How To Add A Water Faucet Outside

When I moved to a rural area, I had to learn how to do my own plumbing. It's proven a truly rewarding (and upkeep-friendly!) skill.

Watering Line Installation Basics

Plumbing in an outdoor spigot—or a second spigot, if your existing spigot isn't convenient for watering certain areas—is piece of cake if your existing plumbing lines are CPVC (plastic). Only attach the new spigot to an outside wall and run ½" CPVC water pipe to an existing common cold-water line.

Plumbing with CPVC is as easy as playing with Tinker Toys. Most fittings are put together with mucilage. Pipes are piece of cake to cut to the needed lengths using your regular power tools.

Since in about cases h2o lines run under the floor, the biggest aggravation to putting in a new outdoor spigot is drilling a couple of ¾" holes in the flooring. I advise placing the spigot merely to a higher place floor level, running a new cold-water line under the floor, and splicing the new cold-water line to the spigot into an existing cold-h2o line. Preferably, this splice or attachment to an existing cold-water line would be made at the kitchen or bathroom sink, adjacent to the water heater or washing machine, since cold-water lines emerge above the flooring at these places.

Where to Connect the New Water Line

The new h2o line running to the outdoor spigot could actually be spliced into the existing cold water line at whatsoever point—bearing in mind, of course, that no cut may be made at any point between the curb/meter and your primary shut-off. If you are splicing in the new line (and hence, cutting an existing line) anywhere near the main shut-off, be sure y'all practice it to a higher place the main shut-off.

Remember, your domicile's water service comes from the curb or a meter at the curb. This principal water line (the intake) is joined to your home'south cold-water line by a special fitting. Immediately after this fitting, in that location is a main shut-off valve. When airtight, the chief close-off shuts off all h2o to your house. You use this to shut off the water supply from the curb when y'all need to practise piece of work on the plumbing, or in an emergency if a water line breaks. If y'all cut the line anywhere between the main shut-off and the curb/meter, you will take no fashion of turning off the resulting geyser of h2o—except at the meter at the curb, which is likely to require a special tool. Y'all don't want this to happen.

In order to plumb in an outdoor spigot, y'all volition first demand to locate your common cold water line. Take intendance to distinguish betwixt the hot-h2o and the cold-water lines. If your hot and cold h2o lines are non labeled, this is a practiced time to label them—or at least the ones you lot will exist working around. A Sharpie works well.

The cold-water line runs the length of your firm, branching off to supply cold water, first (ordinarily) to the water heater, and to supply cold water to each of the other plumbing equipment in your habitation. It helps to realize that each fixture is supplied by a branch from the chief cold-water line.

When you plumb in an outdoor spigot, what you are doing is creating a new co-operative from the common cold-water line.

Can the water line to the spigot be spliced into one of the branches that feed, say, the bathroom or kitchen sink? Certain! In fact, yous will discover that it is best to splice the new line to the spigot into one of these branches:

The cold-water line under the bathroom or kitchen sink.
Adjacent to the water heater or washing machine.

The primary reason for joining the new line in a place to a higher place the floor is that it will enable you to hands access the shut-off to the spigot line. Like all other plumbing fixtures, the spigot line should take a shut-off valve.

If you splice the spigot line into the cold-water line under the kitchen sink and put a shut-off valve there, you can plough off the water to the spigot in the fall only by reaching into the chiffonier under the sink. (No crawling under the house to get to the close-off.)

Roll to Continue

Choose the Spigot Location

The start pace to planning this project is to decide where you want your new outdoor spigot. And so decide which higher up-the-floor cold h2o line is nearest to where you volition put your new spigot.

Since I am suggesting that the spigot be attached to an exterior wall just higher up flooring level, you will too want to think about the location of the new spigot from this standpoint. A few inches of plumbing line will be visible inside the business firm.

Yous may want to locate the spigot then that the short line that emerges from the floor to pass through the outside wall to the spigot is in an inconspicuous location, such as a closet or laundry room or inside a cabinet. If this isn't possible, given where you want to locate the spigot, yous may want to consider battle it in with small-dimension lumber to conceal it.

This small slice of pipe must pass through the wall about one ½"-ii" above flooring level in guild to articulate the wall plate. Merely fifty-fifty if you tin't locate this in an camouflaged spot, this small (about ii") piece of pipe should be barely noticeable in whatsoever case.

Running the Water Line Inside the Firm

Information technology may be possible—or even desirable—not to run this new line under the house, however. Why not run the new water line above the floor, inside the house? One reason, of grade, is that a blank water line running along a wall might be unsightly, but it could be concealed by battle it in with small-scale-dimension lumber. Likewise, you may exist able to live with a brusk run of an exposed water line in a utility room or closet.

