Repairing a hard to reach sillcock


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Old 04-28-17, 04:45 PM
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Repairing a hard to reach sillcock

I made the biggest first time homeowner mistake and left my hose on the outdoor faucet over the winter. It froze and cracked the silcock (i've got water leaking from behind the siding of the house and I've replaced the washers already). I'm having a really hard time getting to the silcock and need some advice. I cut a hole in the basement wall I thought I could reach up to it but nope, here you can see the PEX going to the silcock. I need advice on how to access the silcock. I'm not sure if going through the basement ceiling would help me reach it and I've read that removing the siding and going in from the outside is not a good idea. Any advice is much appreciated.
 
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Old 04-28-17, 05:01 PM
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I don't see any PEX in that first picture. I do see some PVC drain piping. Are you sure you removed the wallboard in the right area? Can you use a mirror and look up into the wall and see the frost-proof faucet or any PEX piping?

Okay, I saw the second picture and it MAY be possible to remove the screws holding the faucet to the siding and simply pulling it out. All depends upon IF there is additional PEX stuffed back where it cannot be seen through that hole.
 
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Old 04-28-17, 06:37 PM
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Hopefully here is a better picture of the PEX, or I could be wrong and it is something else.

How does the PEX connect to the faucet/silcock? If I pull from the outside would I break a connection between the PEX and faucet. There are no screws on the faucet on the outside.

Thank you for your reply.
 
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Old 04-28-17, 07:40 PM
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Welcome to the forums.

There are no screws on the faucet on the outside.
That would be a first. There must be screws to hold the faucet in.

Is this a frost-proof sillcock ?
Is there a separate shut off for it ?

In most basements the valve would be in the red area.

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Old 04-29-17, 04:53 AM
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I agree with Pete, your piping will be up at the ceiling. You may use an inspection mirror and light to find it, cut the sheetrock out and make the repairs that way. You won't know how the PEX is connected to the faucet until you see it. What has happened the tube from the washer to the outside has split. That is why you only get a leak when the water is turned on.
 
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Old 04-29-17, 11:35 AM
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Can you cut the PEX where you can access it and then pull the old sillcock out from the out side. Then attack a new piece of PEX on the new sillcock and slide the whole thing back in the way it came out. Then couple the PEX ends with either a Sharkbite coupling or ball valve. In these cases I usually don't repair the drywall, but install a cold air grille over the hole for future access. Be sure to shut house water off prior to cutting the PEX.
 
 

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