
I think the float got jammed, limescale formed as well , only did it for a minute but enough to soil a ceiling!!
This would be my main concern if the plumbing has been ‘dry’ for some time. I would pop down to screwfix and pick up a new ball valve for the cold water storage tank (and boiler expansion tank if appropriate) and get this fitted before turning the water back on.I turned the water off for a fews weeks in a commercial building.
When I turned it back on water was spraying out of a random tank that I never knew was there and which had been fine for 10 years!
I think the float got jammed, limescale formed as well , only did it for a minute but enough to soil a ceiling!!
. I suspected you would be fine, been a few winters since a really long cold spell.Gassing Station | Homes, Gardens and DIY | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff