However, the connection does not have to be made under the sink, as long as it’s a cold water supply at mains pressure, that’s all that’s needed. It shows all the necessary fittings, the isolation valve, drain plug, sleeve, back plate and tap, so you can also use this as a list of what you’ll need. There are no regulations saying you can’t fit an outside tap yourself, it just boils down to competence and confidence.

Fittings - The Caravan Warehouse Caravan Water Fittings - The Caravan Warehouse

Brass 1/2 inch lockshield outside tap / hose union bib tap / bibcock with removable handle / key to help prevent unauthorised use. Made from Brass and rubber construction means they will stand up to the outside elements, though you should of course turn off water to a garden tap over the colder months to help prevent freezing and burst pipework. As we have mentioned, this should ideally be in a good location outside but also to make installation as easy as possible, close to an existing mains cold water pipe. This heavy duty 1/2 inch brass outside tap is nearly twice the weight of a standard domestic garden hose union bib tap. Again, using copper or Pushfit is totally fine, but if you are new to this sort of work then Pushfit is the way to go.The next job is to wrap some PTFE tape around the threads of the outside tap, around 10 – 15 wraps or more. You might need other fittings if the cold water supply is not close by, or even the hot water supply if you want to fit an outside hot water tap.

Outside Tap Kits - Stevenson Plumbing Outside Tap Kits - Stevenson Plumbing

You can use compression fittings or solder fittings, but if you can, solder here will be best as they are not as chunky and will allow you to make a tighter turn so that the wall plate can be fixed directly to the wall without having to pack it out to accommodate for a larger fitting. We like to add one of these wherever possible as it allows you to drain down the outside tap pipework.

You can replace the washer on the outside tap, but sometimes it’s so much easier and less of a headache to just replace the tap. Expansion and contraction can cause the water pipe to rub across the masonry and over time weaken it to the point is bursts.