Category: 1

Utility and convenience. 08/05/2011

It is amazing how people quickly become numb to basic things that are causing them stress and grief.

Take for example living in a house with no isolation valves.

Isolation valves come in many shapes and sizes but their function is the same.

They do just what their name suggests - they isolate plumbing fixtures from the house's water supply.

Why is this important?

Because without that function, changing anything from a tap to a handbasin would result in flooding or require the plumber to go to the mains water supply or reserve tank to shut off the water supply before starting his work.

Sadly, there are many houses that don't come fitted with isolation valves and in other cases the valves fitted are just as bad as not having any because they don't work.

Before paying for the isolation valve please confirm the following:

Is valve made of metal or plastic? Plastic isolation valves have a very short lifespan due to the 'tender loving care' they receive from our plumbers.
Is the handle made of platic or metal? Plastic handles have a tendency to fall apart with time and can break the first time your plumber comes in if he is the rough kind.
Do they require a number of turns to shut off like most taps or do they use a quarter- or half-turn to shut off the water? Most plumbers expect that anything that looks like a tap should be turned on and off like a tap so they will not be expecting the handle to come to a stop after a quarter or half turn. The valve will suffer.
Are they made by a reputable manufacturer or does the supplier give you a warranty? Today, in Kenya, we are are seeing an epidemic of 'fake itemitis' - too many fake items - so make sure the supplier is also reputable.
Don't just judge the quality of the valve by its weight as many counterfeiters have learned that and are using more metal and even more dense types of metal to give the impression that it is a good product.
Does it let air through? This is by far the most important reason for not buying the valve; if it cannot stop air through when shut then you will most likely have water getting through it and thus render the device useless.

Don't compromise on quality of life. It's your money and your life! Live it well!

Don't hesitate to contact us about good quality plumbing supplies or just let us bear the headache and do the repairs.

We guarantee you the best repairs by PhaR!

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Author

Robert Gikonyo is the founder of Property Health Associates and is also the Projects Manager.
He is currently involved in starting a revolution in the property industry.
His desire is to see a tiime when people don't accept any kind of property just so as to be able to say they own a property.
He believes that if property owners were discerning enough, they would get better properties at a fraction of the current market cost.
He aslo believes that a property crash is imminent in Kenya, as whacky as that may sound, and he has his resons.

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