Most roof quotes list the gutters, the flashing and the drip edge in careful detail. Few of them mention the outdoor spigot screwed to the wall under the eave, even though it sits in the strip of lawn and siding where a roof crew sets its ladders, stacks its bundles and drags its cords. On an older Creve Coeur house, that spigot may be the only one on the front or side of the building, and it may be connected to a pipe that runs through a wall the crew is about to disturb. Before the first nail goes in, you want to know what is attached to that wall, where the water shuts off, and who is responsible if the spigot splits.
Where the spigot sits on a house
An outdoor hose bib is usually mounted on an exterior wall a few feet above grade, often just below where the eave runs. Builders put them where a homeowner can reach a hose without walking far, which usually means near a side yard, a foundation planting bed or the corner by the garage. On a single-story ranch, the bib may sit only a short distance from a gutter downspout. On a two-story house, the bib may be tucked under a second-floor eave where a ladder must lean against the wall directly beside it.
A tear-off puts a steady series of hits on that wall. Ladder feet sink into soft ground and slide. Feet on the top rung, hooked over the gutter, push against the siding right beside the bib. Crews carry bundles of shingles up and down a single path, and the bundles swing. A debris chute or dumpster set at the foundation can knock the handle off a spigot in the middle of a day. None of this is careless work in the usual sense. It is the normal wear of a roof job, and the spigot is simply in the way.
What freeze and thaw does to an old spigot
The St. Louis winter adds a second problem. Water left in a standard outdoor hose bib can freeze when the temperature drops below freezing for a few hours, and the expansion can crack the valve body or split the pipe inside the wall. A frost-free bib keeps its shutoff inside the heated part of the house, so the line drains out when the handle closes. Many houses built before frost-free designs became common still have the older style, and the crack may not show until the first spring thaw, when the water comes back on and runs out of a wall that looked fine in November.
That matters for a roof schedule because a tear-off can run into late autumn. If the crew opens part of the roof in October and the weather turns cold while the job is half done, the homeowner may not notice a leaking spigot until the house is being readied for winter. A bib bumped by a ladder may also have a loose connection that drips slowly. A drip that seems harmless in a warm week can freeze at the fitting and crack the wall. Checking the spigot before the work starts gives you a dated record of its condition and a clear answer when someone asks what was already there.
Find the shutoff before anyone needs it
Most older houses in Creve Coeur have a supply shutoff for each exterior bib. It may be a small valve in the basement or crawl space on the wall nearest the spigot, or a stop on the supply pipe itself. If that shutoff is hard to reach or does not close fully, the homeowner has no quick way to stop a leak that appears during the job. Ask the roofer to show you where the water supply enters the house near the bib, and walk there with the crew lead before the tear-off. Turn the valve off and on once to see whether it moves. If it does not, a plumber should look at it before the roof is open, not while the crew waits for a decision.
Do not assume the roofer knows where the shutoff is. Roofers work outside and rarely open basement walls, and the crew's first job is the roof. It is reasonable to ask that the written scope note the bib and its shutoff were checked before work began and that any existing damage was photographed. That note does not make the roofer responsible for plumbing, but it does give both sides a clear starting point if the spigot is found broken on the morning after a rain.
Protect the wall around the spigot
Protection is simple. Before the crew starts, mark the spigot with a bright stake or a strip of tape on the lawn so the ladder setup avoids it. Ask the crew to set ladder feet on plywood or boards on soft ground, and to keep the top of each ladder off the wall beside the bib. If the bib sits on a short wall section, a removable cover or a piece of cardboard tied in place can keep dragged cords and bundles from catching the handle. Keep the garden hose disconnected and coiled away from the work path, because a hose left attached can be pulled hard enough to bend the bib.
Downspouts need a look too. Many gutter downspouts discharge onto a splash block or underground line near the same corner where the bib sits. During the roof job, the gutter may be pulled down, reset or replaced, and water may flow in unexpected places until the new trough is attached. A downspout that empties close to the spigot can soak the ground under the bib and make ladder footing worse in a wet week. Ask how the water will be routed while the gutters are off, and whether the splash block will be reset when the work is done.
What to ask before the ladder goes up
- Where is the outdoor spigot on each wall the crew will use, and does the ladder path pass it?
- Where is the water shutoff for that spigot, and does it close fully when you test it the day before the job?
- Is the bib a frost-free style, and what happens to the water line if the weather turns cold during the work?
- Will the crew set ladder feet on boards, and will the top of each ladder stay off the siding beside the bib?
- Will the spigot and its shutoff be photographed before the first day, with the photos kept in the written scope file?
- Who reconnects the hose path and resets any splash block or underground outlet once the gutters are back on?
Keys documents what it finds on the walls around the roof, including exterior fixtures that could be struck during the work, and puts the written scope and photos in the homeowner's hands before the crew begins. A plumber is the right person to repair or replace a spigot, and that bill is separate from the roof contract. If you have questions about any part of the walk-through, call the office at (314) 220-2333.