Outdoor Spigot & Hose Bib Repair
Outdoor Spigot & Hose Bib Repair in DC & Bethesda
Every March I get a wave of calls from homeowners who turned on their outdoor spigot for the first time since fall and found it dripping, barely running, or completely dead. Sometimes it's a quick fix. Sometimes it means a pipe cracked inside the wall over winter and nobody knew until now. I'm Mike. I'm DC licensed, bonded, and insured, and I've done over a thousand jobs in this area over the past six years. If your outdoor faucet is giving you trouble this spring, call or text me at (202) 555-0147.
DC Licensed · Bonded & Insured · 6 Years · 1,000+ Jobs · 43 Google Reviews
Call or Text MikeSpring Calls
Spring Calls, When Winter Damage Shows Up
Outdoor spigots take a beating every winter. When water freezes inside a pipe, it expands. If the spigot wasn't drained before the first hard freeze, that pressure has to go somewhere. Usually it goes into the pipe itself, or into the fitting connecting the spigot to your interior supply line.
Most homeowners don't find out until spring, when they go to hook up the garden hose and water starts dripping from the faucet handle, or worse, they hear it running somewhere inside the wall. That's the moment to stop and call someone before you've got water damage on top of a broken pipe.
I work in Bethesda, Northwest DC, and the surrounding neighborhoods. This is a seasonal pattern I see every year without fail. The good news is that most of these jobs are straightforward. The not-so-good news is that waiting too long can turn a small repair into a bigger one.
Frozen Spigot vs. Burst Pipe
Frozen Spigot vs. Burst Pipe, What's the Difference
This is the question most homeowners are trying to answer on their own before they call. Here's how I think about it.
A dripping spigot after winter is usually a worn washer or a damaged seat inside the faucet body. That's a straightforward repair. I replace the internal components or swap out the hose bib entirely. Done in under an hour in most cases.
A spigot that won't produce water at all, or one where you can hear water running inside the wall when nothing should be flowing, is a different situation. That points to a cracked pipe inside the wall. The freeze happened at the pipe, not just at the faucet. That needs to be opened up and repaired before it causes water damage to your framing or drywall.
The honest answer is that you usually can't tell which one you have just by looking at the spigot from outside. That's why I come out, take a look, and give you a straight read on what's actually going on. No pressure to replace something that only needs a repair.
In some cases, winter damage to an outdoor spigot reveals that the supply lines feeding it are in rough shape too. If that's what I find, I'll tell you. For anything that points to deeper pipe problems, I can connect you to what's covered on my pipe replacement and repiping page.
Common Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does outdoor spigot repair cost in DC? Most spigot repairs run between $150 and $350, depending on whether it's a simple washer replacement or a full hose bib swap. If there's interior pipe damage from freezing, that changes the scope and the price. I'll tell you what I'm looking at before I start any work.
My outdoor faucet is dripping after winter. Do I need to replace it? Not always. A drip is often a worn washer inside the faucet body, and that's a repair, not a replacement. I'll check it and tell you which one actually makes sense. I'm not going to push a replacement if a repair will hold.
Can a frozen outdoor spigot damage my interior pipes? Yes, and it happens more than people expect. When water freezes in the pipe behind the spigot, the pressure can crack the pipe at a joint or along the wall. You might not see any sign of it until you turn the water back on in spring. If your spigot isn't producing water or you hear running water inside the wall, that's the scenario to take seriously.
- Plumbing rough-in and pipe relocation
- Drain line work and rerouting
- Toilet installation
- Faucet and valve installation
- Water damage assessment
Get in Touch
Call or Text Mike Before the Season Gets Away From You
Spring fills up fast. Once the weather turns and everyone's getting back in the yard, I'm fielding a lot of these calls at once. If your outdoor spigot is dripping, not working, or you're not sure what's going on behind the wall, the right move is to get it looked at now rather than after you've run the hose for a week and noticed wet drywall inside.
I answer my own phone. Call or text me at (202) 555-0147 and I'll let you know when I can get out to you.