KNOW YOUR FIXTURES
What Is a Hose Bibb?
A hose bibb is the outdoor water faucet mounted on the exterior wall of your home — the one you connect a garden hose to for watering the lawn, washing the car, or hosing down the patio. In the plumbing world, it’s the official name, but most homeowners know it by other names: spigot, outdoor faucet, hose faucet, or sillcock. They’re all the same fixture.
Whatever you call it, a hose bibb is one of the most exposed parts of your plumbing system. It sits outside, unprotected from Colorado’s wild temperature swings — from 90-degree summer days to below-zero winter nights. That exposure makes hose bibbs especially vulnerable to freeze damage, and when they break, the damage often extends behind your wall to the copper supply line inside.
Southside Plumbing repairs and replaces hose bibbs and the hard piping — copper and brass — behind them. Whether your outdoor spigot is dripping, frozen, or completely broken, our master plumbers get it fixed with upfront pricing and no surprises.

01
Disconnect All Garden Hoses
This is the single most important step. A connected hose traps water inside the bibb — even frost-proof models can’t drain with a hose attached. Disconnect every hose before the first hard freeze.
02
Close the Interior Shut-Off Valve
If your hose bibb has a dedicated shut-off valve inside the house, close it for the winter. Then open the outdoor spigot to drain any remaining water from the supply line.
03
Install an Insulated Bibb Cover
Foam hose bibb covers are inexpensive and widely available at hardware stores. They add a meaningful layer of insulation — especially for older standard-style bibbs.
04
Repair Dripping Bibbs Before Winter
A hose faucet that doesn’t fully shut off will slowly feed water into the line all winter — water that’s almost certain to freeze. Get dripping bibbs repaired before cold weather arrives.
05
Consider a Frost-Proof Upgrade
If you have older standard bibbs and have dealt with freeze damage before, upgrading to frost-proof models is one of the best investments for your Colorado home.
06
Check for Damage Each Spring
When warm weather returns, turn on each outdoor spigot and check for leaks — both at the fixture and on the interior wall behind it. Freeze damage often doesn’t show until the ice thaws.

