I have seen many outside faucets that have had leaks, but this one was an award winner. I am glad I was not standing off to the right of it when I did the water pressure reading. By the way, those of you who are tuned into that kind of thing can see that the water pressure was too low according to the gauge. If the faucet was actually supplying the water to the gauge, that might not have been a problem. Instead a significant amount of the water was being spewed elsewhere. Actually, this issue of an outside hosebibb leaking, usually around the valve stem, is pretty common. One reason inspectors see that, when a homeowner might not, is because the water pressure gauge inspectors put on puts back pressure on the faucet, so if it is going to leak, then that is when it will occur. I have had people say that such leaks do not matter, as they will not be simulated in real life. That is not true. If you put a nozzle on the hose, to wash the car, and shut it off you will create the same situation and the leak will occur again.
Thanks for taking a look.
Steven L. Smith
Bellingham WA home inspector
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