There are two types of water systems – direct, and indirect. As the name suggests, in direct systems, the water comes directly from the mains, whereas in indirect systems, your water comes from a cold-water tank, which is fed by the mains. We all have a list of things to do around the home that we may or may not get round to. Filing paperwork, sorting out the linen cupboard and in all likelihood, testing your stop tap is on that list too. The problem is, while not being able to find a record of your accounts or your towels being in a mess might be annoying, failing to test your stop tap can be disastrous. See our Which? Trusted traders’ tips on how to deal with a burst pipe. Prevention is better than cure

If a stop tap has seized up, it’s probably scaled up and full of debris, rather than rusty. Plumbing parts are made of non-ferrous metals, such as brass or copper, so they corrode and scale up rather than rust.

Depending on your system, you may have one or three stop taps in your home. If you have a high-pressure system – usually found in homes with combi-boilers or a mega-flow hot water tank, there will be one single stop tap that turns off water from the mains. Even a simple plumbing job, such as changing a tap on a sink, becomes more complicated and more costly if you’re unable to shut off the water effectively within your home. Your property will likely have several stop valves inside your home. You will likely be able to turn off your water for the room or area of your property where you have a leak, or you’re doing some plumbing. This means you can continue to use your water in the remaining rooms of your property. I think your Builder is right not to cover a stop tap, if you or others need this in an emergency it has to be visible.

If in doubt, call in a plumber who will advise you on whether it’s possible to fix it or replace it. You can find an endorsed plumber in your local area with Which? Trusted Traders. Can you turn off the water from the street? At the end of your road. This is common if your house is old and you share a supply with your neighbours.It may take a few turns to turn the water on. It may also take a few minutes for the water to start running from your taps, as it will need to run through the pipes again.

You'll usually get to a point where you can’t turn it anymore. You shouldn’t use force to turn it further. To protect your home, you should always have a working inside stop valve.Use this as the main way to turn your water on and off. Mark told us: ‘An old-fashioned stop tap that hasn’t been turned for a couple of years is unlikely to work, in which case you’ll have to get the Water Board out. They will have to fix the stop tap in the road before you can do anything in the house.’ The external valve controls the flow from the water main that serves your street to the supply pipe into your house. It may also take a few minutes for the water to stop running from your taps, as there will be some water left in the pipes from before you turned the water off.Using your inside stop valve should be easy and you should be able to operate the valve yourself. How to turn your water off using the inside stop valve A gravity or low-pressure system, when there is a tank in the loft that supplies the toilets and basins, will have the mains stop tap that supplies water to the kitchen sink, plus a stop tap coming out of the tank for the hot-water flow and for the cold-water flow too. The diagram below shows the typical pipework at most homes and who is responsible for maintaining it. These covers are designed to protect meter boxes and other surface boxes from damage, whether the damage is caused by weather conditions, general wear and tear, or vandalism. Use thes surface meter box covers over meter boxes, fire hydrants and much more.

Is my water company responsible for the mains water stop valve is a common question and one that the answer has recently changed. The water utility companies provide two main piped services to your home. The first is the delivery of fresh water. The second is the removal of waste water from both sewage and drainage. In the past it has been unclear as to who is responsible between the homeowner/landlords and the Utility Company for which of the piping and associated taps within each boundary. Very recently the government and utility companies have moved to clarify this as follows. I worked for a water company and have seen this very many times, customers always wanted to blame us until it was explained that the internal S/Tap or if they have installed an extra one in the garden it was theirs. You can try gently using a spanner to get leverage, but it is easy to snap the spindle, at which point the stop tap will need replacing in its entirety. Mark cautioned: ‘Too much torque from a spanner can twist the spindle like toffee, as it’s made from brass.’In an emergency, your local water company guarantee to come out within 24 hours. However, this is more than long enough for a leak within your property to create some serious damage. Here you'll find a range of surface box covers at Drainage Superstore, from popular and leading brands including Clark Drain, Wrekin and EJ, all at our famously competitive prices. Turning off an old-style stop tap from the street may also turn off the water to neighbouring properties. If this is the case, it’s only fair to let them know what’s going on and how long the water is likely to be off for. Our builder isn't sure this is permitted as you're not allowed to cover with paving even though it will have an access key, but Thames Water say that provided it's accessible then it's fine (although they won't put this in writing). Anyone got any experience of this? Can't count the times I have found these fully open customers have rung the top off then unable to shut off.