How Much Does It Cost To Fit/Install an Outside Tap?



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Cost to Fit an Outside Tap





Job
Description
Labour
1To fit a tap on the “kitchen sink” wall. It’s a “half a day” inc. £25 for the fittings.
£115
2If you want the tap in an awkward place (with no adjacent internal supply pipework) it could take him all day.
£210
3To fit a tap outside the back door, build a new gully and run it to an existing manhole. Legally the building inspector needs to oversee this. So that’s 2 men 2 days inc. Plus materials, tipping, professional fees etc for the above.
£875
4To fit a tap at the bottom of the garden. If you “surface run” the supply pipe and have it freeze each winter, this will take 2 men 1 day inc. materials.
 £345
 
The above job, but with the supply pipe buried 900mm below the surface to prevent freezing. This could take 2 men 4 days.
 £1175

“Labour” at £175 a day (tradesman) £100 (labourer), includes incidental fixings etc. and tipping charges. “Materials” if mentioned, are larger things (a boiler) and stuff only you can choose (tiles etc).  Also VAT must be added all round.

Information Sheet on Fitting an Outside Tap

Ideally he should connect the tap to the cold water main before the internal stop tap, which is usually under the sink somewhere. This will mean he has to stop the water out in the street which is slightly illegal but simple enough to do. (You should legally get the water board to come and stop the water if it’s outside your premises).

If he connects before the internal stop tap, you can still have a “nice cup of tea” using the outside tap, if you have to turn off the water main in the house for any reason in the future.

Why are you recoiling in horror? Outside tap water is just the same as kitchen sink tap water and for that matter mains loo flushing water. It’s where it goes after it leaves the pipe that can make it unsavoury.

He should also fit a stop cock/isolating valve internally so that you can turn off the supply to the garden tap in freezing weather. This removes the need to fit that daft wooden box full of ineffective insulation around the external pipe. When you do turn off the inside cock in cold weather, you should then turn the outside tap itself on. This drains all the water out so it can’t freeze and expand and burst the pipe. Therefore it is important to site the outside tap below the pipe hole in the wall.

Garden taps are now required to have an “anti siphon” valve. This stops contaminated water from jumping out of the watering can/hosepipe, running back up the pipes into the house and giving you all “Montezuma’s Revenge”. These are integral with modern units so don’t use an old tap.

Don’t let him use plastic fittings. Soldered copper pipes are neater and 50 times stronger. You will be hanging a bucket full of water off the tap as you fill it remember and that weighs 20kg or so. Also try to avoid “self tapping connections” internally. These clamp around the intended supply pipe and create a small hole. They’re OK for washing machines but give a reduced water supply.

This becomes very evident when you use the hose on your petunias a hundred foot down your garden.

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