Key Takeaway
Replace an outdoor faucet when it drips with the handle closed, leaks from the handle or the wall, sprays when you turn it on, spins without shutting off, or is an older standard hose bib on a wall that sees hard freezes. A frost-free hose bib has its valve inside the heated part of the house, so the pipe outside drains when you shut it off, but only if the hose is disconnected. The Portland Water Bureau advises homeowners to disconnect hoses from outdoor faucets and cover them before freezing weather. Replacement usually means cutting into the supply pipe inside the wall or crawl space and sealing the wall penetration. SKS Plumbing is open 7 days a week. Call (503) 319-9348.
Replace an outdoor faucet when it drips with the handle shut, leaks from the handle or the wall, sprays when you turn it on, or spins without stopping the water. If it is an older standard hose bib on a wall that freezes, swapping it for a frost-free model before winter saves a far bigger repair later.
Fall is the time to check, while you are putting the hose away for the season in Hillsboro, Forest Grove or Banks. Here is how to tell whether yours needs replacing and what the job involves.
How a Frost-Free Hose Bib Works
A standard hose bib has its valve right at the faucet, on the outside of the wall. When you shut it off, water stays in the pipe up to the faucet, out in the cold.
A frost-free hose bib (sometimes called a frost-proof sillcock) has a long stem that runs through the wall. The valve sits at the inside end, 4 to 14 inches back, in the heated part of the house. When you close the handle, the water stops inside, and the short section outside drains out through the spout. It only works when it is installed with a slight slope toward the outside, and when nothing is screwed onto the end.
Signs Your Outdoor Faucet Needs Replacing
- It drips from the spout when it is off. The washer or seat at the valve end is worn. On many frost-free models that part is hard to reach and not worth rebuilding.
- Water leaks from the handle when it is on. The packing around the stem has worn out. Sometimes a repair, often a sign of an old faucet.
- Water sprays or runs behind the faucet, or shows up inside. The stem has split, usually from a freeze. Look for water on the crawl space floor, a damp spot on the wall or ceiling inside, or a faucet that runs weak while water goes somewhere else. Shut off the water to that faucet right away.
- The handle spins and the water does not stop. The stem is stripped or broken inside. It needs replacing.
- Cracks or heavy corrosion on the body. Brass that is cracked or green and crusted at the wall is near the end.
- It is a standard hose bib on an exposed wall. If it has frozen before, or it is on the north side of the house where it sees the hardest freezes, a frost-free model is worth the swap even if it is not leaking yet.
Why the Hose Is the Usual Culprit
Most frost-free hose bibs that freeze were not faulty. A hose was left on. The connected hose holds water in the stem, so the faucet cannot drain, and when the temperature drops the trapped water freezes inside the wall and splits the pipe. Nothing leaks until the next time someone turns the faucet on, often months later.
The Portland Water Bureau's winter checklist for homeowners says to "disconnect hoses from outdoor faucets" and to "cover outdoor faucets and hose bibs with insulating covers to lower the risk of your pipes freezing." It also advises: "If you have a separate outdoor water shutoff valve, turn off water to outdoor faucets," then "open each outdoor spigot to drain the remaining water from the pipes." (Portland Water Bureau, Prepare for Winter) That advice applies just as much in Hillsboro and the rest of Washington County, where a few hard freezes each winter are enough to split a pipe.
Our guide to preventing frozen pipes covers the rest of the house.
Repair or Replace?
Repair is worth trying on a standard hose bib with a simple drip, where a new washer or packing nut is easy to reach. On a frost-free model, the washer sits at the far end of the stem inside the wall. Some brands sell a stem kit, but on an older faucet, or one that has frozen, a new hose bib is usually the better use of the visit.
Always replace it if the body is cracked, the stem is split, or water has shown up anywhere inside the house.
What Hose Bib Replacement Involves
We shut off the water that feeds the faucet, then open up access from the inside, usually through the crawl space, a basement ceiling or a garage wall. We cut out the old hose bib, choose a frost-free model long enough to put the valve inside the heated space, and connect it to the supply pipe. It goes in with a slight downward slope toward the outside so it drains every time it is shut off.
Outside, we seal the wall penetration against air and water. Then we turn the water back on and check the connection inside and the faucet outside for leaks. If the old faucet split inside the wall, we also check the framing and insulation around it for water damage.
Many frost-free hose bibs now come with a built-in vacuum breaker, a small cap on top that stops garden water being siphoned back into the house supply. If yours does not have one, ask us about it when we replace the faucet.
Get Your Outdoor Faucet Ready for Winter
SKS Plumbing repairs and replaces hose bibs and outdoor faucets as part of our outdoor plumbing service, across Hillsboro, Forest Grove, Banks and the rest of Washington County. If you suspect a faucet has already leaked inside the wall, our leak detection service can find out where the water went.
We are open seven days a week. Call (503) 319-9348, or book a visit for a free estimate.
Frequently Asked Questions
A regular hose bib has its shutoff valve right at the faucet on the outside wall, so the water sits in the pipe where it can freeze. A frost-free hose bib has a long stem that puts the valve 4 to 14 inches inside the wall, in the heated space. When you close it, the short length of pipe outside drains out through the spout.
Yes. The most common cause is a hose left connected. The hose holds water in the stem, so the valve cannot drain, and the trapped water freezes and splits the pipe inside the wall. A hose bib installed without a slight downward slope toward the outside, or one on an uninsulated wall in a hard freeze, can also freeze.
Often you only find out in spring, the first time you turn it on. Water sprays or pours from behind the faucet, appears on the crawl space floor or the ceiling below, or the faucet runs with low flow while water goes somewhere else. Shut the faucet off and close the valve that feeds it, or the main, and call a plumber.
Sometimes. A drip from the spout can be a worn washer or seat, and a leak from the handle can be the packing. On a frost-free hose bib those parts sit at the far end of the long stem, and many models are not worth rebuilding. A cracked body or a split stem always means a new hose bib.
If one is already dripping, leaking or is an older standard hose bib on an exposed wall, yes. A repair in October is a simple outdoor job. A hose bib that splits in a January freeze can leak into the wall or crawl space for days before anyone notices.
