Outside Taps Edinburgh

Installing an Outside Tap makes great sense if you do a lot of gardening or even if you’d just prefer not to have a hose pipe trailing in through the kitchen window every time you want to wash the car. Although some might see this DIY job as being beyond their abilities, it is actually fairly straightforward as long as you follow the steps laid out in this guide.

You should tell your local water supply company before you install the tap, as there may be an additional charge on your water rates. Not all water companies require this, but it is worth a phone call to check.

If the thought of all the plumbing joints, elbows, valves and stoptaps in this guide worries you, an alternative option is to buy a DIY Outside Tap Installation Kit .

Tools You Will Need:
Adjustable Spanners x 2
Hacksaw or Pipe Cutter
Hammer Drill
Round/Half-Round File
Tape Measure
Spirit Level
Exterior Filler

You will also need various plumbing fixtures including: An Angled Bib Tap, Wall Plate Elbow, 15mm Double Check Valve, at least 2 15mm Elbows, 15mm Copper Pipe, 15mm Equal Tee, Plastic Pipe Clips and PTFE Tape.

1. Choose the position for the tap on the outside wall of the kitchen, close to the rising main under the kitchen sink (usually). You don’t want the tap positioned right in front of the rising main as this might make connecting the pipes awkward. Ideally, the tap should be positioned about 500mm to the left or right of the rising main. Also take into account the height of the tap. Make sure that a standard bucket will sit underneath it easily and that it is above the damp-proof course.

2. Mark where the tap will sit and then measure up 150mm to mark where the hole through the wall will go. If possible, measure up from there to the level of a window sill so that you can check the hole is not too high on the inside of the wall (you can use the inside of the same windowsill to transfer the height onto the interior wall). The pipe hole should ideally enter the kitchen under the sink and be above the level of the stoptap on the rising main.

3. If everything is ok (and it is worth double checking), drill the hole through the wall using a Hammer Drill fitted with a long, 20 mm wide masonry bit. You can then use the hole as a guide when fitting the new pipework and hopefully reduce the number of joints needed in the pipe. Remember that you want around 500mm between the rising main and the hole.

1. Turn off the main stoptap and then turn on the kitchen cold tap to drain the pipe. Some pipes might have a drain valve above the stoptap. If so, hold a container underneath it and open it to drain the rising main. Mark the rising main level with the hole in the wall and use a hacksaw to cut out a 20mm section above that mark. File the cut ends to get rid of any burrs and to square them off if needed.