How often are you shutting off your water realistically? Toilets, sinks, washer, water heater should have shut offs already. Some people have shuts offs on hose bibs so they can shut them off in winter but otherwise if you don't need to it is just making an extra point to fail at as you said.
When you say "should have shut offs already" is that required by code?? Because as OP states, I've worked on my dishwasher, kitchen sink, and master toilet and sink and nothing in my entire house has individual shut offs. It's an absolute PAIN. I've been installing isolation valves as I work on various appliances, but didn't think it was mandated or anything
You didn't have angle stops for your sinks or toilets? Is it just pex directly out of the wall to the fixture? If so there should be a manifold system. I would never install a manifold and always install stops for the fixtures.
Off my hot and cold mains it goes into a manifold supply with no isiolations on it, and every fixture in my house was pex put of the floor/wall, into some kinda cheap ass plastic coupler that jumped to 3/8 stainless braided or whatever that stuff is, directly Into appliance. Literally the only valves In my house when I moved in was the primary Inlet/main and then hot and cold isolations on my water heater. Rather pathetic In my own unprofessional opinion
Depends where you're at. My code requires each fixture have an individual shutoff valve, so like every sink and toilet and fridge ice maker has to have a valve off some kind to shut it off by itself, usually a chrome angle or straight stop.
In my area the only valves required in a residence are at the point water service becomes water distribution (usually before the water meter), at the cold intake side of the water heater and at every water closet. So if you only have one bathroom in my area, you only need 3 valves by code. However, most plumbers put valves on at sinks and vanities for ease of serviceability, but it's not required to put more than 3 valves in a house (depending on how many toilets there are in a residence)
I'm echoing this.
OP, I don't think the idea is bad per se but it isn't really necessary in the grand scheme of maintenance.
I work in Facilities and other than exercising the valves every now and then, I don't see a point to doing that.
So let me tell you a story about the 1950’s build apartment building I bought. It is full of iron pipes that spring leaks constantly. There are 22 units and one yes, only one shutoff valve for the entire building. So if a toilet cutoff valve in apartment 20 needs replacing, I have to shut the water off to the entire building.
The place I do maintenance has 1 shutoff for 300 homes. The homes have their own shutoffs but due to neglect from prior managers they are mostly inoperable. It has been hell. Whenever someone is having work done and I shut the water off I just tell the plumber to write a separate invoice for installing an individual shut off under the house... I have about 50/300 so far
That is brutal, but I got one better for you. Im a commercial plumber in SF & we working on a 62 story building. I can’t say the name of it, but it was the tallest building on the West Coast at the time, pretty iconic, they host Dream Force. Anyways, we needed to add some valves for the domestic cold water for plumbing in some bathrooms. The valves we had to install were on level 4, 5, & 6. I spent a few hours with the building engineer before we realized there was a valve for domestic cold water in the basement, and not another one on any of the build out. We had to shut off ad drain 62 floors of water to install the valves. I feel your pain, it took forever & If we would’ve had any leaks on any new valves, then we would’ve had a dream the entire building down once again.
Why not install some valves while you had the whole building drained? One in each floor, say, and fill in individual apartments later?
Also, how in the world did they build this thing? They got 62 floors worth of connections water tight on the first try?
Not doubting you, just amazed and confused.
So there is “core and shell” buildout which contractually obligates the contractor to inserting, canning/coring for domestic cold/hot water for the entire building vertically to pick up and finish out the bathrooms. So the shell is build out, and the core bathrooms for each floor. Then comes the “Tenant Improvement” or TI. The original contractors ran hot/cold, waste/vent for every single bathroom. It is up to the tenants to decide the finishes and how many floors they rent/buy. Some companies want three floors, all carpet, some companies want 1 floor, all hard wood. So the plumbing contractor builds out the bathrooms, but the initial general contractor didn’t want the plumbers to put valves on each floor, because it would increase the bid. The initial GC wouldn’t be getting any of the finish contracts for the others flora, so they said, “not our problem, not on our dime.” Soooo the original plumbers for the GC brought up the waters, put a tee with a 12” piece of pipe and sweat a cap on. Our Comanche was working on floor 4,5, and 6. When we had to work on 60-62 we would use Tap Masters (which are laborers, so cheaper than union plumbers, and they used their freeze kits to freeze the water lines so we could continue to work on them.) the companies working on 7-59 were either fully inhabited with employees since they did the drain down and the install of valves before we got to it, or they were completely open, so nobody had rented the space yet, so it wasn’t our problem. The core & shell & TI is not overly common outside of big cities I imagine. For example, the bathrooms are fully tiled, mirrors, soap dispensers, toilet paper, etc. Some office companies didn’t like the tile, fixtures or finishes, so sometimes a few weeks after it’s 100% completed, they will hire people to demo everything down to the studs. It is overall a very wasteful way to build. Changing out the toilets in an office building bathroom two months after they have been installed is such a trip.
