My outside faucets have a device on the end to prevent winter freezing. It seems one faucet is leaking inside my wall only when it is turned on outside. If a hose is hooked up, faucet turned on & a hose shut off or sprayer is closed I can hear water runing inside my wall until the faucet is closed. Today I cut into the drywall & sheathing after not turning the faucet on for a few days. The inside pipe & brick is dry. Below the pipe the sheathing, insulation, & 2x4 frame is soaking wet. The outside pipe, brick & faucet are also dry. Is it possible the leak only occurs when the faucet is opened & back pressure occurs? If so I assume the faucet must be replaced?

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If so I assume the faucet must be replaced?

I expect that you are correct. The body of the faucet inside of the house is cracked and leaks when the valve is opened.

It shuts off at the end of the pipe so if you have a split like if the pipe froze water would leak out of the split.
Here is a diagram how the faucets are built.

https://www.edtengineers.com/b...-free-outdoor-faucet

Maybe the faucet didn't drain in the winter time and the remaining water in the pipe froze.

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Originally posted by JasonATI:
It shuts off at the end of the pipe so if you have a split like if the pipe froze water would leak out of the split.
Here is a diagram how the faucets are built.

https://www.edtengineers.com/b...-free-outdoor-faucet

Dang, beat me to it. But yes, this is the problem I would imagine.

Freezeless faucets shut off back in the wall where it is warm. if the hose was left on during winter the faucet does not drain out the water in the tube which is 3/4" copper (only thinner than regular copper pipe) freezes and splits. When you turn on the water it comes out the split and leaks inside wall.
This sometimes also happens when the faucet is not installed correctly with a bit of down hill slope so water drains out when shut off.
Figure out where it comes inside the wall and cut the wall open and replace the faucet.

Sounds like you have a failed frost free valve. Most likely just replace the valve and good to go, since it only leaks while on.

Do you have a shut-off valve inside? All three of my hose bibs have a shut-off inside the basement and the supply line slopes down so they can drain when I shut them off for the winter.

For good measure (probably overkill) I also place one of those foam spigot covers over each for the winter.

Had an ancient spigot supply line burst on me under a porch one year at my old house and ran for like a week and I only found out when the HVAC guy who happened to be there found it and fixed it for me. My water bill that quarter was HUGE and I vowed to never go through that crap again.

I highly recommend the inside shut-off if you don’t have one.

I had that happen. Was a result of a frozen pipe. Only leaked inside the wall when I turned it on.

Thanks all for the info. Now I have to decide to try & fix myself or find an expert.

^^can you solder? If so it’s an easy fix with a replacement frost free assembly. If not pay for someone to do it for you.

I left a hose connected during a freeze. Found out in the springtime when I turned it on.

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Originally posted by shovelhead:
I left a hose connected during a freeze. Found out in the springtime when I turned it on.

Been there, done that.
The valve is right where the faucet connects to the house piping. If it can't drain, it will start to freeze outside, which pushes water back towards the valve. As the ice expands, the pressure on the area just in front of the valve is the highest & it will split right there. It will seal when the valve is off, but leak when the valve is opened.

Not a hard fix for the pipe & hopefully you caught it soon enough that the water damage is minimal. Dry it quick.

Many of these are threaded and you need to hold the inside piping steady while loosening the faucet. This may mean going under the house or cutting open an inside wall.

All right jumped back in to tell ya, that the frost free faucets come in two flavors..threaded and slip(for soldering). You’ll need to cut the drywall on the interior to see what you have for the connections. I have this special PEX in my new home that has a layer of aluminum in the PEX…so that was an extra tool for peeling off the outside plastic and the aluminum before I could just use a regular ring that was squished onto the slip end of the new fitting.

Here’s a good video. https://youtu.be/Qw830Vw6F-U


Handyman just did one of these replacements…. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9LIKCsmvdc

You can rent the PEX tools from lowes or a local rental company…if you have copper you can just solder in a new fixture.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: MikeinNC,

Just replaced mine yesterday. There’s a SharkBite brand 12” sillcock that I used. Cut the pipe, pulled the old one out, pushed the new one in, push to connect, done.