Can I just replace the washer?

Sometimes. If the faucet is newer and the seat inside is smooth, a washer fixes the drip. If it's been dripping for a while, scale has usually scored the seat and the washer won't seal.

Why is there a little cap on my outdoor faucet, and why does it spit?

That's the vacuum breaker. It keeps hose water out of your drinking water. It spits a little when you shut the faucet off, which is normal. If it sprays constantly, it's worn and gets replaced.

Do I need to shut off the water to the house?

For a replacement, yes, briefly. Most houses have a main shutoff near the front hose bib or at the meter. We'll show you where yours is.

Outdoor Faucet and Hose Bib Repair in Phoenix

The faucet on the side of the house that drips, sprays from the handle, or won't shut off. Repaired or replaced.

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Arizona ROC #366903 · Licensed, Bonded & Insured

An outdoor faucet takes more abuse than any other in the house. It sits in the sun, hoses yank on it, and Phoenix water leaves scale inside it. When it drips at the spout, sprays from the handle, or spins without shutting off, it's usually cheaper to replace than to rebuild. The scale that ruined the old one will get to the new one too, but a decent brass faucet lasts a long time.

What goes wrong

Drips from the spout when it's off. The rubber washer inside has worn. On some faucets the washer can be replaced. On most, by the time the washer is gone, the seat it closes against is scored by scale, and the faucet gets replaced.
Sprays from the handle when it's on. The packing around the stem has dried out. Tightening the packing nut under the handle stops it sometimes. New packing or a new faucet stops it for good.
Handle spins and nothing happens. The stem has stripped or snapped. That's a replacement.
Leaks behind the wall. A faucet that's been hit by a lawn mower or yanked by a hose can crack the pipe behind the stucco. Water runs into the wall and shows up as a stain or a soft spot. The stucco gets opened, the pipe repaired, and the faucet remounted, then the stucco gets patched to match.

What a replacement involves

Most Phoenix hose bibs are threaded onto a pipe or soldered to copper. A threaded one unscrews and a new one goes on. A soldered one gets cut and a new one soldered or fitted with a push-on connection. Either way, the water to the house is off for a short while.

The new faucet gets a quarter-turn ball valve where there's room, since those don't wear the way washer faucets do, and a vacuum breaker on the spout. That's the small cap that keeps hose water from being sucked back into the house supply. Newer faucets have it built in.

Frost and heat

Phoenix gets a few freezing nights most winters, and an outdoor faucet with a hose still attached can split when the water in it freezes. Take hoses off on freezing nights. The split often doesn't show until spring, when the faucet gets turned on and water runs inside the wall.

Summer is the other problem. A hose left in the sun holds water hot enough to scald, and the first blast from it burns. Cheap plastic faucets and splitters also crack in the heat. Brass lasts.

Adding a faucet where there isn't one

Most houses have two outdoor faucets, front and back, and the backyard one is often in the wrong spot. A new one can be added off an existing line where it runs along an exterior wall. Running a new line across the yard or under the slab is bigger work, and the quote says so.

Problems we fix on this page

Outdoor faucet leaking
Outdoor faucet handle broken
Outdoor faucet won't shut off
Water leaking behind the hose bib
Want a new outdoor faucet in the same spot

How it starts

Send a photo of the faucet, one from a few feet back showing the wall, and tell us what it's doing. You'll have a fixed price before anyone shows up. Levi does the work himself.

Questions

Can I just replace the washer?: Sometimes. If the faucet is newer and the seat inside is smooth, a washer fixes the drip. If it's been dripping for a while, scale has usually scored the seat and the washer won't seal.
Why is there a little cap on my outdoor faucet, and why does it spit?: That's the vacuum breaker. It keeps hose water out of your drinking water. It spits a little when you shut the faucet off, which is normal. If it sprays constantly, it's worn and gets replaced.
Do I need to shut off the water to the house?: For a replacement, yes, briefly. Most houses have a main shutoff near the front hose bib or at the meter. We'll show you where yours is.

Ready to get it fixed?

Tell us what needs doing. Quotes are free. We usually reply within minutes, and always within 24 hours.