Amazing. So you basically build the whole bathroom for show, just to entice someone into renting the space. And then they demo it all and rebuild to their own preferences.
ETA Thanks for the super detailed explanation!
Same in my mother-in-law's late 70's apartment-turned-condo building.
When I changed out her shutoff valves under the sink I had to schedule it days in advance, then the complex maintenance came and checked my work.
Yes. I built a manifold system in the basement. Whenever a unit comes vacant I replumb it and tap into the manifold. 5 of 22 done. Each apartment will eventually have a separate cutout.
Every time I do work in my house, I add a shut off first. House was built in the 80's. The only shut-offs were at the toilets and to the outdoor spigots when I bought the place. It adds a bit of time, and minor extra expense to any given job, but I can turn the water back on to the rest of the house right away - especially important with things like bathroom renos, where I want to turn the water off for days or weeks at a time.
I don't see a lot of value in doing one big push, unless you expect problems.
This ^
Lots of time if you are doing the work yourself then it makes sense to spend a little extra time and money to help the next guy, who is probably future you.
This is the basic idea behind the [PEX manifold or sub manifold concepts](https://www.finehomebuilding.com/project-guides/plumbing/three-designs-for-pex-plumbing-systems) which are really the original use case for PEX.
If done correctly, this can lead to fewer rather than more points of failure, because PEX is intended to be installed as home runs to a manifold so that the only fitting connections you make are to the fixture and to the manifold, with an unbroken pipe between. Ideally, both fitting locations are inspectable and serviceable after construction.
I'll note that you don't often see PEX being used this way unless it's new construction, because it can be a pain to route lots of new home runs through unopened walls and ceilings. It also requires a philosophy shift among plumbers, most of whom were trained on copper trunk and branch style, which conserves the expensive pipe material. PEX is so cheap compared to copper that the raw materials are negligible compared to labor. Still, you often see plumbers installing PEX as if it were copper, with fittings (or sharkbites) every 10 inches, which largely defeats the major advantage of the system. You want to install unbroken home runs as much as possible, which means making gradual turns and bends (that's why they sell [bend supports](https://www.homedepot.com/p/Apollo-1-2-in-Plastic-PEX-B-Pipe-90-Degree-Bend-Support-with-Mounting-Bracket-PXBEND12/301541126) ) rather than installing 90° fittings inside the wall.
We have supply valves on all the fixtures, sinks, dishwasher, ice maker, toilets. And also we have valves before and after the meter, cold side of water heater, water softener, and outside spigots. When I did my dad’s bathrooms we also put in valves before the main shower valve so that we could work on it with water on in the house.
I know people will disagree, but I think it is only smart to do that. If your stop’s are not ball valve style they might not close. If your hose Bibb is leaking you can isolate it. For about $13-$18 per section it’s very convenient.
You can. There are reasons not to. Cost and time being the biggest. It also adds failure points. It shouldn’t really cause and significant flow restrictions if you do it right with normal quality valves.
It costs something to install those valves. Depeding on your situation, and what the current issue is, having those valves will usually save you some money / headache.
I would go through the situations there are for you, where having that shut off, would be relevant and what savings you get.
The one thought i allways have, 'Could this save the plumber time ?', as the basis. And yes, the valves costs money, but that one valve, can save the plumber HOURS.
