Upgrading Old Outdoor Spigots in Alliance Homes

What Older Alliance Spigots Look Like

Original outdoor faucets in older homes are usually standard compression hose bibs. The valve sits right at the outside wall, so any water left in it during a cold snap can freeze. Builders traditionally added a shutoff valve inside the basement so the faucet could be drained for winter, but over the decades that valve may have been removed, buried behind a finished wall or seized in the open position.

The pipe feeding the spigot tells its own story. Some older homes still have galvanized steel lines, which rust from the inside and restrict flow. Others have early copper that has been patched more than once. The faucet may be threaded directly onto a pipe nipple through the rim joist or masonry, without a proper mounting flange.

• Compression hose bibs that drip no matter how hard you close them
• Missing or frozen interior shutoff valves
• Galvanized supply lines with weak flow
• Faucets loose in brick or block walls
• No vacuum breaker to protect the water supply

Why Upgrade to a Frost-Free Faucet

A frost-free sillcock moves the shutoff point several inches inside the house, where it stays warm. When you close the handle, the water in the long body drains out the spout, so there is nothing left at the cold exterior wall to freeze. That eliminates the yearly chore of finding and closing the interior valve, as long as you remember to remove the hose in fall.

Most frost-free models also include a built-in vacuum breaker. That keeps water from a hose, which might be lying in a puddle or attached to a sprayer, from siphoning back into your home's drinking water.

Repair Options for Spigots Worth Keeping

Not every old faucet needs replacing. If the body is sound and the problem is a drip from the spout, a new washer and seat can stop it. If water leaks around the handle while the faucet is on, the packing around the stem is worn and can be replaced or tightened. We can also install an interior shutoff valve where one is missing so a standard spigot can be winterized properly.

If the faucet body is cracked, the threads are stripped, or parts are no longer available, replacement is the better choice.

Dealing With the Pipe Behind the Wall

When we replace a spigot in an older Alliance house, we look closely at the line feeding it. Galvanized pipe can be replaced with copper or PEX back to a solid connection point, which improves flow at the hose and removes a rust-prone section. Our Alliance copper piping service and PEX work in Alliance cover those runs.

For brick and block walls, we size the sillcock to the wall thickness, seal the opening and anchor the faucet so it does not move when a hose is pulled.

How the Job Goes

We start with a free estimate, checking the faucet, the interior pipe and the shutoff situation. You approve the specifications, including the faucet type, length and any piping changes. Then we install or repair it and do a quality inspection, running water through the faucet and checking for leaks inside and out.

If an old spigot has already leaked into a wall or basement, our leak repair team in Alliance can assess the damage. More on faucet types and winter care is on our Stark County outdoor faucet page. We also serve Sebring, Beloit, Damascus, North Georgetown and Deerfield.