Not being a plumber, but a desk-bound paper shuffler, I am rarely trusted to do real man's work at home, instead having to tolerate quesitoning as to my ability to carry out such tasks and "wouldn't it be better to get someone in?".

I'm sick of having to run a hosepipe from the cellar and through the kitchen to be able to wash my bikes in the yard, so figured I need an outside tap.

So, DIY or GSI?

if it's a standard brick wall and you have access to a sufficiently powerful drill and appropriately sized bit then it's a pretty simple DIY proposal – they sell specific kits in most of the big DIY stores.

might affect your water bill if you're not metered, though.

might affect your water bill if you're not metered, though.

Really?

DIY.

Yeah I think it's as simple as a 15mm hole, tap, t-junction & perhaps a stop-valve.

Need to do one myself but am concerned about freezing.

round us having an outside tap when you're on 'rateable value' water charges attracts an additional charge (they assume you'll be watering your rolling green acres from it).

You can buy kist for a bout £10

Drill hole in wall near cold water pipe inside
Screw tap to outside
Feed pipe through hole
Turn off mains water
Tighten the adaptor onto the cold pipe, wich pierces the pipe and then seals around it.

Job jobbed!

@cynic-al

put a jacket on whilst outside drilling it?

speaking of jackets, thats mine over there…

The kits wwaswas referred to include a 'self cutting' adaptor. You bolt a clamp round a cold water pipe and screw a thing* with an isolating valve into it. That cuts a hole in the copper water pipe and seals the valve in one easy movement. Don't even need to switch off the water feed to the house**

I've had real plumbers tutting at such installation, but what the hey, it's cheap and reliable. Drilling the hole and finding/getting access to the water pipe is the trickiest bit, depends how well your kitchen units are installed generally.

(* haven't a clue what the official term is)
(** if you are very brave)

Edit – Must learn to be less rambling. Beaten to it!

OK, so, access to cold pipe *may* be tricky. Obvious spot iso to access next to kitchen sink, but the pipes seem to be covered by the back board of the kitchen sink cabinet.

There's only a small available piece of pipe accessible, which is maybe 4-5 inches long between existing junctions/valves. Sensible place to access?

I guess, if it's in the right place, I could access beneath the floor and go out close to the ground outside (floor is well above ground level, as there is quite a fall on the yard floor). Any disadvantages?

As long as the tap will be at a reasonable height outside, Sounds OK.

Pics?

and din't forget a backflow prevention device.

That's a double check valve, and no one fitted to the garden tap doesn't count. New installation has to be on inside, after the isolation device.

and din't forget a backflow prevention device.

That's a double check valve, and no one fitted to the garden tap doesn't count. New installation has to be on inside, after the isolation device.

Wha?

Pour a pint of water. Walk outside and pour it on the floor. It looks like a lot more doesn't it!

When you get a few dribbles from bodging the job youself you won't panic about a small amount of water now will you :O)

If you have a good amount of common sense you'll be fine.

Good luck

Tim

Pics?

No pics.

Hmm. I shall investigae under the back of the house this w/e.

Cheers all..!

I'm fairly rubbish at stuff like this but I managed using one of those kits referred to above. I had to saw a hole in the back of the cupboard under the sink to get to the water pipe and I had to buy a BIG drill bit. The only problem I had was that the push fit elbow to connect the pipes didn't seal quite right. No explanation, but bought another one from a builder's merchant for a quid or so and bob was indeed my uncle.

Get a man in.

DIY is scabbing (this is the excuse I've used for years…)

Have you got a good enough drill? If not, congratulations you now have an excuse to buy a new power tool. Most cordl;ess drills will only manage 10mm in masonry.

B&Q – Makita 18V cordless hammer drill for under £100 at the moment. Two batteries and comes in a case so you can pretend to be an assassin.

i have fitted one recently , not too hard but unless you have access to the large bore drill bit you could end up paying about £40 for one.i managed to borrow one but i thought it was wrong of the kit makers to say that it could be fitted with everyday tools when you need a 20mm bit which very few people would have as a matter of course.

firstly locate the incoming water pipe,and turn off the water, then drill a 6 mm hole as a pilot hole,through wall,then open it up with the 16 mm drill.

From the kit you bought,connect the self cutting tap to the pipe,and tighten up,ensure you have drained the system down forst by running the cold tap.