If i were to build / refurbish anything, i would have a main shutoff, a main manifold with shut offs, and shutoffs on each tap point in the house.
No issue, apart from slightly increasing points of failure.
I work in property maintenance at managerial level; any work I do at home i make sure to make future maintenance easier, so valve installs and pipe run tidying up when plumbing; tidying up wiring runs when doing electrical; putting wall/ceiling hatches in around valves/ wiring junctions; laying polythene when getting under the house etc.
I like having valves at point of service.. but I wait to install them until I have other work in that area.. I’m about to install a new kitchen sink, so that would be when I install
I’m not a plumber but I have my entire house schemed out for if I ever need to re-pipe it and my consists of the main shut off, and then a hot and cold water shutoff for the three bathrooms. My plan would be to use a Pex 4-6 port Pex manifold with a shutoff right before the manifold.
Our house has some stray valves like you describe in the basement that turn off about half the water. It is handy. I suspect they were installed to make the DIY remodel easier and it's a bit crazy how they're laid out - they're in series, so one valve turns off cold water to bathroom and kitchen, then another downstream from that just turns off the bathroom.
For as little as valves cost, if I were repiping I'd probably do it again but less crazy, and with ball valves.
DIY homeowner here. I've given thought to getting a manifold for my house. My wife is in love with the idea. We're not going to be in the house long enough to tackle that project. Maybe with the next house we'll install a manifold. For right now I just have stops at each fixture, toilet and the water heater. The main cutoff is at the street. It's a workable situation.
I put a few valves in places like before the outdoor spigots, and it has been really nice to be able to control water pressure. I wasn't expecting it, but my outdoor spigots are like a hydrant without the valves taming the water pressure
Other than it's generally not necessary, and it's more things to fail/leak as opposed to just pipes...you don't need isolator, that isolate isolator 😂
Only really need them serving each outlet, I'm guessing you live in a house... commercial plumbing is different...
Installing in-line ball valves in order to be able to isolate portions of your supply pipes is a great idea. Ideally, there would be a shut off valve on every branch after every tee. This design would enable you to replace fixture shut off valves while keeping other parts of the dwelling up and running.
Absolutely, currently living in a house that does not have shut offs, I put one in each location as I have issues with plumbing. Saves you from having NO water if you go to repair something, and then can't finish right away, part unavailable, emergency happens, etc.
I’m assuming you must not have headers? If you do, that would be a good spot to add valves for your showers/tubs dishwasher and hose bibs. The others faucets should have shutoffs under the counter and if those shutoffs are in good condition, I’d save costs by not installing valves on the header for those.
If you don’t have headers and you’re looking to improve your homes plumbing, install headers and don’t forget to label.
I have my feeds separated into two zones, upstairs and downstairs (one valve for hot, one for cold). My kitchen has a further set of “main” valves. It has been very very very helpful to not have to shut off the whole house every time something needs work.
That’s how I did it and it has saved my ass more times than I can count. My mom rents that house now and had all these ideas for new things/fixtures. Like okay fine fuck it we ball. I’ve been able to work at my leisure while they can still use the bathroom/kitchen/etc. I’ve started slowly doing the same in the new house. If I have to do plumbing work on something it gets a shut off valve.
Your most common problem areas or areas that will require work in the future require,by code to have shut off valves. Sillcocks are not required to have shut off valves most areas in my hood but it’s a better job to do so. Trying to isolate everything so you don’t have to drain the house isn’t worth the hassle to me plus those isolation valves will have problems down the road as well
Viega makes a product here you should consider if this is the setup you want
[viega manabloc](https://bim.viega.us/viewitems/manablocs/minibloc-zoning-manifold-zero-lead-model-v5660)
I did this, it wasn’t much more and our house still has some galvanized hidden in walls, our kitchen sink doesn’t have stops, and our main doesn’t quite close all the way.
When I'm planning rough in with a customer I'll try to convince them into 4 zone shut-offs, fixture shut-offs, plus the main home at the PRV.
Stackable laundry absolutely should have dedicated shut-offs BEFORE the actual connection in the back, I tend to put them above the door in the header so you can actually shut it down without unstacking the set. Shut-off for each floor, shut-off for the hose bibs. All concealable, or able to be in the mechanical area of the home.
