When I had a plumbing problem two weeks ago, I looked in my condo for a water cutoff valve. On a wall inside a coat closet, there was a water meter, associated pipes and a locked box. I was never given a key. The condo management didn’t have a key, nor did the previous owner. Finally, the plumber forced it open (unfortunately, he didn’t break the lock) and there was the cutoff valve, along with guess what?
Before the box got opened, my engineer son commented, “What kind of idiot puts the water cutoff valve inside a locked box?” Well now I can top his question. What kind of idiot puts the key to a locked box inside it? Well now the condo managers can answer other occupants. The condo opened only in 2013, so perhaps I am the first person with this experience.
My five year old son has a little box with a padlock and a key and he keeps the key in the box (or he did until he lost it). The box will open a tiny bit when locked so he can put the key in (or shake it out when he wants to open it).
Any chance your condo was previously owned or managed by a five year old?
Well, I suppose if the water cutoff was on the outside of the building putting it in a locked box would prevent random people from messing with it, and doing things like pranking you by shutting off your water while you’re in the shower.
But it sounds like your cutoff valve is inside your unit. So I have no idea. Maybe it was a case of “that’s how we always do it”, ie. the plumbing company that installed it always puts the cutoff valves in locked boxes because they’re usually on the outside of the building, and didn’t think to do it any differently in this case. Or could there be some building code that requires it be in a locked box, and makes no exception for when they’re inside the building? But yes, I know this thread is really about where they put the key to the box.
And now I just realized that the water shutoff for my house is right out front, where anyone could mess with it if they wanted.
