In article , Newbie Nobody wrote:
We want to instal a faucet outside the building to water the backyard
lawns. (At present we have to run the hose either from inside or around
the building from the front.)

The way the porches, decks, etc are, it would be convenient if teh
faucet was at the side of the wooden porch, about 10' out from the
brick wall.

However, a handyman tells us that in Chicago's climate we can't do this.
According to him, the pipe must remain inside the heated building and
the faucet should just come out of the wall.

Is he right, or with some precaution (like shutting off the water well
before winters) can we have a few feet of pipe outside?

Thanks for all advice.


well, you got a *lot* of it, almost a 40/60% signal to noise ratio!

My house had a short (6 foot) section of pipe under the back porch when
I purchased it.

The first summer I got tired of the regular faucet that leaked,
and put a ball valve inline with it (in addition to the ball
valve inside the basement).

Out of 13 years, the "remember to shut off the water before the
first hard freeze" has worked 10 times. 2 of the brain failures
were at the new, outside ball valve which, happily, was made of
aluminum and ended up being an easy-to-fix sacrifical lamb.

The third/ten failure was last winter...a 90 degree elbow under
the porch. Almost just as easy, but on my back under the porch.
A little plumber's tape, tighten, and you are done. Pretty simple
stuff.

All the failures have been minor as far as mess goes...the pipe
splits a tiny crack, the pressure is released, and you get a
mist stream shooting out of the pipe.

So, if you *do* run pipe outside,

1) make sure all of it is easy to get to...don't run under your deck!

2) remember to shut off inside, and open outside, before the first
freeze

3) a small section of aluminum pipe at the easiest place to get to
(near the end) wouldn't hurt...

--Ken
--
Ken R. Dye an optimist is a guy |
Chicago, Illinois that has never had |
www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Track/8746 much experience |
dye1146 at sbcglobal dot net archy |