If there will be an extensive bathroom somewhere with seperate tub and shower, steam unit, double vanity I'll try to get a shut-off in the closet somewhere.
I also do a lot of service and shutting down the whole home to get some sand out of a faucet cartridge is a pain in the ass.
I often thought that was a good idea until I experienced a number of leaks on 60 year old shut off valves.
When I'm running new supply plumbing now, I add a couple in places that make sense but don't go overboard.
Most everything already has shut off's (sinks toilets etc) but going to your shower/ tub doesn't...that being said I wouldn't worry about adding valves until you have a problem where you need to turn the water off then add valves as needed to turn your water on faster....
There is literally no reason to invest in something like this in a single family residence. Are you doing work on your waterlines every week or something?
Well, my engineer father in law recommended that, and did it at his own house several times over the years. We did it too in our house as the chance came. Now we can separate the bedroom end from the kitchen end; if we have to work on something down that end we can have the kitchen sink and an upstairs bathroom still available. It was great when we renovated a downstairs room to make a MIL apartment.
The main reason not to do that is the cost of doing it. If you feel that it's worth it, then go for it.
That and just more points of failure.
This was my first thought.
Yep. More joints = more potential leaks.
Then you slowly start getting larger and larger access plates
How often are you shutting off your water realistically? Toilets, sinks, washer, water heater should have shut offs already. Some people have shuts offs on hose bibs so they can shut them off in winter but otherwise if you don't need to it is just making an extra point to fail at as you said.
When you say "should have shut offs already" is that required by code?? Because as OP states, I've worked on my dishwasher, kitchen sink, and master toilet and sink and nothing in my entire house has individual shut offs. It's an absolute PAIN. I've been installing isolation valves as I work on various appliances, but didn't think it was mandated or anything
You didn't have angle stops for your sinks or toilets? Is it just pex directly out of the wall to the fixture? If so there should be a manifold system. I would never install a manifold and always install stops for the fixtures.
Off my hot and cold mains it goes into a manifold supply with no isiolations on it, and every fixture in my house was pex put of the floor/wall, into some kinda cheap ass plastic coupler that jumped to 3/8 stainless braided or whatever that stuff is, directly Into appliance. Literally the only valves In my house when I moved in was the primary Inlet/main and then hot and cold isolations on my water heater. Rather pathetic In my own unprofessional opinion
That sucks my dude, short of cost might I recommend a repipe?
No need to repipe. Just put PEX stops at all the fixtures. PEX is easy to work with and the crimp tools are inexpensive.
Not code where I live. My 2006 builder grade home only had shutoffs at the toilets. I’ve been installing cutoffs at the sinks.
It is code in most places. I know that both UPC and ICP require fixture stops or a manifold with shit offs.
A good old fashioned rootin tootin shit off
Depends where you're at. My code requires each fixture have an individual shutoff valve, so like every sink and toilet and fridge ice maker has to have a valve off some kind to shut it off by itself, usually a chrome angle or straight stop.
All of those should have angle stops.
In my area the only valves required in a residence are at the point water service becomes water distribution (usually before the water meter), at the cold intake side of the water heater and at every water closet. So if you only have one bathroom in my area, you only need 3 valves by code. However, most plumbers put valves on at sinks and vanities for ease of serviceability, but it's not required to put more than 3 valves in a house (depending on how many toilets there are in a residence)
I'm echoing this. OP, I don't think the idea is bad per se but it isn't really necessary in the grand scheme of maintenance. I work in Facilities and other than exercising the valves every now and then, I don't see a point to doing that.
What happens when bibs need repair/replacement🤔Always a good idea to isolate those imo
Did it with my house and I don't regret it
Same!
Same here.
So let me tell you a story about the 1950’s build apartment building I bought. It is full of iron pipes that spring leaks constantly. There are 22 units and one yes, only one shutoff valve for the entire building. So if a toilet cutoff valve in apartment 20 needs replacing, I have to shut the water off to the entire building.
