This chapter covers the removal and replacement of angle stops. Whether they are the stops found under the kitchen sink, bathroom sink, behind the commode or perhaps in the laundry, the procedure will remain the same and all stated safety issues apply. I will explain this project as though the angle stops which are being replaced are the ones under the kitchen sink, though the procedure will be quite similar for any angle stop in your home, including the one for your toilet(s).
ADVISORY:
I would strongly advise against attempting this procedure without an assistant, especially if this is your first time replacing angle stops.
If you live in a single family home, or a duplex for the most part the following sequence will generally give you enough information to proceed. It may not be exactly as I have laid it out here, but it will be something very similar and easy enough to adapt to your specific environment.
Most often in a single family home or duplex, there is a water shutoff valve somewhere outside of the house, usually near either the front or back entrance. If there is not a shutoff valve in either of these locations, then it is time to walk around the house and see if it has been installed elsewhere. While this is on occasion the case, it will most often be in one of the first 2 locations I mentioned. If your house is built with a side entrance instead of a rear entrance, then by all means look near that entrance. The point is that the shutoff valve should be near one of these entrances.
If you are making this replacement/repair and you live in a multiple tenant apartment building, there is a chance that the shutoff valve will control the water for all of the apartments in your building. Before proceeding, I would advise you to contact the building owner/manager and ask for permission to shut off the water for a brief period of time while you make the replacement/repair. This may in fact be a rule, which also may require a 24 hour notice be given to all of the other residents of the building before you can make the replacement/repair. As well, some apartment owners/managers may advise you that their “contract” plumber must replace the angle stops. This should all be taken into account during the planning of the project.
Once you have located the shutoff valve, grasp and move the handle in the appropriate direction to turn the water off. This is generally understood to mean turning the handle to the right, until it stops. When this has been done, go back and gently open the leaking angle stop to see if there is any pressure on the line. Be sure to place a small bucket under the stop to catch any water still in the line. If there is no water moving, it is safe to assume the water has been turned off.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
If by some odd chance you are unable to find your water shut-off valve in one of the locations I have suggested here, it is possible you are in a situation in which your only choice will be the main shutoff located at the street. In this case, walk to the street-front of your property and look for a concrete box in the ground. The lid will almost always be marked with the word water on it. Remove the lid of the box and you will see a valve. It will be attached to a gauge of some sort to measure the flow of water your residence consumes. This is the main shutoff valve to your home and this is where you must stop the water flow. The knob is what you must turn in order to shut off the water. Usually this requires either ¼ turn, a half turn, and in very few cases it may require a full turn. Many of these valves have a handle which is easy to grasp and turn, while others may require a special wrench. You most likely will not have a wrench of this type, but it can be easily purchased at a local hardware supply store or the like. Once you have determined the correct action, simply turn the water off.
Once you have shut off the water, the next step is to go to where your water heater is located. There will be a shutoff valve for the water heater on the inlet side of the heater as well. In the same way you just shut off the water at the main, turn the handle on the water heater to the right until it stops. This will stop the flow of the hot water through your residence.
Now is the time to drain the water lines inside the house.
To help the water drain more quickly, go to each bathroom(s), laundry or anywhere else there may be a faucet in the house and open them in the shower(s) and the sink(s). This will give the water remaining in the pipes throughout the house more places to escape which will quicken the draining. Depending on the plumbing configuration in your house or apartment, this will take no more than 2 to 3 minutes. However, it will save you that much time in wiping up spilled water where you will be replacing the angle stops.
Now it is time to go to the kitchen faucet and turn it on. There should be no pressure on the line and the water should either not run at all, or there should be a steady decline in the water coming out of the tap until it stops flowing completely. Once there is no water moving, it is safe to assume all of the water has been safely turned off.
SAFETY ADVISORY – If at this point there is still pressurized water flowing out of the faucet, you must go back and check to see where you missed completely shutting off a valve somewhere in the process. If you followed the steps, one at a time as I have laid them out to this point, there should not be any water flowing anywhere. If there is, and you have gone back and retraced the steps – I would suggest that you call a plumber and have this issue checked out by a professional because there is clearly more serious a problem, such as a faulty water main valve, or other important shut-off valve that is not functioning properly, which will need to be addressed before continuing. While this can occur, it is a very unlikely situation.
