# Plumbing review



## Jungle (May 21, 2014)

No sure but occasionally i smell something like foul like sewer gas, seems to be in the evening. There was a bird down the vent last year. I pour a few buckets of hot soapy water down the vent from above, didn't seem to make any unusually draining noise that you expect if it was blocked. So i figured it is ok.

Can you experts review this plumbing photo. The bottom is to the sewer, the next on the left is the toilet, then the sink, then bend to the vent up. 
There is an access point there i might try to get off? You can see on the left the metal, but it seems glued? How do i get that off, with a hammer? Or pour some draino down the vent pipe? Is this configuration even correct?


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## havasu (May 21, 2014)

Please don't use any caustic drain cleaners. They only waste your hard earned money. If you do, and realize it doesn't work and need to hire a professional, please advise them that you used these chemicals so they can take necessary precautions.


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## Jungle (May 21, 2014)

I would flush it afterwards with a few pails of water.


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## CallMeVilla (May 21, 2014)

Ooops.  Spotted it immediately.  The San-T in the top middle is backwards.  Should be pointing the flow to the right, not the left.  Here is a picture for the proper orientation.  You will be removing all that glued pipe to make the repair.  For really clean cuts, use a power miter saw ... fast, clean and accurate.


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## oldognewtrick (May 21, 2014)

Good eye CMV


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## Jungle (May 21, 2014)

So your saying that would causes a problem with exhaust?  Holy crap!

I guess it is sort of half works now? Or are you saying it won't work at all?
I suppose i need a new piece and maybe an extender i will lose the 2" insert. Looks like it can bend a bit. The circular saw  should get through it, then the swazel. 
Will i get hit with sewer gas when it is opened up?


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## havasu (May 21, 2014)

A beer to CMV!


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## slownsteady (May 21, 2014)

Did you say what room you were smelling the fumes in? I would take a look at the individual traps in that room first. That tee may be backwards, but you may want to look through the cleanout at the left before you start cutting. I suspect you could see a clog or something there if the tee is the problem.


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## CallMeVilla (May 21, 2014)

Good advice, Slow ... I think I see a drain line to the far left, so the toilet flush is backing into that pipe.  The back pressure could be causing p-trap "burps" now and then.

Either way, hack off the offending pipes and realign the drain system.  Check your p-traps for blockages and snake the lines while you have the p-traps pulled apart.

Avoid caustic drain cleaners in the future.  If they get caught in the line ... and then you cut the line ... you can get burned.  I posted a story about a lady at Home Depot who was trying to find a plunger for her toilet AFTER putting DRANO down the drain ... OMG!


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## slownsteady (May 21, 2014)

If you think about it, that whole assembly is a little wonky. It looks like the main drain goes off at floor level to the left, so why are all all those pipes above going to the right? Looks to be about 8 feet too much pipe in that run.


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## nealtw (May 21, 2014)

slownsteady said:


> If you think about it, that whole assembly is a little wonky. It looks like the main drain goes off at floor level to the left, so why are all all those pipes above going to the right? Looks to be about 8 feet too much pipe in that run.



It used to go from the toilet upstairs to the left and then down to the dran at the floor and someone just cut and changed the direction to allow for the sink in the basement, out of sight to the right.
And then we don't see a vent pipe coming back from that sink so that could be the problem with sewer gas.


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## Jungle (May 22, 2014)

I hacked it out and squeezed in a new piece. It's not that pretty but i got it in at least 1 cm...lots of glue

The guy at homedepot said the if it is the wrong angle air would be forced down instead of up.

There is another drain from the bathtub that drains on an angle at the high point, so it looks ok.

Thanks for that speedy help. I survived a year here already just above my computer with toxic gas coming out.


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## nealtw (May 22, 2014)

Unless there is a hole in a pipe you still wouldn't get sewer gas from that set up. I would be be checking traps in the area and make sure that there is water in them.


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## Jungle (Jun 4, 2014)

If the traps are blocked you notice when the water drains no?

Here is the other vent for the kitchen. You can see the basement the two drains, one form the sink and one from the washer. Then the vent pipe going to the right...


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## oldognewtrick (Jun 4, 2014)

What is that red mess on the drain pipe and you are very likely getting fumes up through the vented soffit by the pipe terminating underneath. The soil stack should continue up through the roof to ventilate to the atmosphere.


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## Jungle (Jun 4, 2014)

The just some tape for the washer connection. You think that's a problem? There is a trap underneath. I have the condensation hose going there too, the is a lot of tape around it.

Also is there a simply way to test the vent pipe? Maybe put the blower vac on to it, push the air in to test it? Or put a lit match up there, should there be air coming out?


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## nealtw (Jun 4, 2014)

No matches, sewer gas burns.
Does the one pipe sevice the kitchen up stairs, is there another vent up there?