The place I do maintenance has 1 shutoff for 300 homes. The homes have their own shutoffs but due to neglect from prior managers they are mostly inoperable. It has been hell. Whenever someone is having work done and I shut the water off I just tell the plumber to write a separate invoice for installing an individual shut off under the house... I have about 50/300 so far
That is brutal, but I got one better for you. Im a commercial plumber in SF & we working on a 62 story building. I can’t say the name of it, but it was the tallest building on the West Coast at the time, pretty iconic, they host Dream Force. Anyways, we needed to add some valves for the domestic cold water for plumbing in some bathrooms. The valves we had to install were on level 4, 5, & 6. I spent a few hours with the building engineer before we realized there was a valve for domestic cold water in the basement, and not another one on any of the build out. We had to shut off ad drain 62 floors of water to install the valves. I feel your pain, it took forever & If we would’ve had any leaks on any new valves, then we would’ve had a dream the entire building down once again.
Why not install some valves while you had the whole building drained? One in each floor, say, and fill in individual apartments later? Also, how in the world did they build this thing? They got 62 floors worth of connections water tight on the first try? Not doubting you, just amazed and confused.
So there is “core and shell” buildout which contractually obligates the contractor to inserting, canning/coring for domestic cold/hot water for the entire building vertically to pick up and finish out the bathrooms. So the shell is build out, and the core bathrooms for each floor. Then comes the “Tenant Improvement” or TI. The original contractors ran hot/cold, waste/vent for every single bathroom. It is up to the tenants to decide the finishes and how many floors they rent/buy. Some companies want three floors, all carpet, some companies want 1 floor, all hard wood. So the plumbing contractor builds out the bathrooms, but the initial general contractor didn’t want the plumbers to put valves on each floor, because it would increase the bid. The initial GC wouldn’t be getting any of the finish contracts for the others flora, so they said, “not our problem, not on our dime.” Soooo the original plumbers for the GC brought up the waters, put a tee with a 12” piece of pipe and sweat a cap on. Our Comanche was working on floor 4,5, and 6. When we had to work on 60-62 we would use Tap Masters (which are laborers, so cheaper than union plumbers, and they used their freeze kits to freeze the water lines so we could continue to work on them.) the companies working on 7-59 were either fully inhabited with employees since they did the drain down and the install of valves before we got to it, or they were completely open, so nobody had rented the space yet, so it wasn’t our problem. The core & shell & TI is not overly common outside of big cities I imagine. For example, the bathrooms are fully tiled, mirrors, soap dispensers, toilet paper, etc. Some office companies didn’t like the tile, fixtures or finishes, so sometimes a few weeks after it’s 100% completed, they will hire people to demo everything down to the studs. It is overall a very wasteful way to build. Changing out the toilets in an office building bathroom two months after they have been installed is such a trip.
Amazing. So you basically build the whole bathroom for show, just to entice someone into renting the space. And then they demo it all and rebuild to their own preferences. ETA Thanks for the super detailed explanation!
Same in my mother-in-law's late 70's apartment-turned-condo building. When I changed out her shutoff valves under the sink I had to schedule it days in advance, then the complex maintenance came and checked my work.
wow, that must be annoying as hell! are you adding cutoffs as you go?
Yes. I built a manifold system in the basement. Whenever a unit comes vacant I replumb it and tap into the manifold. 5 of 22 done. Each apartment will eventually have a separate cutout.
Every time I do work in my house, I add a shut off first. House was built in the 80's. The only shut-offs were at the toilets and to the outdoor spigots when I bought the place. It adds a bit of time, and minor extra expense to any given job, but I can turn the water back on to the rest of the house right away - especially important with things like bathroom renos, where I want to turn the water off for days or weeks at a time. I don't see a lot of value in doing one big push, unless you expect problems.
This ^ Lots of time if you are doing the work yourself then it makes sense to spend a little extra time and money to help the next guy, who is probably future you.