Doing the task this way will make the job much easier; there will be no need to drill holes in the floor, for starters, or to crawl under the firm.

It may even be possible to run the new water line inside a cupboard or chiffonier, where information technology won't be visible.

Actually, some people run all their plumbing lines indoors. It solves many bug: Lines are less probable to freeze inside the house, and when it's time to work on the plumbing, there is no need to clamber under the house to do it. Anyone who lives in a common cold climate who has spent much time crawling through puddles of ice-h2o nether the house to fix a broken pipage will immediately see the reward of being able to practice any needed piece of work indoors, where it's warm and dry. Moving all water lines indoors is possible and tin can help prevent frozen pipes.

This diagram shows the water line to the spigot passing through the wall to the inside of the business firm, and so turning to pass through a ¾" hole in the floor. Find that the brusque piece of pipage and the elbow are against an interior wall, where they volition be visible inside the house.

This diagram shows how the new line will be connected to an existing above-the-flooring cold-h2o line. Fittings (one T and one elbow) are shaded light-green. The shut-off valve will require one male adapter at each end. Notice that you will probably have to drill a new hole in the floor for the line to the spigot to laissez passer through. Drill this hole using your electrical drill with a ¾" spade bit.

What You'll Need

The plan hither is to use ½" CPVC water lines to plumb in the spigot. If your existing cold-water lines are PVC, and then it will exist more convenient to do this job with PVC water lines. PVC is oft used for cold-h2o lines, and CPVC for hot-h2o lines. I prefer to utilise CPVC for both, but that'southward just me.

CPVC water lines tin be attached to existing copper water lines, but this volition require a CPVC to metal transition fittings. This is a subject to discuss with the guys in the plumbing alley.

The supply list assumes that you lot are using CPVC lines and fittings for this job. If you program to utilize PVC lines and fittings (considering your existing cold-water lines are PVC), y'all can still use this supply list; simply become PVC instead of CPVC.

H2o lines are normally ½" lines. When purchasing supplies, it'southward a good idea to exist very conscientious to brand sure that y'all are getting the right size fittings. When yous purchase the spigot, become alee and screw the ½" male adapter into it, to brand sure it matches. When you buy the shut-off valve, screw the ii male adapters into it, to brand sure they match. When purchasing water lines (sticks of CPVC), you might want to insert 1 end into other fittings, to make sure everything fits. Taking extra care at present can relieve you lot a return trip to the hardware shop. Simply don't beat yourself upwards if you exercise have to make several trips back to the plumbing alley. This is plumbing. As whatsoever plumber can tell you, "Plumbing doesn't happen without cussing."

Supply List

A spigot intended for half-inch CPVC water lines.
Since the spigot will accept female person threads, y'all will need one male adapter to adhere information technology to the ½" CPVC water line. If yous have selected a spigot that has male person threads, obviously you will need a female adapter, instead of a male person adapter. (Encounter pictures of male person and female adapters beneath.)
1 shut-off valve. The inexpensive kind is fine, as it volition be indoors. The shut-off valve will have female threads at each end, and so you volition need two male person adapters (1 for each cease) to attach it to ½" CPVC h2o lines.
Ane ¾" spade bit, to drill a hole through the interior wall, then through the exterior wall.
One 1" spade bit, to drill a hole through the exterior wall. The reason you are drilling a ¾" hole in the interior wall, is because this is the right size for ½" CPVC piping. The hole needs to exist bigger than ½" because the diameter of CPVC line is a measure out of the within of the line. The full diameter of the line measured from the outside edge is a trivial more ½". The reason you are drilling a one" hole on the exterior of the house is because that is the size hole y'all will need to receive the male person adapter, which will be inside the wall. It won't fit through a ¾" hole. Holes drilled through the floor will exist made with the ¾" spade flake, since but the ½" line needs to pass through these.
1 or more "sticks" of ½" CPVC water line. Measure the distance the water line must run from where you will splice it into the cold-water line to where the spigot will exist located, allowing for a piddling extra for vertical pieces that must come up through the floor, also as for the possibility that the lines may have to make some unexpected turns.
Now purchase some CPVC fittings. Y'all volition need 1 T, which you volition use to splice the new line into the existing line. If the distance from the splice to the spigot is too long for a single stick of CPVC to make the run, you will need at least i straight coupling to attach two sticks together. Next, determine how many places in the h2o line will make 90° turns. You will need 1 elbow (or 90) coupling for each such turn. It is frequently a good idea to purchase a few extra elbows.

