Where it usually is
- In most Richmond Hill houses the incoming copper or poly service pokes through the street-side foundation wall well under frost depth and rises into the basement beside the water meter. The main valve sits just before or just after the meter. Look along the front wall, in the furnace room, under the basement stairs or behind a lift-off hatch in a finished room.
- In townhouses the valve may be in a utility closet; in condos, every suite typically gets its own isolation valve near the water heater or in the laundry closet, and the building has risers controlled by management.
Gate valve or ball valve
- A round wheel is a gate valve: wind it clockwise to the stop, gently, since tired gate valves can shear their stems. A flat lever is a ball valve: swing it ninety degrees until it sits across the pipe and it is shut.
- If yours is a gate valve nobody has touched in years, try it gently some quiet Saturday. Stiffness, a weep at the stem or water still trickling past it all mean it should be swapped before an emergency proves the point.
Quick checklist
- Find the valve and tag it
- Test that it turns and stops the water
- Clear boxes from in front of it
- Show everyone in the house
- Note any other shut-offs for the heater and outdoor taps
After it is closed
- Run a basement cold tap to bleed off pressure, and a tap upstairs to let air in. If hot water is leaking, turn the water heater to vacation or pilot, or kill the breaker feeding an electric tank.
- Once the repair is done, open the main slowly. Opening fast sends a pressure surge that can loosen fittings and stir up sediment.
Make it easy to find
- Hang a tag on the valve. Keep the area in front of it clear of boxes. If the valve sits behind drywall, put in an access panel. Show teenagers and anyone house-sitting where it is.
- If you cannot find it at all, the curb stop out by the sidewalk is a municipal valve; contact the Town of Richmond Hill rather than trying to operate it yourself.
Richmond Hill note: most houses here sit on York Region municipal water with fairly hard supply, and many basements have a floor drain tied to the sanitary lateral. Mention both on the phone; it changes what goes on the truck.
Want a second opinion on your own pipes first? Dial (365) 363-1575; the person answering holds the wrench.