Weird toilet water shut off valve - Please help!

[Peter David]

Hi all, glad I found this forum!

I'm a relatively newbie at DIY so I'm hoping you all can help me.
I've been replacing the toilets in my house and two of them have weird shut off valves.
I don't have the foggiest idea how to turn the water off, maybe somebody here does.

The house was built in 1989, if that helps.

There is a rubber cover of some kind, possibly what you're supposed to use to crank the water off, but they only turn less than a quarter-turn either way.





Thanks for any advice!

 

[hj]

They are 1/4 turn valves, but if a 1/4 turn clockwise does not shut the water off, then the valve is broken and you need new ones.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Peter David]

They are 1/4 turn valves, but if a 1/4 turn clockwise does not shut the water off, then the valve is broken and you need new ones.

Yeah pretty sure they're frozen with age. What a PITA.

Thanks for the answer though, now I know what I'm up against.

 

[Cacher_Chick]

1/4 turn valves are quite dependable, but unless it looks fairly new we normally replace the shut-off valve as part of a toilet replacement. With a threaded-on valve like yours, it should be very straightforward.

When shopping for new valves, avoid those which have a plastic stem. The good valves will be all metal.