Help with a leaky faucet after freeze
#1
01-26-18, 03:14 PM
Help with a leaky faucet after freeze
So yes....i have a burst pipe from after a long deep freeze. It only leaks when the outside spigot is turned on, but what has me confused is that the leak shows wetness in the sheetrock about two inches below the ceiling. If the frostproof sp[igot burst why is it leaking way up there? Is this a DIY fix or should I get the plumber involved?
#2
01-26-18, 05:24 PM
Member
It only leaks when the outside spigot is turned on
#3
01-26-18, 05:45 PM
Let me elaborate a bit... The outside spigot is about 2 feet above ground level but the water is leaking up near the ceiling. When you said it is following the pipe, how is it climbing up nearly 6 feet?
#4
01-26-18, 06:07 PM
Member
Then you have a leak somewhere else! What else is fed off the same supply line? And how sure are you that everytime you turn on the faucet you have water coming through the wall? Can it be coincidence that maybe you have a roof leak? Roof leaks can be tricky and can follow wood beams and show up in completely strange places. What other plumbing might be in the area?
Maybe some picture will be helpful.
Maybe some picture will be helpful.
#5
01-26-18, 06:50 PM
there has been no rain in the last few days nor roof melt off. The walls and floor were completely dry before I went outside to power wash off my truck, came back inside and there was water all over the floor of the garage and laundry room as well as water marks in the sheet rock up to about 7'6" or so on the garage side and laundry room side of the wall they have in common. Turned off the spigot and no more water has appeared. The spigot supply line runs inside the common wall between the laundry room and the garage. The only possibility that comes to mind is that the rupture is literally shooting the water up 6 feet or so, hitting the sheet rock then running down the inside. My question is then...is all the mechanisms for a frost free spigot always down at the spigot level or could there be some other sort of mechanism up near the division between the basement level (it is a walk out basement so the spigot is at ground level in regards to the basement floor) and the first floor where the water marks are from the obvious leak? I would rather just cut one hole in my wall and want to know should I go for the spigot level or up 7'6" where the water marks are on the wall?
#6
01-26-18, 07:07 PM
Member
The only possibility that comes to mind is that the rupture is literally shooting the water up 6 feet or so, hitting the sheet rock then running down the inside.
Can you send pics of the spigot and the wall that shows water damage?
#8
01-27-18, 04:37 AM
Group Moderator
If you put a nozzle on the end of your hose and aim it straight up. If you adjust the nozzle to get the stream of water as high in the air as possible is about how high water can spray up inside a wall cavity. I assume your house is a brick veneer. There is usually a hollow space between your interior wood walls and the exterior brick. That means there is a totally open space for water to spray up.
#11
01-29-18, 06:51 AM
Well...exactly as guessed....the frost-free spigot burst at the 12 o'clock position and was spraying water straight up, hence the watermarks way up there
#12
01-29-18, 09:16 AM
Group Moderator
Leaving a hose attached to the spigot is usually the cause of them bursting. If you remove the hose in the fall the water can drain out of the faucet body so there is nothing to freeze.