One tin can of CPVC primer/cleaner.
One can of CPVC cement.
One container of pipe-thread chemical compound. All threaded fittings require pipe-thread compound. This is an important affair to remember when doing plumbing.
Yous will need one or more than cut tools for cutting CPVC lines. For cutting new lines—that is, lines that are non already plumbed into a tight space, a skill saw works fine, and a miter saw is especially nice for rapidly cut CPVC sticks to marked lengths.
You can purchase a special tool for cut CPVC lines at the hardware shop. There are several kinds of such cutting tools, which are useful when cut existing lines in tight spaces. Such a tool can be used for making all the needed cuts, if you don't ain a skill saw or a miter saw. Personally, I apply a jigsaw for making cuts to existing lines in tight spaces. You will probably not desire to use a jigsaw except in tight spaces, considering of the vibration.
I Sharpie, to marker CPVC pipes for making cuts. A Sharpie can also be used to label the lines you lot will be working around "hot" or "cold." This will avoid inadvertently plumbing your spigot into a hot-h2o line, or at least cutting the wrong line. Better safe than lamentable!

Female adapter. — Female person adapter.

Step-by-Stride Guide to Installing an Outdoor Spigot

The simplest way to practise this task is to brainstorm at the spigot end of the line and work your way dorsum to the indicate where the new line will be spliced into an existing line. By beginning at the spigot end, you tin can complete near the whole task before you cut into an existing cold-water line—which means you won't take to plough off the water to the business firm until the job is nigh finished.

While in that location are many different kinds of spigots, the cheap kind has female threads and requires a male adapter to be screwed into it. (If your spigot has male threads, you will demand to use a female adapter.)

Brainstorm by attaching the male adapter to the spigot, using pipe-thread compound. Always apply piping thread chemical compound to all threaded fittings. This is what keeps threaded fittings from leaking. I like to use the pasty "liquid" pipe thread chemical compound, rather than Teflon tape. Apply the pipe thread compound to the threads of the male adapter and spiral it all the manner into the spigot, using a pipe wrench, if necessary, to make sure it'due south screwed all the style in.
Using a ¾" spade scrap, drill a pigsty in the interior wall, where the water line will pass through the wall to the outside. Proceed drilling until y'all take besides made a ¾" hole in the exterior wall. It's easiest to exercise it this way, since otherwise, you could accept a difficult time figuring out where to drill the hole in the exterior wall.
Now take your drill outside, where y'all will see the ¾" hole in the outside wall. Using a 1" spade bit, enlarge the hole in the exterior wall to 1".
Take a stick of CPVC h2o line and attach information technology, without gluing, to the male person adapter that you accept threaded onto the spigot. Go exterior the house and push the line through both the exterior and interior holes in the wall. Keep pushing until the spigot is flat against the side of the house.
Get dorsum indoors and make a marking on the h2o line to show y'all where you lot will cut it. This line needs to be about ¾" past the interior wall. This extra stub is so you will exist able to attach a fitting to it.
Cut the stick of CPVC where you lot made your mark. Now you have a short piece of CPVC piping that is only the correct length to laissez passer through the wall, with a little extra to receive an elbow plumbing equipment. Using CPVC primer/cleaner and cement, attach this short slice of CPVC to the male adapter. It is a proficient idea to comprehend the area in which yous will be applying primer/cleaner and cement with a thick layer of newspapers. Primer/cleaner, especially, will stain anything it touches. Yous volition never get the purple out of the linoleum, if some gets splashed on information technology.
The way you glue CPVC together is to first utilise the primer/cleaner to about ¾" of both the end of the stick of CPVC and to within of the female coupling that volition receive it. The primer/cleaner makes these surfaces tacky, then they volition agree the CPVC cement (mucilage) improve. Afterwards allowing the primer/cleaner to dry briefly (you tin accident on it), apply the CPVC cement to both ¾" of the finish of the stick of CPVC and the within of the female coupling. At present button the terminate of the CPVC pipe into the coupling, pushing and turning information technology a little, to make sure information technology goes all the way in.
Now, directly below the hole in the interior wall, drill a ¾" hole in the flooring.
Get outside the house and push this associates (small-scale slice of CPVC piping, male person adapter, spigot) through the wall until the spigot is flush confronting the wall. Spiral the spigot to the exterior wall.
Information technology's pretty obvious what you lot practice from here: Put an elbow on the little bit of CPVC pipe sticking out of the interior wall, put a stick of CPVC through the pigsty in the floor (later offset dry out-fitting it into the elbow), crawl under the house and brand your marker for a cut on the vertical pipe, and come back indoors, remove the CPVC stick from the elbow, and cutting it to the right length. Poke information technology dorsum through the hole in the floor and, using primer/cleaner and CPVC cement, glue the vertical line into the elbow—and, of course, the elbow to both the line coming through the wall and the line going through the floor.
When you get to this point, the situation should look like Effigy 3.
Now all you have to do is crawl under the house, fit an elbow to the vertical length of CPVC, and measure a stick of CPVC so that it ends simply beneath where information technology needs to come up back up above the floor through a ¾" hole you have drilled. Mayhap this hole is under the kitchen sink, bath sink, or nigh the water heater or washing machine.
The easiest mode to figure out how long the horizontal piece of CPVC traveling under the flooring needs to be is this: Poke a stick of CPVC through the pigsty in the floor where you take planned for it to emerge. And then, once you lot are under the house, you volition be able to dry-fit one end of your stick of CPVC into an elbow at the lesser of the line from the spigot. Then holding this stick of CPVC horizontally, you lot can see where it volition meet the stick of CPVC you lot poked through the floor. Make your marking on the horizontal piece, to bear witness where you lot will cut it.
Dorsum indoors, cut this piece to the correct length and dry fit an elbow to one end of it. Now you can crawl back under the business firm, taking the cans of primer/cleaner and CPVC cement with you. Glue 1 end of the stick of CPVC into the elbow y'all accept already glued to the line going to the spigot. As you are doing this, at present mucilage in the elbow at the other stop of this line so it winds up facing upward, because that elbow volition receive the vertical piece of line that y'all poked through the floor.

