this post was submitted on 30 Aug 2023
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Cutting a pipe and adding a valve is a really simple thing and should only be expensive to the extent that any plumbing job is expensive.
I would specifically ask for a quality 1/4 turn ball valve - there’s no point in cheaping out on that part when you’re mostly paying for labor. And as long as you’re doing that, you probably want two of them. For the same reason the city doesn’t want you touching theirs, you should have a shutoff that you actually use when you need to do plumbing work in the house, and one before that that you never touch unless it’s an emergency and you can’t shut off the other one.
For a bit more expense, you could consider an automatic shutoff leak detector. I have one called Phyn that keeps track of water usage, tests for pressure drops every night, and detects unusual flow patterns and can automatically shut it off.
There is a pretty slick automatic water shut off that you can put wireless sensors at places like outside of a sump pump well or in a tray under the hot water heater. If the sensors detect water, they tell the valve to shut. I think they run a couple grand all in, but it is cheaper than having to gut your basement because the sump pump failed during a downpour.
There are several. I have one as I mentioned in my comment: it's called a Phyn Plus. It works with and without sensors. I have some in strategic places like under the water heater.
It actually caught a leak, although it wasn't from the plumbing. It was rain getting into the chimney and dripping into a puddle in the boiler room that set off one of the sensors. I like the cable-style sensor they have -- it's like a 4-foot-long headphone cord, but the whole length is a water sensor, so if any part gets wet it goes off.