Have Your Outdoor Faucet Replaced or Repaired Today

Why do Ottawa winters affect hose bibs and outdoor faucets?

If you don’t isolate and drain your hose bib, then you run the risk of an Ottawa winter ruining your basement.  It happens when the garden faucets are exposed to the frigid, cold temperatures.  If you haven’t drained the line or shut off the valve then this water will freeze inside the pipe.  When water freezes, it expands and can cause the pipe to split open.  If you didn’t turn your valve off, then on the first warm day, the blockage of ice will melt, and probably cause a nice flood your basement.

If you only turn the valve off, and don’t have a drain installed, then you still run the risk of splitting the pipe. Hopefully, when you turn the valve back on in the spring, you will notice the split in the pipe.

We once had a customer who was filling his pool, and the pipe was split wide open. When he opened the valve, he couldn’t see that the water was running in behind his wall. He then proceeded to stick his garden hose into his pool, and then left to go grocery shopping. Needless to say that when he got back home he had a very nasty and expensive surprise.

This is easily avoided by making sure you have a proper installation done by a professional.