Hose Bib Replacement and Installation
Frost-Free Spigots, Shutoffs and New Taps Where You Need Them
Lighthouse Plumbing replaces leaking, cracked and seized outdoor faucets across King County and adds hose bibs where a house never had one. Most calls are a frost-free bib that split over the winter or a worn one that drips however hard it is turned, and most are a single visit with the water off for an hour or two.
Recent Hose Bib Work
North Bend: a failed bib in a river-rock wall
A homeowner outside North Bend called in April about the front spigot, which had failed where it came through a river-rock veneer. Bradyn chipped the mortar out around it, cut out about three feet of copper behind the wall and replaced it with new copper and a new hose bib. The job came to about $900.
Duvall: two bibs replaced, no more leaks
When Beth in Duvall needed two outdoor hose bibs replaced, Bradyn got the job done in a single visit, including several trips into the crawl space to make sure everything was connected right.
"He was knowledgeable, courteous, and speedy, even with having to go in the crawl space several times. And he gave me a couple of tips for the future. I am very happy to have these bibs both working and not leaking, and I'll use Lighthouse Plumbing again."
Beth, Duvall ★★★★★
Carnation: a proper spigot where a boiler drain used to be
A house near Lake Joy, outside Carnation, had no real outdoor faucet on one side: the only tap was a boiler drain teed into the water main under the floor. Donald cut it out of the CPVC main, added a quarter-turn shutoff and a PEX line, and put a hose bib on the wall at hose height.
And across the Eastside this year
In Kingsgate, in Kirkland, Bradyn replaced two leaking hose bibs with frost-free bibs tied into the piping in the basement ceiling, with the house's water off for about two hours. In Carnation in August, two old bibs became two quarter-turn bibs on new sections of PEX. In Issaquah, a garage frost-free bib was replaced during a larger visit, and in Seattle in October, Beau installed heavier-duty bibs for a homeowner who wanted them, with the supply arranged so it can be isolated for the winter.
What We Replace and Install
Frost-free hose bibs
The long-stem sillcock whose valve seat sits inside the heated wall, so the spout drains and nothing is left to freeze. The right fixture for every exterior wall in this climate, as long as the hose comes off in the fall.
Quarter-turn bibs and new stems
Where a frost-free bib cannot be fitted, a quarter-turn ball-valve bib replaces the multi-turn kind that drips at the stem after a few seasons. Some older bibs can be rebuilt with new stems and gaskets instead.
Vacuum breakers
The small brass cap on the spout that keeps hose water from being drawn back into your drinking water. They wear out early on high-pressure houses, and we replaced one in Fall City in July at the same visit as a new pressure regulator.
Interior shutoffs and winterization valves
A shutoff inside, on the line that feeds the bib, lets you drain the outdoor line for winter and isolate a leak without shutting the house down. In Duvall in June we added winterization valves on the lines to a patio while replacing the regulator and a hose bib.
New taps where there were none
A new bib on a wall that never had one means a new line from the nearest supply, through a wall or a crawlspace, which is what the Carnation job above was. The distance and the access set the price.
Yard hydrants
The frost-proof standpipe out in a field or by a barn, with its valve buried below the frost line. We repair and replace them on valley properties.
What Decides the Price
- One bib replaced on an accessible wall: about $450 to $950 on our 2026 invoices, with tax, depending on whether the copper or PEX behind it needs to be cut back and whether the wall has to be opened.
- Two bibs, or a bib on new piping: about $1,000 to $1,700, the range of our Kingsgate, Carnation and basement-ceiling jobs this year.
- A bib in masonry or stone: the North Bend job, with the mortar opened and three feet of copper replaced, came to about $900.
- A new tap on a new line: priced by the run, after we have seen the crawlspace or the wall it has to pass through.
Our Process
1. Look at the wall and what feeds it
We find the bib's supply line, the nearest shutoff and the frost-free stem's length, and tell you whether the wall or the ceiling has to be opened.
2. Quote
A firm price for the bib, the piping behind it and any access panel or interior shutoff worth adding while the water is off.
3. Replace
The water goes off for an hour or two, the old bib and any failed pipe come out, and the new bib goes in with a slight downward pitch so it drains.
4. Test and show you
We run it, check behind the wall for drips, and show you the shutoff inside and how the bib should be left in November.
Hose Bib Questions
How much does it cost to replace a hose bib?
On our 2026 invoices, replacing one hose bib on an accessible wall ran about $450 to $950 with tax, and two bibs, or a bib that needed new piping behind it, about $1,000 to $1,700. Opening a wall, cutting back failed copper or working in masonry moves the price toward the top of each range.
What is the difference between a frost-free hose bib and a regular one?
A frost-free bib has a long stem that closes the water off inside the heated wall, so the spout drains and has nothing in it to freeze. A regular bib closes at the spout, leaving water in the pipe in the cold wall. Frost-free bibs only work if the hose is off; a hose traps the water in the spout.
Why does my outdoor faucet leak inside the wall only when I turn it on?
Because a frost-free bib that froze with a hose on it splits along the stem, inside the wall. The split is on the pressure side only when the valve is open, so the bib looks fine and floods the wall or crawlspace the first time it is used in spring. The fix is a new bib, not a washer.
Can you add a hose bib where there isn't one?
Yes. We run a new line from the nearest cold supply, in a crawlspace, a basement ceiling or a wall, add a shutoff inside and set a frost-free bib through the exterior wall at hose height. The Carnation job above replaced a boiler drain under the floor with exactly that; the price follows the length and access of the run.
Why does water spray out of the top of my hose bib when the hose is on?
That is the vacuum breaker, the small brass cap on the spout, letting go. It is a backflow device that keeps hose water out of your drinking water, and the rubber inside it wears out, faster on a house with high pressure. It is a small part to replace, and if the bib is tired we replace both at once.
Should the line to an outdoor faucet have its own shutoff inside?
Ideally, yes. An interior shutoff lets you close and drain the outdoor line before a hard freeze and isolate a leak without shutting the house down. Many older houses have none, and a hose bib replacement is the cheapest time to add one, since the water is already off and the line is already open.
Hose Bib Work Across Our Service Area
From our shop in Fall City we handle hose bib work across the Snoqualmie Valley, the Eastside and north into Snohomish County. This year's jobs ran from North Bend, Carnation and Duvall to Kirkland, Issaquah and Seattle. Hose bibs are a fall and spring trade: the leaks show up when the hoses go on, and the cracks happen when they stay on too long. Our fall checklist covers the hose-off routine, and our Fall City water pressure page explains why high pressure shortens a bib's life.
Why Homeowners Call Lighthouse for Hose Bibs
We fix the pipe behind the bib, not just the bib
Three feet of copper in North Bend, a CPVC main in Carnation, a basement ceiling in Kirkland. A new bib on a failed line leaks again.
We leave you a shutoff
Where a house has no inside valve on the outdoor line, we add one while the water is off, so next winter is a quarter turn and a drain instead of a repair.
We work in the walls people have
Stone veneer, lap siding, CPVC, galvanized: valley and Eastside houses were built in every decade, and we have replaced bibs in all of them.
Licensed, Bonded & Insured
Lighthouse Plumbing is a fully licensed, bonded and insured Washington plumbing contractor. Our license number is LIGHTP*762K2, and you're welcome to verify it with Washington State L&I before we start. More detail is on our licensing and insurance page.
Put the Tap Where the Hose Goes
More: the Duvall spigot that would not stop dripping · water pressure services · leak detection and repair · faucet services · plumbing in Carnation