Install an Outdoor Faucet

Overview: Pipes, costs and savings

If you have to stretch out a 50-ft. hose every time you water plants or wash the car, a new outdoor faucet in the right spot could make your summer chores a lot more convenient. To install one, all it takes is a few hours of your time and a little know-how.

This article will provide that know-how, showing you how to drill a hole in an exterior wall, mount the new faucet and connect it to an existing water line inside your home. If you have some plumbing experience, it's an easy project. If you're a plumbing novice, don't let that stop you. Our Web site covers the basics, which aren't included in this article. The steps we show apply to a house with a basement or crawl space. If your home is built on a concrete slab, the process is different. We show copper pipe here, but the job is almost identical if you have plastic pipe. Connecting new pipe to old galvanized steel pipe requires extra steps that we won't cover here, though the rest of the project is similar. For help working with plastic or galvanized pipe, type those words into the search box above.

Everything you need is available at home centers and hardware stores. You'll need basic plumbing tools and a drill (a hammer drill if you have a brick exterior). If you use copper pipe and a brass ball valve, this project will cost about $50. If you use plastic (CPVC), you'll spend $30 or less. A professional plumber would charge at least $120 to complete the simple installation shown here. Before you start work, call your local inspections department and ask if you need a permit for this project.

Step 1: Find a convenient faucet location

To install an outdoor faucet, you need to cut an existing water line, install a “tee” and run a new branch of pipe to the new faucet (lead photo). In a home with an unfinished basement or crawl space, the exposed plumbing and open joists make this a straightforward plumbing project that takes less than a day. If your home is built on a concrete slab or you have a finished basement, you’ll probably have to cut into walls or ceilings. This is a bigger, more difficult job and the repair work can add a day or two to the project.

If you have easy access to several water lines, choose the one that offers the most convenient path for the new branch, usually the line closest to the new faucet. You can tee into a 1/2-in. pipe, but a larger (3/4-in.) line will deliver higher pressure to the new faucet (and some codes require 3/4-in. pipe). If you have a water softener, it's preferable to tee into your water supply before it reaches the softener; this avoids wasted salt and an unnecessary load on the softener. Be sure to choose a cold water line! Either trace the pipe back to the water meter or water heater to make sure. Or turn on a faucet to run water through the pipe—if the pipe feels warm, choose a different pipe.

Step 2: Buy a frost-proof, vacuum-breaker faucet and other materials

When you’ve determined the best tee-in point and the pathway of the new pipe, make up a shopping list. You’ll need pipe that matches the diameter of the existing water line, an elbow fitting for each turn in the new branch, a tee and a “slip” coupler. Also buy a ball valve that has a drain port so you can easily shut off the water when the time comes to repair the faucet (hopefully never!). Choose a faucet (aka “hose bib” or “sill cock”) that’s connected to a long pipe. The long pipe on a “freeze-proof” faucet places the faucet’s valve far inside the house. That way, the pipe empties each time you shut off the water, so it won’t freeze and burst the pipe in winter. If the store carries several lengths, choose the longest one and be sure it matches the diameter of your existing pipe (1/2 or 3/4 in.). The faucet must include a vacuum breaker (photo) to prevent water from flowing backward into the house and contaminating your water supply.

Before you leave the store, measure the diameter of the faucet pipe’s threaded end and buy a spade bit that’s about 1/8 in. larger. If screws aren’t included with the faucet, buy two No. 10 x 2-in. stainless steel screws. If you have a brick exterior, buy No. 8 x 1-in. screws and 1/4-in. plastic wall anchors.

Step 3: Install the faucet from the outside

Begin by drilling a 1/4-in. hole through the rim joist and wall from inside to mark the faucet location outside. If you have brick or stucco, drill with a standard bit first and finish with a masonry bit. For brick, you’ll need a masonry bit at least 6 in. long. Then drill a full-size hole from outside using the 1/4-in. hole as a pilot hole. If you have wood, hardboard or fiber cement siding, simply drill through the siding and rim joist with a spade bit (Photo 2).

Here’s how to handle different exterior materials:

Vinyl siding: Cut a rectangular hole for a faucet block (find vinyl materials at home centers) by making several passes with a sharp utility knife. “Unzip” the lower edge of the siding with a zip tool and slip the block into place (Photo 1). Reattach the siding and drill the faucet hole with the spade bit, using the hole in the block as a guide.

Stucco: Mark a circle on the wall slightly larger than your spade bit. Drill a series of holes (without space between them) around the perimeter of the circle using a 1/4-in. masonry bit. Chip out the stucco with a 1/2-in. masonry chisel and cut the metal lath with wire cutters. Then drill through the rim joist with the spade bit.

Brick: Using a hammer drill, bore holes in a circle just as with stucco. Also drill several holes inside the circle. Then chip out the hole with a masonry chisel. Finally, drill through the rim joist with the spade bit.

With the hole complete, insert the faucet and fasten it with mounting screws (Photo 2). If you have overlapping siding (wood, hardboard or fiber cement), be sure to use the tapered plastic shim that comes with the faucet. Slipped behind the faucet flange, the shim prevents the faucet pipe from tilting downward inside the house. The pipe must be level or tip slightly toward the outside so the water drains out.

Step 4: Connect the faucet to the pipes inside

Solder a section of pipe to a female threaded fitting. The pipe can be short or long, depending on where you want to locate the ball valve later. Screw the fitting onto the faucet pipe (Photo 3). For a leak-proof connection, wrap the threaded end of the faucet pipe with Teflon tape and then coat the tape with pipe thread compound. When you tighten the fitting, be sure to hold back the faucet pipe with a second wrench—otherwise you’ll turn the spout outside.

Next, slip the ball valve onto the pipe and extend the new branch line toward the existing water line. If you’re building a short, simple branch with copper pipe as we show here, it’s usually fastest to “dryfit” the parts first. When the whole branch is complete and connected to the old pipe, disassemble it, clean and flux the parts, then reassemble and solder it all at once. A longer or more complex branch may fall apart as you add parts to it, so you’ll have to solder some of the joints as you go.

When the new branch reaches the existing water line, shut off the water at the main valve to your home and drain the line by turning on the lowest faucet in the house (usually a basement or outdoor faucet). Leave this faucet on until you’re done soldering.

Mark the old pipe and cut out a 6-in.section. Keep a bucket handy to catch any water trapped in the line. For successful soldering later, it’s vital that you drain all the water out of the pipe. If necessary, remove the pipe supports and tilt down the cut ends to drain water out.

Slip the tee onto one of the cut ends of the old pipe (Photo 4) and slide a “slip” coupler completely onto the other. Then cut and install a short section of “patchpipe” to span the gap between the tee and the old pipe (Photo 5). Slide the coupler halfway over the patch pipe. You must use a slip coupler in order to insert the short patch pipe.

Solder all the joints, starting at the slip coupler and working toward the ball valve. Let the solder joints cool and then turn on the water at the main valve and check for leaks. Turn on the outdoor faucet and let it run for two minutes to flush any sediment out of the pipes. From inside, use silicone caulk to seal around the faucet pipe where it passes through the rim joist. Don’t leave a garden hose connected to the faucet in freezing temperatures. The hose won’t allow the faucet pipe to drain, and it could freeze and burst.

For more details type “solder copper pipe”, “plastic pipe”, “steel pipe”, and “vinyl siding tools” in the search box above.