We had a call last week from a client that lives in Fergus. A copper pipe had burst; water was flowing and flooding the basement. As always, early in our conversation we ask the client who is in a panic if the main water shut off valve has been turned off. My heart always sinks when their response is, “It won’t turn off!”.
This was one of those situations. In this case there is no easy way to stop the water and the client should do whatever can be done to minimize damage. They must also get in touch with the municipal water works department to schedule an emergency water shut down. Waiting for the municipal workers can make the minutes feel like hours and in some cases once they have arrived there is a chance they cannot find a curb stop (buried water valve on the property line) or the curb stop will not shut off either. This may require excavation all while there is still a pipe leaking in the basement.
Thankfully this was not the case today. There was unfortunately some damage in the basement but the town employees came out quickly to shut the curb stop off and we were prepared and replaced the main shut off valve while the guys were onsite. We repaired the copper pipe and the client was thankful we were able to talk them through the situation and repaired the issues promptly.
We always encourage our clients to turn on and off valves that are not commonly used as part of a routine maintenance to ensure they are working and they don’t seize up. There are a few routine things that should be done to ensure your home’s plumbing system is working efficiently and we will talk about them in the future.
Sincerely,
Your neighborhood Plumber