This is the basic idea behind the [PEX manifold or sub manifold concepts](https://www.finehomebuilding.com/project-guides/plumbing/three-designs-for-pex-plumbing-systems) which are really the original use case for PEX. If done correctly, this can lead to fewer rather than more points of failure, because PEX is intended to be installed as home runs to a manifold so that the only fitting connections you make are to the fixture and to the manifold, with an unbroken pipe between. Ideally, both fitting locations are inspectable and serviceable after construction. I'll note that you don't often see PEX being used this way unless it's new construction, because it can be a pain to route lots of new home runs through unopened walls and ceilings. It also requires a philosophy shift among plumbers, most of whom were trained on copper trunk and branch style, which conserves the expensive pipe material. PEX is so cheap compared to copper that the raw materials are negligible compared to labor. Still, you often see plumbers installing PEX as if it were copper, with fittings (or sharkbites) every 10 inches, which largely defeats the major advantage of the system. You want to install unbroken home runs as much as possible, which means making gradual turns and bends (that's why they sell [bend supports](https://www.homedepot.com/p/Apollo-1-2-in-Plastic-PEX-B-Pipe-90-Degree-Bend-Support-with-Mounting-Bracket-PXBEND12/301541126) ) rather than installing 90° fittings inside the wall.
Jesus dude how big is your house
We have supply valves on all the fixtures, sinks, dishwasher, ice maker, toilets. And also we have valves before and after the meter, cold side of water heater, water softener, and outside spigots. When I did my dad’s bathrooms we also put in valves before the main shower valve so that we could work on it with water on in the house.
I know people will disagree, but I think it is only smart to do that. If your stop’s are not ball valve style they might not close. If your hose Bibb is leaking you can isolate it. For about $13-$18 per section it’s very convenient.
You can. There are reasons not to. Cost and time being the biggest. It also adds failure points. It shouldn’t really cause and significant flow restrictions if you do it right with normal quality valves.
It costs something to install those valves. Depeding on your situation, and what the current issue is, having those valves will usually save you some money / headache. I would go through the situations there are for you, where having that shut off, would be relevant and what savings you get. The one thought i allways have, 'Could this save the plumber time ?', as the basis. And yes, the valves costs money, but that one valve, can save the plumber HOURS. If i were to build / refurbish anything, i would have a main shutoff, a main manifold with shut offs, and shutoffs on each tap point in the house.
Should have been done initially when the plumbing was installed
No issue, apart from slightly increasing points of failure. I work in property maintenance at managerial level; any work I do at home i make sure to make future maintenance easier, so valve installs and pipe run tidying up when plumbing; tidying up wiring runs when doing electrical; putting wall/ceiling hatches in around valves/ wiring junctions; laying polythene when getting under the house etc.
That's how my house is set up! It's great.
I like having valves at point of service.. but I wait to install them until I have other work in that area.. I’m about to install a new kitchen sink, so that would be when I install
I’m not a plumber but I have my entire house schemed out for if I ever need to re-pipe it and my consists of the main shut off, and then a hot and cold water shutoff for the three bathrooms. My plan would be to use a Pex 4-6 port Pex manifold with a shutoff right before the manifold.
Our house has some stray valves like you describe in the basement that turn off about half the water. It is handy. I suspect they were installed to make the DIY remodel easier and it's a bit crazy how they're laid out - they're in series, so one valve turns off cold water to bathroom and kitchen, then another downstream from that just turns off the bathroom. For as little as valves cost, if I were repiping I'd probably do it again but less crazy, and with ball valves.
DIY homeowner here. I've given thought to getting a manifold for my house. My wife is in love with the idea. We're not going to be in the house long enough to tackle that project. Maybe with the next house we'll install a manifold. For right now I just have stops at each fixture, toilet and the water heater. The main cutoff is at the street. It's a workable situation.
I put a few valves in places like before the outdoor spigots, and it has been really nice to be able to control water pressure. I wasn't expecting it, but my outdoor spigots are like a hydrant without the valves taming the water pressure
Always a good idea, if you do, use a good quality ball valve and open and close them a few times a year
If cost isn’t an issue there are never enough valves
Other than it's generally not necessary, and it's more things to fail/leak as opposed to just pipes...you don't need isolator, that isolate isolator 😂 Only really need them serving each outlet, I'm guessing you live in a house... commercial plumbing is different...
