Fixing the Leaky Spigot

Fixing the Backyard Spigot

I did it! I crawled under my house, managing to not get too creeped out and fixed one of my leaking spigots. I say one because I couldn't keep the creeps at bay long enough to pull myself, on my belly, to the other side of the crawl space to fix the other spigot. (In fact, I'm already trying to figure out how to open up the brick wall in the front of the house to create a second access panel—rather than attempt to crawl completely under the house.)

But I fixed one of them! And it only took me 35 minutes and cost me $36 to do it!

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A month or so back, I called in a plumbing service to give me an estimate for replacing both the front and back spigots. They charged me $80 to have two young gentlemen come out, stand in my back yard (without even looking at the spigots or the underside of my house) and give me an estimate of $1,000.

You Want How Much?

I tried to hide my incredulity, but I doubt I was successful because I remember thinking, "Nicki, you should really close your mouth, it's been open for far too long and they're starting to look a little concerned."

I managed to pull myself together and admit to them that that was twice as much as I was willing to pay. (Even the thought of paying someone $500 made me break out into a cold sweat.)

Fast forward to last weekend when I'm pricing out materials and find out that Lowe's has 2 of the sill cocks I'd been coveting on clearance for $14 each (regularly $40). I nabbed them, along with some 1/2 inch Pex tubing, a couple of push-to-fit fittings, and a 1/2 inch pipe cutter. Total cost for everything was less than $100.

Price Breakdown:

• 10 inch Shark Bite anti-syphon sill cock = $14 (x2 = $28)
• 5 foot Pex 1/2 inch tubing = $6
• Push to fit Shark Bite fitting = $12 (x2 = $24)
• 1/2 inch pipe cutter = $19

Total materials cost = $77 (+ tax)

Total time it took me, a complete novice, to fix one spigot: 35 minutes.

The How-To of It All

I wasn't sure what I'd find under my house. It was built in 1954 and I wasn't sure if there would be a shut off valve for each of the spigots (or if I'd have to crawl under the house to find the whole house shut off valve).

Thankfully, the backyard spigot is located within three feet of the crawl space access, so I didn't have to venture in too far.

(Apologies for not taking pictures, but I was concentrating on getting in and getting out.)

Here are the steps:

1. Find the water shut off valve, and turn the water off.
2. Open the spigot valve to let out any excess water.
3. Measure your replacement sill cock, then measure in the same distance from your wall. If you're using Pex tubing, you can cut your pipes a little deeper into the house and make up the difference with the Pex. 
• Otherwise, you'll need to know how thick the outer wall and any joists that the original sill cock had to go through, then subtract that measurement from the overall distance.  
• Example: Your sill cock is 10 inches long. Your outer wall and rim joist are 4 3/4 inches thick. 10 - 4 3/4 = 5 1/4 inches. 
• Measure your fitting. In the case of push-to-fit fittings, you'll need to know how deeply the pipe inserts into the fitting... this is where math can get complicated and trip people up—which is why I opted to use the Pex. It makes the whole task SO MUCH easier.
4. Cut your pipe with the pipe cutter & remove your old sill cock.
5. Insert the new sill cock (making sure the hose connection is facing down).
6. Push the push-to-fit fitting on the cut pipe, making sure it's pushed in completely.
7. Measure the distance between the sill cock and the fitting, add about an inch to the measurement and cut your Pex.
8. Push the Pex into your fitting and the end of the sill cock.
9. Turn on the shut off valve slowly and watch for leaks. If there are leaks, turn off the shut off valve and push your Pex into the fittings a bit more.
10. On the outside of the house, make sure you screw your new spigot into the support structure / house, so the pipes don't twist when turning the spigot on and off.

That's really it. I was a bit leery of the push-to-fit fittings holding, but so far they're golden. I popped my head back in through the access door just to make sure nothing was leaking, and it's maintaining the seal like a pro.