How to replace an outdoor tap

 

As a homeowner, sooner or later you will find yourself needing or wanting to replace an outdoor tap. It may be because one of your taps is leaking or because you have another tap that suits your aesthetic tastes better. But when the time comes to replace the tap, you will either have to hire someone to do the job, or you can do it yourself. If you choose the latter solution, you will need some tips, such as those below.

Turn off the water

To stop the potential flow of water that will occur when you work on your tap, you will need to find the main valve that shuts off the water. Most probably, this valve is located near the street. You may need a long, specialised spanner to reach the valve. Once the valve is closed, drain the water remaining in the pipe by opening one of the water taps.

Remove the existing tap

It is necessary to unscrew the tap from the water pipe that feeds it. To do this, it is necessary to keep the pipe from rotating. It will most likely only be possible to do this by holding it with a pipe spanner. Adjust the jaws of the spanner until they just enter the pipe. Position the jaws on the pipe so that, when pressure is applied to the spanner handle, it tries to rotate the pipe clockwise.

Then place the adjusted jaws of a second pipe spanner around the tap head in an inverse position to the first spanner. In other words, pressure on the handle pushes the spanner anti-clockwise. While exerting pressure on the first spanner to prevent the pipe from turning, exert pressure on the second spanner until the tap detaches from the pipe. Finally, turn the tap until it is removed from the pipe.

Preparing the pipe to receive the new tap

Use a stiff wire brush to clean the pipe threads of rust, corrosion and debris. When the pipe threads are clean, wrap them with two layers of plumber's tape.

Fix the new tap

Start screwing the new tap onto the pipe. Make sure that the threads of the tap are not crossed with those of the pipe. Otherwise, it will not be possible to fully tighten the new tap. The tap will leak and the plumber's tape attached to the pipe threads will tear. Once you have ascertained that the tap is correctly threaded, tighten it with the pipe spanner. If, when the tap is almost fully tightened, the pipe starts to turn, prevent it from doing so by using the other pipe spanner.

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