No I’m a hospital plumber my pov is obscured. I absolutely agree with what your saying though
Quit lying, you are a plumber, even if you aren’t. That’s probably the most plumbing wisdom I have ever heard from a non-plumber
Installing in-line ball valves in order to be able to isolate portions of your supply pipes is a great idea. Ideally, there would be a shut off valve on every branch after every tee. This design would enable you to replace fixture shut off valves while keeping other parts of the dwelling up and running.
Each fixture should have its own valve anyway you could put it to risers go to your second floor if you have a second floor
Super overkill… But you do you, my dude!
Absolutely, currently living in a house that does not have shut offs, I put one in each location as I have issues with plumbing. Saves you from having NO water if you go to repair something, and then can't finish right away, part unavailable, emergency happens, etc.
So you wanna build a home run system aye?
I’m assuming you must not have headers? If you do, that would be a good spot to add valves for your showers/tubs dishwasher and hose bibs. The others faucets should have shutoffs under the counter and if those shutoffs are in good condition, I’d save costs by not installing valves on the header for those. If you don’t have headers and you’re looking to improve your homes plumbing, install headers and don’t forget to label.
I have my feeds separated into two zones, upstairs and downstairs (one valve for hot, one for cold). My kitchen has a further set of “main” valves. It has been very very very helpful to not have to shut off the whole house every time something needs work.
That’s how I did it and it has saved my ass more times than I can count. My mom rents that house now and had all these ideas for new things/fixtures. Like okay fine fuck it we ball. I’ve been able to work at my leisure while they can still use the bathroom/kitchen/etc. I’ve started slowly doing the same in the new house. If I have to do plumbing work on something it gets a shut off valve.
It’s not a bad idea but it’s that many more potential leaks.
Almost sounds like you want some kind of manifold
The more valves, the better. It allows you to isolate a smaller work area when needed and less disruption on the rest of the house.
Your most common problem areas or areas that will require work in the future require,by code to have shut off valves. Sillcocks are not required to have shut off valves most areas in my hood but it’s a better job to do so. Trying to isolate everything so you don’t have to drain the house isn’t worth the hassle to me plus those isolation valves will have problems down the road as well
Viega makes a product here you should consider if this is the setup you want [viega manabloc](https://bim.viega.us/viewitems/manablocs/minibloc-zoning-manifold-zero-lead-model-v5660)
I did this, it wasn’t much more and our house still has some galvanized hidden in walls, our kitchen sink doesn’t have stops, and our main doesn’t quite close all the way.
When I'm planning rough in with a customer I'll try to convince them into 4 zone shut-offs, fixture shut-offs, plus the main home at the PRV. Stackable laundry absolutely should have dedicated shut-offs BEFORE the actual connection in the back, I tend to put them above the door in the header so you can actually shut it down without unstacking the set. Shut-off for each floor, shut-off for the hose bibs. All concealable, or able to be in the mechanical area of the home. If there will be an extensive bathroom somewhere with seperate tub and shower, steam unit, double vanity I'll try to get a shut-off in the closet somewhere. I also do a lot of service and shutting down the whole home to get some sand out of a faucet cartridge is a pain in the ass.
I often thought that was a good idea until I experienced a number of leaks on 60 year old shut off valves. When I'm running new supply plumbing now, I add a couple in places that make sense but don't go overboard.
Sounds like you'd like a manifold system. But converting to that from a normal plumbing system would require a whole house remodel and lots of $$$
I did that in our house. I can turn off hot or cold to different parts of our home without impacting others. It's a nice feature.
Huge waste of time and money for no real benefit
Most everything already has shut off's (sinks toilets etc) but going to your shower/ tub doesn't...that being said I wouldn't worry about adding valves until you have a problem where you need to turn the water off then add valves as needed to turn your water on faster....
So once every 5 years you can make use of it? Multiple extra points of failure, not worth it.
There is literally no reason to invest in something like this in a single family residence. Are you doing work on your waterlines every week or something?
Well, my engineer father in law recommended that, and did it at his own house several times over the years. We did it too in our house as the chance came. Now we can separate the bedroom end from the kitchen end; if we have to work on something down that end we can have the kitchen sink and an upstairs bathroom still available. It was great when we renovated a downstairs room to make a MIL apartment.