An outdoor faucet — a hose bib or frost-free sillcock — almost always leaks from one of three places, and where it leaks tells you exactly what to fix. This is a spring and summer job I get called for constantly, and most of it is a few-dollar washer you can swap yourself. Now’s the season to fix it, right after you’ve come off your winterizing and into your summer plumbing checklist.
Diagnose It by Where It Leaks
| Where it leaks | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| From the handle, water on | Loose/worn packing nut | Tighten, then replace packing washer |
| From the spout, water off | Worn stem washer | Replace the washer or stem |
| From the top of the spout, hose running | Failed vacuum breaker | Replace the vacuum breaker cap |
| Inside the wall / won’t stop | Cracked frost-free body (freeze damage) | Replace the whole sillcock |
The Fixes
Leak at the handle: With a wrench, snug the packing nut behind the handle a quarter turn. If it still weeps, shut off the water, remove the handle and nut, and replace the packing washer or wrap new packing string under it.
Drip from the spout: Shut off the water supply to that line first. Unscrew the packing nut and pull the entire stem out. On a frost-free spigot the stem is long — that’s normal. Replace the rubber washer at the tip (or swap the whole stem), and reassemble.
Water from the top when the hose runs: The vacuum breaker (the cap on top that prevents backflow) has failed. Unscrew and replace just that cap — a cheap, two-minute part. If you are not sure which part that actually is, our guide to vacuum breakers vs anti-siphon valves explains what code accepts at a hose connection and why these fail under constant pressure.
When to Replace the Whole Faucet
If the body is cracked — most often from water left in the line over winter that froze and split it — no washer will fix it. Replace the whole frost-free sillcock, sizing the length to your wall thickness so the shutoff seats inside the heated wall. If it leaks inside the wall, shut off the water and treat it like any other leaking pipe — that water is hitting your framing.
Upgrading? See our picks for the best frost-free outdoor spigots, and for winter prevention, an outdoor faucet cover is cheap insurance against the freeze that causes most of these leaks.
What Replacing One Actually Costs
If the fix above is beyond a washer or a packing nut, the next question is always the same. Nationally, replacing an existing outdoor spigot averages about $250, with most jobs landing between $150 and $450 (HomeGuide, Angi, LawnStarter). A simple threaded swap on an exposed stub can come in at $120–$200.
| Job | Installed cost |
|---|---|
| Standard hose bib / ball-valve spigot | $150–$350 |
| Frost-free sillcock | $200–$430 |
| Anti-siphon spigot | $230–$435 |
| Adding a brand-new outdoor faucet (new line through the wall) | $300–$900+ |
The faucet itself is only $10–$40 for a basic hose bib, or $30–$100 for a frost-free or anti-siphon model. Everything else is labor and access — plumbers run $50–$150 an hour, and most have a one-hour minimum or a trip charge that swallows a fifteen-minute swap whole.
Four things move that number: whether the connection is threaded or soldered, whether the wall is brick or siding, how reachable the joint is from inside, and above all whether the line already exists. Replacing in place is cheap. Adding a spigot means running and tying in new supply pipe, and that is where the price jumps.
Which is the honest argument for fixing the leak first if it is fixable. A washer is a couple of dollars.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is my outdoor faucet leaking from the handle?
A leak around the handle when the water is on is almost always a loose or worn packing nut. Tighten the packing nut a quarter turn with a wrench; if it still weeps, replace the packing washer or the stem. It is a cheap, easy fix.
Why does my hose bib drip from the spout when off?
A drip from the spout means the stem washer (the rubber seal at the end of the stem) is worn and no longer sealing. Shut off the water, unscrew the stem, and replace the washer — or the whole stem on a frost-free spigot.
Should I repair or replace a leaking outdoor faucet?
Repair first — most leaks are a $5 washer or packing fix. Replace the whole frost-free sillcock if the body is cracked (usually from a winter freeze), if it leaks inside the wall, or if the threads are stripped.
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