The Outside Tap

You will need: 15 mm copper pipe, drain-cock, bib tap and stopcock.


An outside tap, especially for use in the garden used to be regarded as quite a luxury, but, it is now very popular and a regular fitting in lots more gardens. The uses vary from filling a paddling pool to washing the car, bike or even the kids. Walworth Plumbers fit various outdoor plumbing.


Fitting:

You must first isolate the water supply before you attempt a job like this or you could have a flood to deal with. If you are not confident, hire a professional like A Walworth Plumber will do this. Find the best place to drill the first hole from inside out, this is probably under the sink. Drill a 25mm hole through the wall to the outside. This is ideally around knee height and as close as possible to the rising main. You need to ‘Tee’ into the riser and then you fit a joint called a ‘T piece’. From this you need to fit a short length of hose, then the stopcock, then the non-return valve, and the drain-cock. Making sure that you follow all directions of flow.


Now for the difficult bit:

This is making a neat job of the joints and making sure that the pipework fits closely to the wall. Run a pipe from the drain cock through the wall and connect it to the bib tap, then, screw the tap securely to the wall. Finally, make sure that all the joints that you have made are dry, then, pack the hole in the wall with lots and lots of material, maybe, fibreglass roof insulation or foam. Now squeeze silicone sealant around the outside end of the hole to stop water leaking through. Open up the water supply and the job is done.