How to Install a House Hydrant | Ask This Old House

Ask This Old House plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey installs a house hydrant to replace a leaky outdoor spigot. (See below for a shopping list, tools, and steps.)
SUBSCRIBE to This Old House:
Shopping List for How to Install a House Hydrant:
- House hydrant kit []
Tools for How to Install a House Hydrant:
- Emery cloth []
- Pipe cutter []
- Screwdriver []
- Oscillating saw []
- Solder []
- Torch []
Steps for How to Install a House Hydrant:
1. Turn off the water supply to the outdoor spigot.
2. Clean the cut point downstream of the water supply valve with an emery cloth.
3. Cut the pipe with a pipe cutter. Some excess water may drain out.
4. Unscrew the outdoor spigot using a screwdriver and remove it.
5. The house hydrant is round; using a pencil, outline the hydrant head on the siding.
6. Using an oscillating saw, cut out the outlined portion of the siding to fit the head.
7. Insert the new pipe and house hydrant head into the hole in the siding.
8. Place a bead of silicone caulking around the hydrant head and secure it with screws using a driver.
9. Place the operating bar inside the pipe until the O-ring is seated at the edge of the pipe and is even with the threads.
10. Connect the spring with a new piece of copper pipe by using a torch to solder the two together away from the new hydrant head pipe.
11. Use the torch to solder the remaining copper pipe connection back to the main water supply.
About Ask This Old House TV:
Homeowners have a virtual truckload of questions for us on smaller projects, and we're ready to answer. Ask This Old House solves the steady stream of home improvement problems faced by our viewers—and we make house calls! Ask This Old House features some familiar faces from This Old House, including Kevin O'Connor, general contractor Tom Silva, plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey, and landscape contractor Roger Cook.
Follow This Old House and Ask This Old House:
Facebook:
Twitter:
Pinterest:
Instagram:
Tumblr:
For more on This Old House and Ask This Old House, visit us at:
How to Install a House Hydrant | Ask This Old House
/