Figure 5. This is how things will look if you splice the new line in at the water heater. — Figure 5. This is how things will expect if you splice the new line in at the water heater.

So y'all tin can see that all you lot have to do is get-go from the spigot and run a water line under the floor. Then you lot bring it back above the floor again, at a point where you can tie information technology into the house'southward cold-water line. Here, I've shown the h2o line to the spigot coming above the floor about the water heater and spliced into the cold-water line that runs into the water heater, but this line could equally easily be brought into the house nether the kitchen or bathroom sink and spliced into the cold-h2o line under either sink. You will probably determine to bring the line from the spigot above the flooring and into the firm at any place is closest to your new spigot.

So how practice you splice the water line from the spigot into an existing cold-water line? After yous have decided where the line from the spigot will join an existing cold-water line, you volition accept to make a cut in the existing common cold-water line at the point where you wish to join the two lines.

Say it'south under the kitchen sink.

Figure 6. If you are slicing the new line in under the sink, here is where you will make your cut. — Effigy six. If you are slicing the new line in nether the sink, here is where you will make your cut.

After turning off all h2o to the house, run water from the taps until the water stops running to drain the lines.

There will yet be some water in the lines when yous make your cut, but it volition not be water under, say, 60 psi of pressure, so water will trickle from the cutting line, rather than spraying all over the identify.

The easiest tool to use to cut CPVC pipe in tight spaces is a jigsaw, although you may want to buy a special tool for cutting CPVC at the hardware store, for use in tight spaces.

At present that you have fabricated your cut to the existing common cold-water line, you are gear up to splice the h2o line to the spigot into it. To do this, cut the existing cold-water line where you want the new line to bring together information technology. Glue a T coupling into the cut line, every bit shown in Effigy 7.

Since you lot made a cut in a line with some water in it, these pipes are probably wet. Dry them with a cloth or paper towels before applying primer/cleaner and cement.

Employ primer/cleaner and glue every bit before, when connecting CPVC lines to couplings.

Figure 7. After cutting an existing cold-water line, glue a T coupling into it, to receive the end of the new cold-water line to the spigot. — Figure vii. After cutting an existing cold-water line, glue a T coupling into it, to receive the cease of the new cold-water line to the spigot.

Now all you take to do is connect the line y'all ran from the spigot support through the floor to this T coupling. But get-go, put a shut-off on this line, equally shown in Figure viii.

Since the shut-off has female threads at each end, thread a male person adapter into each finish, subsequently applying pipe-thread compound to the male threads of the male adapters. Adjacent, glue the whole thing together with CPVC primer/cleaner or mucilage as shown in Figure viii. The final step is to glue the end of the CPVC line into the T coupling, thus joining the new spigot line to the existing cold-h2o line.

Now you lot're done.

This is a good time to expect over all lines carefully to make sure you lot didn't forget to glue a spot.

This is how the fittings are assembled, set to be glued into the T coupling. Once you've assembled this line, including a shut-off with male adapters at each end, all you have to do is mucilage the pipe into the T coupling in the existing cold-water line.

Earlier Turning the Water On

How long should yous wait for the glue to dry before turning the water back on? Almost authorities say you should wait 24 hours for the glue to dry before turning the water back on. In actual practise, all the same, one hour is sufficient.

