OUTDOOR FIXTURES Faucet extensions can save hassle of installation

Devices on the market will handle the task, but you can craft one yourself.
By JAMES and MORRIS CAREY
ASSOCIATED PRESS
When we were children, it was our job each week to help our father wash the car and work in the garden. We didn't have a lawn, but planters surrounded our home. There were fruit trees, lilies, roses and every kind of shrub and hedge imaginable.
Unfortunately for us, there was only one hose bib (outside faucet) in the entire yard. That meant spreading and stowing 250 feet of hose every week -- a tough undertaking for small boys because several lengths of connected hose was very heavy.
That was then.
Now, although we are still tending to our gardens every week, we both have more than one faucet in our yards. In fact, we have several of them strategically located throughout our landscapes; no more connected lengths of hose for us. But not everyone has multiple faucets. Read on for a wetting alternative that is easy to install and convenient.
For some time now, building codes in some areas have required exterior faucets at both the front and rear of a home. This makes wetting, washing and watering things more convenient than when we were kids, but even two faucets might not be enough in a large yard. Additional faucets take time to install, and hard work is usually involved with trenching, backfill and associated replanting.
Simple adaptation
If you want an easier solution, mount a faucet onto a wood or metal stake and adapt the faucet using a female hose connection (a standard fitting that converts regular pipe threads to hose size and that costs about $3). Here's how.
First choose a thick wooden stake that you can drive into the ground deep enough so that it won't wobble when you tug on it.
Next, drill a 1-inch hole somewhere near the top of the stake.
Buy a hose bib (faucet) from the plumbing section of your local hardware store that has a built-in mounting flange. Be sure that the mounting threads are male (normally the case with this kind of hose bib).
Buy an adapter that has female pipe threads on one side and female hose threads on the other.
Next, use two screws to mount the hose bib to the stake and then install the adapter onto the back of the faucet.
You now have a faucet mounted on a stake that has male hose threads on the output side and a female hose connection on the input side. The contraption you just made can now be semi-permanently mounted anywhere in your yard. It can then be connected by any length of hose from an existing faucet and can be left in place permanently or relocated from time to time; no need to climb through thistle to get to your hose connection. The connection we have here can be a short one that makes getting to the faucet a cakewalk. Also, the same device can be used a hundred feet away. If you intend to make the above-ground connection more-or-less permanent, use something to cover the hose. Doing so will prevent premature deterioration, which is exacerbated when water remains in a hose.
Other devices
There are devices that exist like the one we've described. They are slightly more expensive than ours because they normally come with steel mounting posts, and some even have a hose-mounting hook, as well. And someone has to be paid to do the fabrication. Whichever you choose -- ours or theirs -- protect the hose connecting the house to the extension faucet and be sure to disconnect everything before going on vacation and during the winter. A burst hose can lose 6 gallons or more of water per minute. By the time such a leak is discovered, thousands of gallons of water potentially could be lost.
Also, although it might take a little extra, be sure to lay the hose out so that it is not obtrusive and so that it does not become a trip hazard.
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