Next put pipe through wall, and on the outside connect tap, then drill and screw tp to wall, turn on water slowly and look for drips or a massive leak.

Be aware that if you have a water meter,you will be charged for all water used, acustomer last summer, had been away for 7 days on holiday,and left the hosepipe conected to the outside tap,the next door neighbour decided to water the lawn, but forgot to turn off the water,and it appears it was left running for a considerable time,as the garden was floded,the meter had gone into overfdrive,and the customer was liable, never found out if the threats to the neighbour where real or not,made an excuse and left.

http://www.diydoctor.org.uk/projects/installing_an_outside_tap.htm

Thread Closed! 🙂

I hired a big, big drill (and 2 foot bit) from the local hire shop, a tenner for the morning.

Got the tap kit and had it done in about 10 minutes. Only problem I had was I bought a copper pipe kit and I have those plastic pipes. I've had to reduce the overall pressure from the stop cock so that I don't get a leak.

I've a mad, mad set up for water in my house though – everything except the kitchen sink is fed off a tank in the loft so a reduction in pressure from the mains is not a problem as it takes some time to empty a 500l tank.

I'm not a DIY freak, but did manage to do this job in 2008 (when I still had a complete brain). Piece of piss. Needs a decent hammer drill & the right bits, plus the awkwardness of threading the short setion of hose through the inner wall & through the cavity. I'd probably still be able to do the job now, despite missing 1/4 brain.

@ the OP, where in the north are you??

have an inside cutoff – and the place the outside tap below this, so you can drain the outside piping in winter (cutoff off, outside tap on, drain, tap off). From what I can work out modern outdoor kits/taps have backflow devices which jam when frozen (but can be fixed by disassembly/reassembly) and gentle persuasion but it sounds like you need to build on in to the system on inside.

bought the kit, robert is your relative.

Always drill from the inside to the outside,a chap who installs cable tv was asked by a customer to borrow his drill to drill a hole the chap drilled the hole from the outside,straight through a radiator, and didnt realise,until he went in an hour latter when the carpet was soaked in rusty coloured water.

It's as simple as described above. I rerouted mine from a tap in the garage to one outside a few weeks back when the pipe burst during that freakishly cold period – I had been meaning to do the job for years and never got around to it. As DIYers know, getting a round toit is the answer to all such jobs.

double check valve on the tap is a legal requirement (part of the Water Regs), but more than that, it will stop anything being sucked up your hosepipe and into your drinking water supply. Sounds unlikely, but i have been involved in a couple of cases like that (i work for a water company). The poor people had their hose running out into the garden and it had sucked water from the pond into the drinking supply – not surprising they were ill!

Be a man and get it done! I'll pop back at lunchtime and show you the job that I did fitting one.It was great fun, but make sure that the pipe you splice for the water is bone dry when putting in the T piece.

Timewarp thread rewind.

I want a hot outside tap & my old man has given me a kit with ‘self cutting’ adaptor to fit onto existing copper pipe. Is this going to reduce the pressure so much so it wont be enough to clean bike ?

No. It won’t make any difference.

Hot outside tap? Sheer luxury, Shirley? Bucket & hot water for my bike, no extra TLC here.

Home made “wet & messy” vids eh?

You might as well try the adapter first, because if you can fit one of them it implies you have access to a clear run of hot water pipe. And if the flow is dissapointing, it should only take half an hour to turn off water supply, empty hot water out of the pipe and fit a proper T junction.

I could do that for you, but Del or Harry could do it propererer. (and with lots of tsk noises).

EDIT – I have a tap connector just inside the back laundry door. So a few drips from the hose can get mopped up and I don’t have to worry about it freezing. Also good for filling buckets etc in the kitchen area.

(when I still had a complete brain)

Are you actually missing a frontal lobe?

Hot and cold water tap outside here all I need is a urinal and I will be sorted! need to find a hose that does not react to much to hot water.

It is great for hosing bike and self/kit down probably stopped a lot of wear and tear on the washing machine

Using speedfit plumbing systems make small jobs such as this a doddle.

Go down to your local plumbers merchants such as PTS and explain you are a numpty but want to have a go and explain what you want to do chances are they will get together the bits that you need and explain what you have to do. It worked for me anyway. 🙂

Dont pilot drill into masonry, it causes the next bit size up to snag ! Just go straight for the size you require and sds drill, cause with the old fashioned hammer drills it’s a slow old ball ache!!