Outside Taps & Garden Plumbing: Getting Ready for Summer

When summer arrives on the Wirral, a working outside tap suddenly becomes one of the most useful things in the house. Watering the garden, filling a paddling pool, jet-washing the patio or rinsing the car all get a lot easier when you are not trailing a hose through the kitchen. Here is what you need to know about outside taps and garden plumbing before the warm weather sets in.

Why a Properly Fitted Outside Tap Matters

Fitting an outside tap looks simple, and DIY kits make it look even simpler. The problem is that water regulations require a double check valve on every outside tap to stop garden water — which could be contaminated by hosepipes, weedkiller or pet water — from being siphoned back into your drinking supply. Many self-fit kits either leave this out or fit it incorrectly.

A qualified plumber will fit the correct backflow protection, a proper wall plate and an indoor isolation valve, so the tap is safe, legal and easy to drain down for winter. You can see the full range on our plumbing services page.

Where Can an Outside Tap Go?

Most outside taps are fed from the existing cold supply near your kitchen or utility room, then routed through the external wall to a convenient spot. We will always fit an isolation valve on the inside so you can turn the tap off and drain it independently — which matters more than you might think when winter comes back around.

Protecting Outdoor Pipework From Frost

The pipework most likely to freeze and split is the bit you forget about all summer. When you have an outside tap installed, make sure it has:

An indoor isolation valve so you can shut the supply off in autumn
A drain-down point so no water is left sitting in the outdoor section
Lagging on any exposed pipe runs

Doing this each autumn is the easiest way to avoid a burst pipe and a soggy wall the following spring. Our guide on preventing frozen pipes has more on protecting your plumbing through the colder months.

Water Butts, Irrigation and Garden Taps

Beyond a simple tap, there is plenty more you can do outdoors. We can plumb in water butts, fit garden irrigation feeds, add a second tap at the bottom of a long garden, or run a supply to an outbuilding or garden room. If you are planning any garden landscaping this summer, it is worth sorting the water supply at the same time.

Common Summer Plumbing Problems

The jobs we get called out to most once the hose comes out include:

Outside taps dripping or weeping at the spindle
Leaking hose connectors and split hoses
A drop in indoor pressure when sprinklers or hoses are running
Older taps seized solid after a winter unused

Most of these are quick, inexpensive fixes — and far cheaper to sort early than to ignore until water is getting somewhere it should not.

Booking an Outside Tap Installation

Fitting a new outside tap is usually a half-day job, and we can often do it the same week you call. If you would like a safe, regulation-compliant outside tap ready for summer, book online or call us for a free quote anywhere across the Wirral, Liverpool and Cheshire.

Outside Taps & Garden Plumbing: Getting Ready for Summer