Piglet John (or anyone who knows) - changing a washer

[HelenaQC]

I have a dribbling tap and need to change the washer. The trickle it's causing outside is annoying my neighbour so I need to sort it ASAP. Trouble is, when I went to turn off the water at the stop cock, I couldn't. The handle turns but nothing happens. Obviously this needs to be seen to, but in the meantime, am I OK to change the washer with the tap still dribbling? I know a bit of water will come up, but it won't be a total geyser, will it?

TIA.

the plumbers merchant will probably also have a lot of business cards on a board by the door. Look for some with a local address on them (not just a mobile phone no) and that look faded enough to have been there for more than a week.

I'd actually recommend a plumber not an experiment with DIY freezing.

Are you sure there is no braided hose or service valve on the pipe to your dripping tap?

Oh forgot to mention you get about half hour before the dripping

I'll take the bath panel off and have a look later, Piglet. Not actually sure how it comes off at the moment, but will investigate.

And good idea about the business cards. Ta.

I have found that generally the braided hoses are used on 15mil pipes and not 19mil bath feed pipes but cant be ruled out

22mm

they are quite a bit more expensive than the 15mm ones, which might be why they are less common. They are a real benefit, though. It is even harder to get at bath tap from underneath, than a basin tap.

I always use braided on kitchen taps and bathroom basin and toilet feed , but have changed baths in few houses I have lived in and always found they were connected using 19mil standard copper pipe with captive swiveling nut

I have a wrench that is flexible jointed head on it with a jaw that auto clamps onto the pipe. I agree the braided hoses are marvelous

A godsend when fitting a kitchen sink , gives so much flexibility and saved no end of time

I am not a plumber but have gutted a few kitchens and bathrooms and refitted. Only ever had compliments about work done . Have helped out neighbors down the years ,keep quiet now as you become a dogsbody

If you decide to turn water off and do both jobs , if you encounter the olive compression ring letting water leak then if you wrap ptfe tape round the whole olive 3 times that will almost always be a permanent fix

The olive compresses against the inner surface of the stock cock outlet and also compresses against the plastic or copper supply pipe. They don't always when fitting a new cock marry so you either renew the olive or do as I have described.
The reason for this is you have to cut the olive off the pipe as it will be fixed hard to it

if you think you need to change a stopcock, take the new one apart on the kitchen table first to see how it is made. Very often you can just change the headwork, which unscrews. I can't find a video of this.

I wouldn't try it for the first time when you are in a hurry and have a leak. Once you have learned it, you will like it.

You will need PTFE tape and silicone grease for the assembly, and several spanners.