Gio Bella Angle Valves

Most people meet the words angle valve for the first time when a plumber asks for a pair. It is the small isolating valve that sits where the water supply comes out of the wall or the floor, with the inlet and the outlet at right angles to each other, and the braided connector runs from it up to the tap or the toilet cistern. Its whole job is to let you shut the water off to that one fitting without draining the rest of the house. Seventeen are listed here, all under the Gio Plumbing name.

When You Actually Need One

Every tap and every cistern wants a valve on its supply. A basin mixer has a hot tail and a cold tail, so it takes two. A toilet cistern has one cold inlet, so it takes one. Fit them and a dripping mixer or a running cistern is a job you can stop in ten seconds. Leave them out and the same job means finding the main stopcock and shutting down the whole property, which is why plumbers fit them as a matter of course.

Quarter turn refers to the handle travel: ninety degrees takes it from fully open to fully shut, so you can see the state of the valve at a glance instead of counting turns. Ten of the seventeen are quarter turn. There is also a two way valve for a supply point that has to feed two outlets, one valve supplied with a filter, and one sold as a combo with a braided hose. Several are listed under the Benkiser name in the title.

Sizes and Finishes

The sizes that appear in the titles are 15x15mm and 10x15mm, which describe the inlet and outlet connections. Match them to the existing pipework rather than to the tap, and if a title does not state a size, ask us before ordering. On finish, six Gio valves are made to be seen: round and square bodies in brushed nickel, gold and gunmetal grey, with matt black on the plain quarter turns. That matters more than it used to, because a wall hung basin leaves the valve in full view.

What Goes With Them

An angle valve is half of a pair. The other half is the trap: exposed basin plumbing normally runs a valve at the wall and a Gio Bella bottle trap below the basin, matched in the same finish. Basin wastes, bath wastes and spouts are on Gio plumbing and wastes, the pans and cisterns on toilets, and the full range on Gio Bella.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an angle valve?

It is a small isolating valve fitted where the water supply leaves the wall or the floor, with its inlet and outlet set at right angles. The flexible braided connector then runs from the valve up to the tap tail or the cistern inlet. Closing it shuts the water to that one fitting only, so you can work on a tap without shutting down the whole house.

How many angle valves do I need for a basin and a toilet?

A basin mixer has a hot tail and a cold tail, so it normally takes two, one on each supply. A toilet cistern has a single cold inlet, so it takes one. If you are fitting out a full bathroom, count one valve per supply pipe coming out of the wall or floor and you will be close. Your plumber will confirm against the actual layout.

What does quarter turn mean on an angle valve?

The handle moves ninety degrees, a quarter of a full circle, to go from fully open to fully closed. There is no counting turns and no guessing, because the handle position tells you the state of the valve. Ten of the seventeen valves on this page are quarter turn, including all six of the Gio round and square designs.

What size angle valve should I order?

The sizes stated in the titles here are 15x15mm and 10x15mm, referring to the inlet and outlet connections. The right size is set by the existing pipework, not by the tap you are fitting, so measure or ask your plumber first. Where a title does not state a size, contact us and we will confirm it against the supplier listing rather than guess.

Can I replace an angle valve without turning off the mains?

No. The valve isolates everything downstream of it, but not itself. To take one off you have to shut the supply upstream, which usually means the main stopcock for the property. It is a short job once the water is off, but plan for the whole house being without water for the time it takes rather than just the one basin.