Before turning the h2o back on, make sure the shut-off to the spigot line is turned to the "on" position. Then get outside and brand sure the spigot itself is turned off.

Plough the water back on at the main close-off after the glue has had well-nigh an hour to dry. Have a look at all the lines both above and below the flooring, to make sure in that location are no leaks.

Information technology is not exactly impossible that you missed a spot. Call back that, "Plumbing doesn't happen without cussing." If in that location are leaks, just turn off the water at the main shut-off and glue the spot y'all missed. Exist sure to dry out the pipes and fittings with paper towels or a cloth before gluing a missed spot. Now you have to await another hour for the glue to dry.

Later y'all have examined the lines, and they are tight and dry, go exterior and turn on the spigot.

Yous can exist pretty certain y'all volition have water running at that place.

This article is accurate and true to the best of the author'south noesis. Content is for informational or entertainment purposes only and does not substitute for personal counsel or professional advice in business, financial, legal, or technical matters.

Sharon Vile (writer) from Odessa, MO on January 02, 2015:

Interesting! A check valve sounds like a skilful idea for the reasons you lot mentioned, and it looks similar a bank check valve is an piece of cake and inexpensive device that but screws onto the spigot before the hose is attached. (The web folio I viewed quoted the cost of such a check valve as only $4.33!.) Plain, you don't want brackish h2o that has been sitting in your garden hose, ofttimes in the hot sun, to backwash into your home water lines. You can go the same backflow situation if you leave a hose-type showerhead or zipper immersed in water in your sink, tub, or shower. The water it is sitting in can backflow into domicile water lines. Many years ago, I knew a guy who worked for Poison Control, and he told me a story about this. He was doing a chip of detective work trying to discover out why people in a particular flat building were becoming ill. Information technology turned out that one of the tenants left a hose zipper to her bathtub immersed in muddy water (in which she soaked used diapers), which was being sucked into the building'southward h2o supply.

Eugene Brennan from Ireland on December 31, 2014:

Interesting, useful and voted upwards!

It'due south also a adept thought (and probably required by regulations) to include a one-way (check) valve in line with the outdoor spigot. This prevents dirty water siphoning back into the indoor supply if for instance a hose is attached and the h2o in it becomes brackish.

Sharon Vile (author) from Odessa, MO on Apr 13, 2014:

No 1 goes into the plumbing aisle if they don't accept to, so it's a well-kept undercover.

Suzanne Twenty-four hour period from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia on April 13, 2014:

Sounds good - I have not investigated the magical backdrop of PVC!

Sharon Vile (author) from Odessa, MO on April 12, 2014:

Plastic pipes--PVC and CPVC--accept endless possibilities. The piping is adept to use for tomato stakes--and a LOT cheaper. A person could build a nice arbor or trellis with this stuff, or use information technology to make "teepee" blazon supports for pole beans, or you could build curved supports for garden row covers. (It's rather flexible.) If I think right, I call up a ten-foot stick of half-inch CPVC is about $iii. PVC is a lilliputian cheaper. Fittings are around 25 cents. Cheap and interesting materials only to play with.

Suzanne 24-hour interval from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia on April 12, 2014:

Thank you for the info, possibly a hub on the naughty $.25 of plumbing might exist interesting to effort? Could be a viral i!

Sharon Vile (author) from Odessa, MO on April 12, 2014:

You'd be surprised how easy plumbing is--at least if you are using plastic pipes. One of my daughters installed a pump when she was sixteen. All by herself--except for advice from the guy who sold united states the pump. Beginners practice often have long conversations with the guys in the plumbing aisle.

I never really idea too much most the sexuality of my fittin's. In that location is actually a fitting chosen a nipple--but I remember that's just on gas lines. One of my old construction buddies in one case told me a story about how a lady client got very offended and upset when mentioned "the nipple." I retrieve she thought he was deliberately using an offensive choice of words. This same buddy always referred to pipe insulation as "donkey dick"--which actually is a deliberately offensive choice of words. (Have a look at it some time.)

The woman who taught me plumbing had such a broad Louisiana accent and used and then many funny expressions, I couldn't understand her one-half the fourth dimension.

Cheers for looking at this article! It is not one of my more successful hubs..

Suzanne Day from Melbourne, Victoria, Commonwealth of australia on Apr xi, 2014:

Hi blueheron, this is very applied and useful information. I must acknowledge it is a piffling over my head simply that would soon exist corrected if I needed to install a spigot! Having a little chuckle over the male person and female person parts (why were they invented, instead of using unisex parts?) and give thanks you for a very useful hub.