Ahhhh, spring! As our thoughts turn to warm weekends, flower beds, washing cars, and sprinklers, it’s time to turn on the outside faucets.
Thinking back to last Fall, the early cold snap caught a lot of people off guard – freezing temps set in before many thought to disconnect their garden hose and turn off the water to outside faucets. If that happened to you, now is a good time to check your outside water connections for leaks or bursts in the piping.
Understand burst faucets in less than 30 seconds
Woodford Manufacturing, a popular brand of exterior faucets (a.k.a. sill cocks and hose bibs, in plumber-speak), has an excellent video that illustrates the mechanics of frozen pipes. Watch video now
New exterior faucets – Add style and modern technology to your home
Now that you are thinking about your outside faucets, we should mention the many exciting options available. We’ve all seen the standard model – the classic “web” handle version that offers little comfort to your hand or interest to your home’s exterior architecture.
Exterior faucet technology has improved dramatically over the past few years. If you’re ready to spruce up your home’s look while also reducing your seasonal maintenance tasks, several easily affordable options are available.
Frost-proof faucets: Truly, one of our favorites. Installing a frost-proof exterior faucet means no more remembering to turn off the water in the Fall (followed by your spouse reminding you to turn the water back on again in the Spring). Frost-proof faucets are always ready-to-use, regardless of the outside temperature.
Comfort-grip handles: An excellent choice, especially for older homeowners who have challenges gripping and turning handles. Comfort-grip handles are an attractive and ergonomic approach.
Theme handles: Show you love for nature with popular theme valves. Typically cast in brass, birds and turtles add a wild-life friendly look to your garden area.
Dual-outlet (with comfort grip) – for homes with limited exterior faucet options, the dual-outlet approach is an easy way to focus your water needs where you need them most.
Learn more, Call Allied Reddi-Rooter today!
Upgrading your exterior faucets to a better design can greatly improve your outdoor experience. Is it a DIY project? Probably, but your plumbing professional has access to professional-grade styles and innovations that are not available at the big-box stores. Plus, a quick consultation with a pro can help you choose a style and type that best fits your home’s “look” and your outdoor needs.
If you live in a hilly region, like Cincinnati, Ohio, you may know first hand how it feels to find water flowing into or backing up into your basement. A very effective method of channeling this water away from the home is to dig a “Sump” or hole to in your basement floor. Then you place a pump within the hole that is connected to a drain pipe to channel the water outside.
Sump pumps assist not only with floods from heavy rains, but also with everyday problems like a high water table or water seepage because of construction. A sump pump, which pumps out standing water from a basement and into a drainage system, can help keep moisture out of the basement, so it will not cause structural damage or encourage the growth of mold and mildew.
Sounds easy enough… So is it something that a do-it-yourselfer can accomplish? First ask yourself this question: Are you able to locate both the highest point of the water table beneath your foundation floor and the lowest point within your basement? Can you create a precise 1.5′ wide x 2′ deep hole to collect water through your basement floor? Then can you excavate the proper drainage pipe to carry the water outside? Ouch! This is definitely not like putting in a garbage disposal. It is a job for a professional.
Allied Reddi Rooter has installed hundreds of sump pumps in Greater Cincinnati. Before you do anything, call us for a free estimate. That way you’ll know very quickly if a sump pump is the solution, or if you’d be better off just crossing “Over The Rhine” every time you go into the basement.