any tips/pointers pls from anyone for below. water started leaking off a toby box last week and the council guy turned up today to say it is not their responsibility as the toby is inside the driveway. we share the driveway with our neighbour and there is no leakage on their toby. the council guy didnt comment if it would be a faulty toby or a pipe burst somewhere. any tips from experienced DIY expert on here on what we could do to narrow down the issue? i called up a plumber and his quote is $600 :(
lythande1,
Dec 26, 4:06pm
If it was the meter, it's theres. Obviously it is in your pipes, call a drainlayer.
gazzat22,
Dec 26, 4:11pm
Our Toby is as are most, on our property on the front lawn.We had a leak some time ago,the plumber came and said its on the council side of the meter so therefore it is their responsibility .and he contacted the council.
smoky80,
Dec 26, 4:22pm
Thank you for your reply.
I checked the house drawings and see it says the pipe is 25mm ID PE100 PN12. If I turn off the toby (tighten it - clockwise) and it still leaks, would that mean its an issue with the toby itself? like washer or something worn off? or there is still a possibility for a leak at some section of the pipe?
we were thinking of turning off the toby when we don't need water inside the house. just not sure though if that'd burst off/lead to another leak somewhere else in the pipe? sorry for our ignorance
trade4us2,
Dec 26, 5:56pm
I have to use a big spanner to turn off my toby tap. Maybe you will have to try that, but don't break the tap! As others have said, if the leak is on the Council's side (the supply side) of your water meter, they will have to fix it. The "25mm ID PE100 PN12" seems to indicate that it is a modern pipe that is unlikely to leak.
smoky80,
Dec 26, 6:11pm
The toby top is blue - feels like a plastic blue topping (like a wheel). i turned it off (clockwise) fully i'd say - as much as i could but not full tight. I noticed the water still seems to come off the enclosure. sand around the toby appeared flickering - water leaking off the toby then? we don't have meters here and the council guy who came told. because the toby is in our driveway it is outside their responsibility and we need to get it fixed. their responsibility apparently stops at the entrance of the driveway. the house itself is around 15 years old. hoping its just a damaged washer and not pipe break inside the house or under concrete driveway
gabbysnana,
Dec 26, 6:18pm
council owns the toby, the worker is being an ignorant dick.
exwesty,
Dec 26, 6:31pm
If you have a water meter fitted then there are two shut off valves, one either side of the meter. If you turn off the valve on the house side of the meter and the leak stops, it's on your side and you pay $. If it's still leaking then it's on the council side of the meter or their valve and it's their responsibility. They own the meter and the pipework and valve back to the main and as such it's their problem.
marte,
Dec 26, 7:02pm
I thought it was a Council problem right up to & Inc the Toby.
Mine leaks too, but if the tap is undone ( open ) completely, it stops leaking.
smoky80,
Dec 26, 7:03pm
There is a toby at the entrance of the driveway so the council contractor guy said from that point onwards the pipeline into the driveway is our's and not councils responsibility. nobody at council to talk to either as they are closed these holidays.
trad,
Dec 26, 7:19pm
If the water leaking is not a problem, leave it till after the holidays and then ring the council offices and tell them what the worker said. I also do not think he is correct. (the worker may be a 'fill in' for the hols.)
smoky80,
Dec 26, 8:10pm
Its sad to see water getting wasted, and being in middle of holidays is not helping either. is there a maximum rotation that should be given to the toby valve? after i gave a stop (as much as i could as explained above) i rotated back (i.e opened) to about 1.5 rounds. i was wondering if i should fully open it and see if the leak stops? dont want to further any damage to say the connections so being cautious!
peanuts37,
Dec 26, 11:18pm
Ive got one like that, actually whole street has. Its like that so when you go to turn tap off water blows out past thread and seal and any dirt that may have gotten in there. There is a seal in there but not like on old taps that wear out due to dirt and corroded spindle. Tap must be firmly turned all the way on or off to seal any water leaking out. Doesn't matter if any dirt gets in there then as its immediately blown out when turned off or on. Plumber told me this years ago, also said turn off and on once a year as they can freeze up and can break if forced.
marte,
Dec 27, 3:55am
Thanks, I didn't know that at all. Now I'm not nearly as worried as I was, it's been like that for 20 years I guess.
hammer23,
Dec 27, 8:26am
Yes that is how it works. If you are not confident in fixing it yourself then you could make it easier for the plumber by doing all the digging and exposing of the pipe and by doing this you are speeding up the process and not paying a plumber to dig holes. He will love you for doing all the grunt work.
pauldw,
Dec 27, 9:46am
Does the Toby at the end of the drive control the supply to the neighbours toby down the drive as well or does the neighbour also have a separate one at the end of the drive?
smoky80,
Dec 27, 11:12am
at the entrance of our driveway we have one toby. that is the council one and their responsibility stops there i believe. from that point onwards a pipeline runs under the driveway and then the supply goes to our property and to our neighbor (so, i suspect there is a Y joint for this). Then a Toby for my property and another one for our neighbour. These two are on our shared driveway. Water is coming out from the toby connecting to my property. our neighbour Toby is next to ours and no water out from theirs.
pheonix,
Dec 27, 12:04pm
Probably others misunderstanding due to terminology really. After that explanation it is going to be your problem. The Toby is a shutoff valve between the council supply and the supply into a property only. Any others are just called shutoff valves. So from your info , the two valves on the property are shutoff valves , not tobies. Unless you are happy doing it yourself, get a plumber I would say.
smoky80,
Dec 27, 12:14pm
We got confused ourselves as the rectangular blue plastic cover on top of our valves in the driveway has the councils name on it. the valve (Toby as you say) at the driveway entrance has a small circular cover (not a blue one). The council contractor worker who came yday said the blue cover may have been given by the council but the pipeline in the driveway and the two valves and fittings is our responsibility.
ginks,
Dec 27, 1:46pm
Council are responsible right up to your toby. If they were to fit a water meter it would have to be at your toby. Council worker is wrong .
pauldw,
Dec 27, 7:14pm
That is what I thought. For it to be your problem it would have to be an individual feed from the street. Auckland Watercare " The point of supply is the outlet of the meter fitting closest to your private pipe – see diagram above. This applies whether the meter is inside or outside the property boundary."
budgel,
Dec 27, 9:20pm
I havent read all the posts, so apologies if it has been said, but it depends on which side of the meter the leak is. If it is before the meter you wont be billed for the water and is the council's problem. If it is after the meter you are paying for the water and its your problem. If it is before the meter and the council is being slack and not conserving water, a call to the mayor and a letter to the editor might get it sorted.
nzshooter01,
Dec 28, 7:29am
Just to add, the "toby" is only the box, whats inside the toby box is either a valve or meter or both
trade4us2,
Dec 28, 7:44am
There is no meter!
pico42,
Dec 28, 10:47am
Are you and your neighbour on a unit title or flatsplan? Or other form of composite title? From what I can piece together from your posts, the council worker was probably correct at their responsibility end at the first valve. The subsequent valves are private ones.
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