In the event the water has stopped flowing, disconnect the water lines from between the faucet and the angle stops and move them out of the way.
Once the water lines have been disconnected and moved, the angle stops are next.
There will only be two (2) types of angle stops you will find under your sink. One is known as a compression fitting and the other is known as a fips or threaded fitting. The easiest way to discover which you are dealing with is to remove them.
NOTE:
If you have a dishwasher in your kitchen, the hot water angle stop will be slightly different than a standard angle stop, as it will have an additional fitting which will connect a separate water line to the dishwasher. If this is the case, you should remove and take this angle stop with you when you go to the store and purchase an exact replacement.
To remove a “threaded female” fips angle stop use a crescent wrench to grasp and gently turn the angle stop counter clockwise until it loosens, then with your fingers, continue turning it until it comes off. It will be in one piece. When removed, you will notice the water pipe sticking out of the back of the cabinet wall will generally have about ¾ to 1″ of standard “male” pipe thread visible. As you look at the angle stop which you just removed you can see the corresponding “female” pipe thread visible inside the end opposite of the knob.
The other style of angle stop is known as a “compression” fitting. To remove a “compression” fitting angle stop, it will require both a crescent wrench and a pair of channel lock pliers. Grip the “compression” collar of the fitting and place the crescent wrench on the body of the angle stop. Firmly hold the collar steady with the pliers, and apply pressure to the crescent in a counter-clockwise direction until it begins to loosen. Once loosened, it can be removed merely by holding the collar in position with your fingers and spinning the remaining body off. When finished, the collar will remain on the copper pipe protruding out of the back of the cabinet wall. You will also see a small brass ring (ferrule) in place around the copper pipe just in front of the compression collar. Leave this as you see it. The replacement angle stop you purchase will thread right back into the remaining collar as the one you just removed.
Once the angle stops have been removed, be sure to take them with you when you go to purchase their replacement so there will be no mistakes. Find a knowledgeable assistant in the plumbing department and show them the angle stops you have with you and let him or her know you want exact replacements. Whichever type of angle stop you have removed, whether “compression” or “fips (threaded)”, remember you will need two (2) of them, exactly like the ones you removed.
Once you are back at the job-site, it is time to reinstall the angle stops.
Unwrap the new stops and prepare to install them one at a time. Do not get ahead of yourself. There are small parts here and it is easy to get confused if you are not used to doing this frequently.
Open the package and remove the parts.
If you will be replacing fips angle stops, wrap the male (threaded) ends of the pipe sticking out of the wall with teflon tape.
If you will be replacing compression angle stops, likewise, wrap the male end of the compression stop with a few turns of Teflon tape.
NOTE:
DO NOT install the angle stops, whether compression or fips without using teflon tape on the threads. This will allow a tighter fit and lessen the likelihood of a leak.
Once the stops are installed, make sure they are closed or off. This means turning the knob to the right until they seat. When you have determined they are off, re-pressure the line and check for any leakage. I would strongly advise using another person to perform this step, leaving one watching the stops, while the other goes to the main shutoff valve and turns the water on. The best process to do this if you cannot hear or see each other is to use your cell phone and place the call just before pressurizing the line. Once you have each other on the line, have the man at the main shutoff valve pressurize the line. The person at the angle stops will watch for any leaks. Report any leaks immediately, and have the line shut off.
NOTE:
Remember that during this process, you may have chosen to open the available faucets throughout the house to relieve the pressure on the system and facilitate draining the lines. It is a good idea to allow them to remain open during the re-pressurization of the lines. Doing so will allow any air that has seeped into the system to be blown out by the water pressure. Be sure to close them once the system has been re-pressurized.
If a leak is present, again drain the line and remove the leaking stop. Clean the threads and re-tape, this time using an additional wrap or two of teflon tape. When reinstalling the stops, be sure to tighten them sufficiently. It is not necessary to bottom out the stop, but it should seem about as tight as you can reasonably get it without using extreme effort. This is generally considered to be ¼ turn past hand tight.
When you have successfully re-pressurized the system and checked for leaks and found none, reconnect the water lines in the appropriate manner. This project is now complete.
Required tools list:
1) Crescent wrench
2) Channel lock pliers
3) Water main wrench (optional)
4) Small bucket
5) Dry Rags
6) Roll of teflon tape
