Frost proof faucets

As we dip back into more seasonal temperatures overnight here in NE Ohio, I thought I'd talk about frost proof faucets.

There are basically two types of faucets used on the exterior of homes, although this information would also apply to faucets installed inside attached garages.  The first is the old standard, seen on houses since they started putting exterior faucets in.

The rubber valve that stops the flow of water is right at the faucet.  If you were to take this one off the house, it would consist of the greenish portion only; there would still be a small portion of pipe sticking out of the house.  Why is this not good in colder climates?  When you shut the water off, water is present in that portion of the pipe that sticks out and is subject to freezing.  Freezing water expands and bursts pipes.

The solution, is to put the valve that stops the water flowing deep inside the house where the temperatures are warmer.  This type of valve looks like this:

This works relatively well, but of course isn't completely infallible.  Under the right conditions, even these can freeze, so it's a good idea to use common sense with water in areas of the  country where you experience freezing temperatures.  I routinely tell clients during home inspections to be mindful of keeping garage doors closed during hard freezes, the kind of nights where it's single on negative digits.  Also, make sure your faucet is well sealed to the house with caulking etc.  And putting one of these in at an unheated crawlspace is also asking more of it than it was designed to do.  Remember, the copper pipe portion of the valve in the photo above must extend into a heated space.

There's lots more info out there on these if you want to read more.  They're a great device that allows you to hook up the hose on those warmer winter days without having to head into the basement and turn the water back on and then bleed the line again when finished.  You also don't have to remember to turn these off.  Just remember that it does still have water back at that inner end, and if it's cold enough, it can still freeze depending on where on your house this is installed.