Outdoor Faucet Repair for Newmarket Homes

Service

Outdoor Faucet Repair

Category

Fixtures and appliances

Where

Newmarket and nearby York Region

Booking

By telephone

Clues that point to outdoor faucet repair

• Water dripping from the spout with the handle closed.
• Water inside the basement wall when you use the hose in spring.
• A tap that will not turn, or spins without stopping.
• Low flow from the outside tap only.
• An old-style tap with an inside shut-off you always forget.

Our method, in order

A frost-free tap has a long stem that seals the valve inside the heated wall, so water never sits in the part exposed to cold. It works only if it is installed with a slight slope toward the outside and if the hose is removed in winter.

1. Shut the water and open the tap to drain.
2. Remove the old tap, cutting the pipe back to sound material.
3. Install a frost-free tap of the right length for the wall, sloped to drain.
4. Add a vacuum breaker if the tap does not include one, to stop garden water being pulled back into the house.
5. Seal the wall penetration against air and water.
6. Test on and off and check for leaks inside.

Newmarket houses and this job

Many houses built before the 1990s have standard outdoor taps with a separate shut-off in the basement, often behind a finished ceiling or wall. When that shut-off is forgotten, the tap freezes. Upgrading to a frost-free model removes the annual chore.

Some homes in newer neighbourhoods, such as Summerhill Estates and Copper Hills, have frost-free taps already but run them with a hose splitter or timer attached through late fall. The spring call that follows is common.

Fall checklist

• Disconnect hoses and splitters.
• Close inside shut-offs on older taps and drain them.
• Look for drips at the inside end of the tap.

Booking a repair

Call to replace or repair an outside tap. Our circular on winterizing outdoor taps covers the autumn routine, and frozen pipe thawing is there if you caught it too late.