Outside Faucet Leaking This Spring? Here’s What Winter Did

April 24, 2026 — Burleson, TX It’s a familiar spring moment: you reach for the outside faucet to rinse off a patio chair or hook up the hose for the first time since fall, and water sprays from somewhere it shouldn’t. Sometimes it’s a steady drip from the spout. Sometimes it’s water pouring out from behind the wall. Either way, what you’re seeing started months ago, during a freeze.

Why Winter Freezes Cause Spring Leaks

Outside faucets — also called hose bibs or sillcocks — are one of the most freeze-vulnerable points on the entire plumbing system. When water trapped inside the faucet or the pipe behind it freezes, it expands. That expansion can crack the valve body, split the copper line inside the wall, or rupture a soldered joint you can’t see from outside. The catch is that none of that leaks while temperatures are still below freezing — the ice itself seals the damage. The leak only shows up once everything thaws and water pressure returns, which for North Texas usually means the first warm weekend in spring when a homeowner turns the handle to water the yard.

Common Signs of Outside Faucet Damage

• A steady drip from the spout even when the handle is closed tight
• Water spraying from the base of the faucet or around the handle stem
• Wet spots on the exterior siding, brick, or foundation below the faucet
• A soft or damp interior wall on the side of the house where the faucet is mounted
• A sudden jump in the water bill with no obvious indoor cause
• The sound of water running behind the wall when every fixture is off

A leak at the spout is usually a worn washer or a damaged valve stem. A leak at the base or behind the wall almost always means the pipe itself cracked during a freeze, and that’s the one that does real damage if it’s left alone.

What to Do Right Now

If you’re seeing water where it shouldn’t be, shut the faucet off and listen. If the dripping or running continues after the handle is closed, the problem is downstream of the valve — inside the wall. In that case, shut off the main water supply to the house until a plumber can get eyes on it. A cracked pipe behind the siding will keep leaking every time the system is pressurized, and inside the wall is exactly where you don’t want that water going. For a simple spout drip, you can often leave the faucet closed and schedule a repair at your convenience. For wall leaks or foundation moisture, don’t wait — standing water against a slab can lead to much bigger problems, including slab leak detection work down the line if moisture migrates under the house.

Repair or Replace?

On standard hose bibs, a worn washer or packing nut is often a quick fix. On freeze-damaged faucets, the whole valve typically needs to be replaced, and in some cases the supply line behind the wall has to be opened up and re-soldered. Frost-free sillcocks — the longer style designed to drain automatically — fail differently than traditional hose bibs, and replacing like-for-like is usually the most reliable route. It’s also worth checking the other outside faucets on the property while you’re at it. If one cracked, the others on the same side of the house went through the same freeze conditions.

Get It Handled Before the First Heavy Watering

We handle outside faucet repair and replacement across Alvarado, Burleson, Crowley, Everman, Joshua, and Keene. Call 817-447-2654 or visit dependableplumbingrepair.com to schedule. Dependable Plumbing Company has been keeping water on the right side of North Texas walls since 1985.