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Find your stop tap before you need it
Knowing where your stop tap is before a leak starts can save a lot of damage. Pick the type of home closest to yours.
Pre-1900, solid walls, often a cellar or a rear extension.
Inside the house
- Under the kitchen sink, at the back of the cupboard.
- In the cellar, on the wall nearest the street.
- Under the floorboards just inside the front door.
- Behind a panel in a later rear extension.
Outside, at the boundary
Cast iron cover in the pavement outside the front door, often shared with the neighbouring house. Usually needs a long key.
Often cavity walls, with the kitchen at the rear and a side alley or front garden meter.
Inside the house
- Under the kitchen sink.
- In a downstairs cloakroom or under-stairs cupboard.
- Near the front door in older conversions.
Outside, at the boundary
Usually in the front garden path or pavement, under a rectangular cover. May be shared on terraces and semis.
Estate houses from the 1950s-80s often have clearer cupboard access and a front garden stopcock.
Inside the house
- Under the kitchen sink - most common.
- In the garage if the supply enters there.
- In an airing cupboard on some layouts.
Outside, at the boundary
Plastic or metal cover near the front boundary, often closer to the pavement than the house.
Modern homes usually have an obvious internal stop valve and an external meter boundary box.
Inside the house
- Utility room or kitchen cupboard where the mains enters.
- Often a lever valve - quarter turn to close.
- Check the homeowner pack / builder handover folder.
Outside, at the boundary
Usually a blue-lid water meter boundary box at the front of the plot. Useful if the internal valve fails.
Flats and maisonettes can have the stop valve in the kitchen, hallway cupboard, or a shared riser - and the external valve may belong to the block.
Inside the property
- Under the kitchen sink or in a hallway services cupboard.
- Behind an access panel in the bathroom on some conversions.
- Ask the freeholder / managing agent if you cannot find it.
Outside / communal
There may be a communal stop or meter for the block. Do not close a communal valve without checking who else it affects.