• About Me
  • Best Of
  • Contact Me
  • Forum

Jay Gaulard

  • Home & Living
    • Automotive & Mechanical
    • Carpentry & Building
    • Entertainment
    • Firewood & Heating
    • Gardening
    • Home Improvement
    • Lawn Care & Landscaping
    • Pets & Animals
  • Fitness & Recreation
    • Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ)
    • Bushcraft & Camping
    • Hiking & Walking
  • Nature & Outdoors
    • Trees & Shrubs
    • Weather & Seasons
  • Technology & Internet
  • Travel & Destinations
  • Writing & Blogging
    • Ramblings & Opinion
You are here: Home / Home Improvement / Installing a Sillcock Valve

Installing a Sillcock Valve

July 11, 2014

Can anyone tell me what happens to a valve if it freezes with water inside? Okay, I’ll tell you. The seal gets ruined. Something happens when the ice expands in the valve, so after a few freeze/thaws, you get some leaks. We’ve had it happen to the kitchen sink after that froze this past Winter. It also happened to the hose valve outside, most likely years ago. The hose valves are tricky. You have to remember to turn off the water source inside and open the outside valve during sub-freezing temperatures or else you’re in trouble.

The best way to deal with not having to remember to turn off the water inside before the first freeze is to install a sillcock. I’m not sure if that’s the name of just the freeze-proof hose valves or all hose valves, but from now on, I’m just going to call what I installed a hose valve.

This is a picture of what we used to have hanging out of the basement wall. When we used the hose and the valve was turned on, it would drip like crazy.

Old Hose Valve

If you’ll notice, this valve is rather short. Any freezing that’s going to take place, is going to take place throughout the entire thing – even where the rubber seal meets the brass. That’s not good.

Now, check out this new valve I installed yesterday. Take a look at how far inside the basement the pipe extends. The rubber seal is all the way at the end. I left this open overnight so I could check for leaks. Now that I know it’s leak free, I can put the insulation back.

Sillcock in Basement

This is a picture of the new valve outside the basement. See the way it leans down. That’s not a mistake. The valve came with a plastic bushing that, if used, forces the valve to drain any water that’s left in it after the water is turned off. That way, if you use the valve in the Winter, the water exits instead of freezing inside.

Sillcock Valve

Related posts:

  1. Installing A Water Spigot In The Garage
  2. Sump Pump Discharge Piping
  3. Installing a Symmons One Handle Shower Faucet
  4. Installing a Sump Pump in a Crawl Space
  5. Replacing a Washing Machine Valve

Filed Under: Home Improvement

What’s Next? Email Updates!

If you enjoyed reading this post as much as I enjoyed writing it, why not sign up to receive my posts by email? It's free and you can unsubscribe at any time!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

CONNECT WITH ME

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • RSS
  • Twitter

RECEIVE MY POSTS BY EMAIL!

Interested in receiving my posts by email? This is your chance! Simply place your email address in the box below and I'll deliver each and every post I write directly to your inbox.

MOST POPULAR POSTS

  • Putting Wooden Sides On A Utility Trailer I am sure you are all just thrilled about my new utilit...
  • How to Fix a Symmons Shower Valve That Leaks What I'm about to share is for the greater good. I've d...
  • Building Wooden Sides For a Utility Trailer NOTE: Please read comments down below. This isn't a goo...
  • Assembling a John Deere 7-Bushel Rear Bagger I must say, this John Deere ride-on mower has been a re...
  • What Is a BMW Standard Scope? A few posts ago, I mentioned that I had to bring my car...
  • How Do I Get Rid of the Smell in My Brand New Wool Blanket? Question: All I can say is that this thing stinks. I ca...
  • Installing A Water Spigot In The Garage Valentine's day was here. I wanted to wash the car and...
  • Replacing a Stem Cartridge Spindle For Symmons Temptrol Shower Valve Wouldn't you just know it. As I was writing yesterday's...
  • Installing Lally Columns and Footings for Girder Beam One of the first things I noticed while looking at this...
  • Installing New Wooden Trailer Sides I know I've been down this road before, but I thought I...

Recent Comments

  • Jay Gaulard on Installing a Through-the-Wall Wood Stove
  • James on Installing a Through-the-Wall Wood Stove
  • Greg on Filling In a Basement Crawl Space
  • Swoopadoop on Using a Belt Sander to Sand Walls
  • Dani Lamirand on How to Effectively Move Warm Wood Stove Air From One Room to Another

Copyright © 2021 · Jay Gaulard My Personal Blog Blog · About · Best Of · Contact · Privacy / Terms · Sitemap