Skip to content
Call now(365) 376-9113
Hands holding a stainless steel faucet

Call sheet: hose bibs

Outdoor Faucet Repair in Whitby

A hose bib that weeps, refuses to close, or cracked during the freeze often leaks into the wall where you cannot see it. We repair and replace hose bibs year round.

Talk to a plumber

(365) 376-9113Call now
  • Licensed & insured trade work
  • Scope agreed before we start
  • Urgent calls triaged first

Signs you need this

  • Toilet hissing between flushes, or wobbling on its flange
  • Drip at the spout or water under the vanity
  • Shower that swings hot and cold
  • Hose bib dripping or split after frost

Kit on the van, and the method

  1. Basin wrench and seat wrench
  2. Wax rings, closet bolts and flange repair rings
  3. Cartridges, stems and seats for common valve makers
  4. Toilet auger and closet plunger

Before we leave: Cycle the fixture hot and cold, check every joint dry with a paper towel.

Types you may have

  • Standard hose bib with an inside shut-off. Common in older homes; the inside valve must be closed and the outside tap opened to drain each fall.
  • Frost-free hose bib. A long stem places the actual valve inside the heated house. Most Whitby homes from recent decades have these.
  • Anti-siphon frost-free. Adds a vacuum breaker to stop garden water being drawn back into the home supply.

Common problems

The most frequent failure we see is a frost-free bib that burst inside the wall. The design works only if the hose is removed in the fall so the barrel can drain. With a hose attached, water stays in the barrel, freezes and splits it. Nobody notices before spring, when the first garden watering sends water into the basement ceiling or the rim joist.

Other issues include worn washers that drip, packing nuts that leak around the stem, and vacuum breakers that spit water when the tap runs.

Field note. Turn on a frost-free tap in spring with someone inside watching the basement where the pipe enters. If water appears, shut it off and call.

Repair or replace

Washers and packing are repairable. A split barrel is not; the bib comes out and a new one goes in. We choose the stem length to match the wall thickness, slope the new bib slightly downward to drain, and seal the exterior flange against siding or brick so rain cannot get behind it. Where an older bib has no inside shut-off, we add one.

Adding a new outside tap

Owners often want an extra bib out back by the vegetable beds. We tee off the nearest cold line, run it to the wall, fit a frost-free anti-siphon bib, and include an isolation valve inside.

Fall prep is in winterizing your plumbing. Burst bibs often need burst pipe repair inside too.

Call (365) 376-9113