Can't turn off water to replace kitchen faucet

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Turn off the main and open both hot and cold in the kitchen and see if the the tank drains too. If it does turn off the tank and drain it below the level of the valves you want to work on.
Changing out a fauset is supposed to be fairly easy. You are not having any luck here.
 
It probably hasn't been "exercised" in years - maybe never. You can tap the side of the valve with a wrench a few times and then try it again. Remember that I said "tap" and not "bang".
 
With a helper torqueing the valve shaft in either direction or both and another standing by at some shutoff valve somewhere upstream,
try-
Heating (with a candle flame) or
cooling (freezemist in a can) the valves may free them but I've never tried this, or
whacking them really hard with a screwdriver shaft. The mass of a screwdriver shaft is small so this will limit how much energy you are putting into the valve.

You don't have much to lose at this point.

Then, have a plumber install a few ball valves so you can isolate sections of your house after he/she fixes these valve problems.
 
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Hi all,

Here's a close-up of that ball valve. Do any of you know what kind of ball-valve it is? I'm now just trying to learn more about how this particular ball-valve works:

Thanks :)

005.jpg
 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ball_valve

in short, when the valve handle is in line with the pipe, the valve is open; when you turn the handle 90 degrees (1/4 turn) the valve is closed. Usually, there is a metal tab sticking up next to the handle to prevent the handle from turning more than 90 degrees. In your case, it looks like you should turn the valve to the left (as you are facing the wall), to close it.

Sometimes, they require a little oommph to get started, but as long as the pipes are in good shapes you can give it a little oommph without damaging the valve. A ball valve is generally the better kind of valve to have, so that's a good thing.
 
here is the water system in a nut shell
water comes into house from meter. meter has a valve

at each fixture, there is a valve hot and cold

your water heater has a valve on the cold side only

only time you need to turn off the valve at the wh is when you work on the heater, or if there is a problem in the house on the hot water pipes

turn off the main water meter valve

bleed pressure, the install your new faucet,
 
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