One of our frost-free outdoor faucets has a split in the pipe near the spigot, just inside the wall. It only leaks when the faucet is used, since the split is in front of the cutoff, so we've simply discontinued using that outside spigot as a short-term solution.

It's not immediately pressing, but I'd like to get it repaired at some point. However, I'm trying to get a rough idea of the cost, in order to determine its priority on our "To Fix" list for the house. The replacement of the frost-free spigot assembly itself seems pretty straightforward, as long as you can access the joint where it hooks into the pipe, but here's the twist:

The access to the plumbing joint where the spigot assembly connections into the interior plumbing is in the master bathroom, positioned behind the jacuzzi tub. There's a "crawlspace" under/around the tub area, accessible by removing the front of the cabinet facade built around the tub, but the space is only a few inches underneath the tub, and maybe 1 foot by 1 foot on either side of the tub.

It's enough to where I can see that's where the pipes run, but the connection itself is up behind the rear wall of the tub, and I can't get anywhere near it with the tub in the way like that. It appears to only be accessible by completely disconnecting and dismounting/removing the jacuzzi tub.

How much would you estimate having an existing jacuzzi tub disconnected, removed, and then reinstalled will run? (Very rough estimates are fine.)

I've slithered close enough in tight spots like that in my youth. Is there a valve to shut off water to the hydrant? Is the hydrant-to-pipe connection threaded? Most/many hydrants end in male threads, and screw into female threads.

If you can isolate the hydrant (and it is a threaded connection), one can, in theory, get a wrench up to the female adaptor and 'hold back' while another spins the hydrant out from outside.

What is under the jacuzzi? Crawlspace, basement, slab?

I'll be in Joplin for my favorite donuts in a few months. What's the urgency of this project?

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Originally posted by Woodman:
I've slithered close enough in tight spots like that in my youth. Is there a valve to shut off water to the hydrant?

Not that I can see. If there is, it's behind the tub.

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Is the hydrant-to-pipe connection threaded? Most/many hydrants end in male threads, and screw into female threads.

I'm not sure. The connection isn't visible.

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If you can isolate the hydrant (and it is a threaded connection), one can, in theory, get a wrench up to the female adaptor and 'hold back' while another spins the hydrant out from outside.

I don't think there's any physical way to reach under/around the tub far enough to hold a wrench in place. Not to mention not being able to see what you're doing.

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What is under the jacuzzi? Crawlspace, basement, slab?

Slab.

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I'll be in Joplin for my favorite donuts in a few months. What's the urgency of this project?

Not urgent. We've merely discontinued using that exterior faucet until it's fixed. I'm just trying to figure out what all would be involved, so I can figure out when I might want to get it sorted out. If it's a couple hundred bucks, I'll probably do it sooner. If we're talking closer to a grand or more, it can wait a while, since there are more pressing repairs.

Here's a quick shot of one side of the tub behind part of the cabinet facade, to give you an idea of what I mean. I don't think anyone larger than a toddler could "slither" up the side there, even if you removed the pipes. There's less than a foot of clearance between the side of the tub and the wall, and it goes about 4 feet back before you could access the rear of the tub and the exterior wall. Plus you'd also have to go several feet to the left, since the spigot enters that exterior wall roughly centered on the middle rear of the tub (from what I can tell with some measurements/eyeballing).

The pipes with cutoffs in the front of that photo are for the tub's faucet.

I just realized that in my haste, I forgot to flip the horizontal measurements, which I took from the outside, using the window above the tub as a reference point.

So that means it's not one of the pipes running behind the jacuzzi tub. Instead, the pipe for the external spigot runs through the wall seen on the right of the above photo. (There's a walk-in shower on the other side of that wall.)

I don't see any obvious cutoffs for what I think is the copper pipe for this exterior spigot. There's so much spray foam insulation obscuring most of the pipe that I can't see the connection to tell if it's screwed or sweated.

But that means we may not have to remove the tub to access it, if the plumber can reach far enough back into that hole to find and access the connection in that wall.

The pipes may drop from the attic ...

There is a shutoff valve somewhere.