My fiancee and I bought an old house about a year ago – it will be 100 years old next year! It’s had a fair amount of updates including a somewhat comprehensive flip in 2015 that included many nice features. In the year we’ve lived here, I’ve come to realize the general workmanship on the flip leaves very much to be desired. I’m still generally happy with the house and enjoy learning and doing the work, but there’s the rub:
I didn’t realize we had a frostproof hose bib until I hooked up the garden hose and found my basement full of water. This bears some explaining.
On normal hose bibs, the valve sits close to the exterior if not entirely outside the house. Frostproof models use a longer pipe which positions the valve inside the house—where it’s much less likely to freeze. Despite this, and draining the line, enough water built up and froze inside the house (this is Wisconsin, afterall), which caused the copper hose bib pipe to burst. Because the valve was shut, there hasn’t been any draw and we didn’t have leak issues all winter. Now that Spring is here, gardening awaits. So I decided to hook up the hose, and surprise: water all over the basement! I dried it out with a couple of box fans to prevent mold issues and started researching repair options.
After some deep digging and cost comparisons, I decided to try fixing the burst pipe before taking further action. I pinched the crack shut with some pliers, used JB Weld to epoxy the crack shut, and waited for the prescribed curing time. The 3000+ PSI JB Weld rating seemed like a safe bet, but when I completed the job and ran the water, the seam split again. This time I was ready and quickly shut the interior valves.
Now it’s time to replace the hose bib with a new unit. I’m glad I tried repairing it, I learned a lot and enjoyed the process. In addition to the new unit, I’m going to install a stop and waste valve. On most models, this is basically a screw that can be loosened. When loosened, an open airway is formed between the exterior and interior of the house, allowing water to drain completely. I’m hoping this will eliminate future problems—but we’ll have to wait till next spring, afterall, the proof of a pudding is in the eating. That’s two idioms, each 400+ years old. If only our house should last so long. Wish us luck.