Watering my wonderful hedgerow has been quite the chore – until last weekend! Our only functional faucets were at the back of the house. The hedgerow (and animals and most other things needing water) are in the front. Many hoses and a lot of bucket shlepping is not what i call convenient. The cause of this calamity? An old and broken frost free yard hydrant. Well, my friends – thanks to my (getting more handy all the time) husband, we’ve got ourselves a brand spankin’ new hydrant!
The process for this repair was fairly simple. First off: turn off the water to the house! Then:
1. dig around old hydrant until the attachment to the house pipes is exposed. 2. Disattach hydrant from its support (in this case the house) and carefully unscrew from main pipe (being careful not to break the main pipe. 3. Allow water to flush the main pipe. 4. Dry the main pipe threads and wrap new teflon (plumbers) tape around threads. 5. Screw on new hydrant! Wife assistance required for this portion. Being careful not to over tighten or shear off the main pipe, screw on the new hydrant until it’s tight enough and is facing the direction you want it to face. 6. Test – turn water back on to check for leaks. No leaks? Great! Back fill the hole with very course gravel to allow the drain hole to drain without getting clogged. Ta da! Revel in the glory that is your brand new Yard Hydrant
We were rather daunted by this task and thus felt pretty awesome having completed it without breaking anything! Thank you, husband for taking control of this project and letting me work on my awesome new walkway (post to come!)
What home repair most daunts you? Plumbing? Electrical?
Electrical for sure. I almost want to turn the power off to the house when I change light bulbs! Scares me… And plumbing can be a bit intimidating. If it goes well, great. If not… yikes, it is usually a mess.
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