Adding an Outdoor Faucet

Plan the installation

1. Pick the spot

   Consider the distance to a supply line, how far the hose needs to reach, drainage along the wall, and room to turn the handle and attach a hose.

2. Confirm the parts

   The pipe material, the faucet type (standard or frost-free), the shutoff valve, the wall construction, and local backflow rules decide which fittings you need.

3. Protect the water supply

   Shut off the water and open a faucet to relieve pressure before cutting into a line. Give the new branch its own shutoff valve you can reach, and put a vacuum breaker on the hose connection.

Mount and support the faucet

Make the connection the way the pipe and fitting manufacturers specify. Fasten the faucet firmly to the wall so pulling on a hose does not twist the pipe behind it.

Seal the hole where the pipe comes through the wall in a way that suits the siding, stucco, or block. A poor seal lets water and insects, termites included, into the wall even when the pipe joint is sound.

Test before regular use

Turn the water back on slowly and check every joint you can reach, and the faucet body, for leaks. Try the shutoff, the faucet, and a hose, and watch for movement at the wall.

Do not cover a new connection until it has been checked under normal water pressure.

Maintain and protect it

Check the faucet and nearby pipe now and then for drips, corrosion, and movement; salt air speeds up corrosion near the Gulf. Before a hard freeze, disconnect the hose and cover the faucet. A frost-free faucet drains itself only when it was installed sloping down toward the outside and the hose is off.