Q: I had to turn off the water supply valve at the top of my water heater. So I turned it, but it kept on turning and turning without shutting off the water. A neighbor of mine said it is a gate valve ...

Knowing how to shut off your power and your pipes (and turn them back on) is a matter of safety and practicality. Let’s learn how to do it.

He had an old gate valve at the water heater, and the gate valve was fouled - it shut off most of the water, but most isn't good enough. A gate valve has a round handle on it, and shuts off the flow ...