Outdoor spigots provide an easy and convenient way to access fresh water outside your home. Designed for the attachment of a standard water hose, a spigot is essential for watering your lawn and garden or washing your car. Over time, however, the outdoor spigot can begin to malfunction and fail.
A dripping faucet or a faucet that sprays from multiple crevices is a drain on natural resources and on your wallet. While a misting spray looks nice, it’s much more useful when used in a controlled garden environment where the water is aimed at plants and not on the wall of your house.
When it is time to replace a worn or broken spigot, you’ll need to select a replacement.
Types of Outdoor Spigots
The most common outdoor spigot is the hose bib style. With this design, the valve is located beneath the spigot handle and exposed to the outdoors—including inclement weather such as snow, ice and severe freezing temperatures.
Spigots that fit snug against the wall are called sill faucets. Hose bib and sill faucets are similar because both have threads allowing a garden hose to be attached. With a hose bib, the water pipe remains outside the building, and with a sill faucet, the water pipe is fitted inside the wall. It’s insulated against freezing weather with only the faucet handle exposed.
Installing a New Spigot
Replacing an existing spigot is easy enough for an experienced plumber. The task becomes much more difficult when the homeowner wants to install a new spigot or move a spigot that is placed in an inconvenient location. This type of installation requires the plumber to locate and tap into an existing water line in close proximity to the new location outside of the home. Often, this entails digging a trench from the existing water line and running a new water pipe to the new spigot location. Because replacing or installing a water spigot requires some degree of plumbing experience, the task is best left to the professionals.
For answers to your questions, contact the Pink Plumber today.
Image source: Flickr
