Project details
Skill
3 out of 5ModerateRequires mid-level plumbing skills
Cost
About $40 to $60, depending on amount of new piping
Estimated Time
4 to 6 hours
In this video, This Old House plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey adds a new spigot.
Steps for Installing a Water Spigot Outside
- Drill ¼-inch-diameter hole through house siding and rim joist. Be sure hole falls between two floor joists in basement.
- Now enlarge the ¼-inch hole with 1⅜-inch-diameter self-feeding wood-boring bit.
- From inside the basement, buff-clean a nearby water-supply pipe with a strip of emery cloth. Cut the cleaned pipe with a tubing cutter. Use a bucket to catch water that drains from pipe.
- Run new copper tubing from the just-cut water-supply pipe to the 1⅜-inch-diameter faucet hole. Secure pipe to the house framing with copper bell hangers.
- Clean and flux all pipe ends and fittings, then solder the joints with a propane torch and lead-free solder.
- From outside, wrap plumber’s putty around the flange on the outdoor faucet.
- Insert the faucet into the 1⅜-inch-diameter hole and press it tightly to the house.
- Fasten the faucet by driving two 2-inch-long weather-resistant screws through the flange and into the house.
- Remove any excess plumber’s putty that squeezes out from behind the flange.
- From inside, solder the final plumbing connection joining the faucet to the new water-supply pipe.