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## Jungle (Jun 4, 2014)

The pipe on the right going up is the kitchen sink drain. The pipe coming back goes up and then out. Then turns to white and become the vent. I remember someone said something about it. They suggested something like a whirly device on the end.
 Sort of forgot it, until today. I notice that slight odor again but right over the kitchen sink. Not sure, could be the garborator.
The other odor is gone and i assume the first fix worked.

I think'll the try the hose and put some water down there and listen for the girgle if it sound normal.


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## nealtw (Jun 4, 2014)

So is this the closest vent to the kitchen sink?


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## Jungle (Jun 5, 2014)

The kitchen sink is front of the window you see there in the picture. not good?


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## CallMeVilla (Jun 5, 2014)

Since the vent is close to the kitchen window, doesn't it make sense vent gasses could get in the kitchen?  Right?  If you push the vent through the roof, all gasses will go above and away from the window.  This will take a hole saw and the proper vent flashing then you have to put it in ...

Here is a starter to show you the process...

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjXA9gSCQQ8[/ame]


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## nealtw (Jun 5, 2014)

not good. The vent should have been hooked up right after the trap and gone out the roof.

Other may help here but I think you could put in a cheater valve that allows air in but stops the gases from coming out. You cut in a tee and place this thing up beside the sink in the cupboard.


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## nealtw (Jun 5, 2014)

http://publicecodes.cyberregs.com/st/sc/b9v07/st_sc_st_b9v07_9_sec006.htm


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## nealtw (Jun 5, 2014)

Villa; the pipe drops 8 ft to the basement before it meets the vent.


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## CallMeVilla (Jun 5, 2014)

I have recommended the Air Admittance Valve previously.  They work.

As to the placement of the vent ... I agree but he may be getting vent gasses through the window too.  Have you ever done a vent that stopped under the overhang?  Nope.  

Between your recommendation and mine, I think we have covered the bases, yes?


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## nealtw (Jun 5, 2014)

If he puts in the stuter valve for the kitchen, can he then run a vent for the laundry back to the stack in the basement and do away with the pipe outside.


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## Jungle (Jun 5, 2014)

The window is an awning type tends to get the air from the bellow, also doesn't get opened that much because of the furnace exhaust near by.

The trap from the sink is just above there to the right. Could i put in a T then a pipe over to the vent and another T connection?
  Or better to put the T in then a piece of pipe then the Air Admittance Valve going up?


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## nealtw (Jun 5, 2014)

I was thinking you could do something like this and pick up the other vent in the basement and run them over to the big stack, but thats a wet vent and I don't know the rules on that.
The vent outside still delivers flamable gas to the area under the eaves.


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## Jungle (Jun 5, 2014)

In that case there is cabinet.

I can just connect the sink drain pipe, after the trap, straight across to the vent pipe with another T connection?

The trap for the sink is bellow the floor in the basement just there. There was no room with the garborator above. I think it is called branch ventilation pipe.


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## nealtw (Jun 5, 2014)

Yes, I think! Maybe put the other valve on top of the vent outside.


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## Jungle (Jun 5, 2014)

"The soil stack should continue up through the roof to ventilate to the atmosphere. "
It can go to the left about 4 feet then up on past the roof on the side?


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## nealtw (Jun 5, 2014)

That sounds like it would work, I would like to know what others think. If you could go back to the big pipe in the basement and maybe do away with the pipe outside.


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## zannej (Jun 13, 2014)

Hi. I'm new here but I saw this thread and had a few questions.
In the picture here:


>



Is the pipe that is running horizontally off to the right the vent pipe? Or is that something else?
If it is a vent pipe, doesn't it need to travel vertically for at least 6 inches above the flood level of the highest fixture before moving horizontally?

For the washing machine drain, I found this diagram that has the proper measurement ranges. I can't tell if the one in the picture falls within those parameters.





For sanitary tees, I thought that they could not be installed horizontally-- or does that just mean that one of the sweeps has to be vertical? For some reason I thought it had to be setup so that the straight entry point was up.





That looks like the position of the sanitary tee in the first picture of the first post


>



Or is that a wye? I still haven't quite learned to tell the fittings apart just yet.

I have the same situation with a vent that terminates under a soffit. I have one main vent stack and two auxiliary vents. One of the auxiliary vents routes under the soffit and then has elbows to bring it out from under and then go above the roof. For some reason the other one does not do that. I wonder if having the elbows meets code...

As for the AAV, they are not allowed in all states. Last I read, California was trying to ban them.

I hope you get the sewer gas smell resolved.


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## CallMeVilla (Jun 13, 2014)

Good eye, Sannej, a straight San-T could be a problem.  This looks like it performs like a Wye if you observe the fitting above the San-T.  The preferred use is the vertical but field limitations cause all kinds of compromises  ...  I believe this is one of those situations.


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## zannej (Jun 13, 2014)

I thought that the sanitary tee in that position is actually a code violation. I know the change of direction _is_ a code violation. 

So in addition to turning the fitting the other way, maybe they would need to replace it with a wye and bend or the sanitary combo fitting shown in the sketch above?

Also, do I see an electrical outlet (maybe GFCI) or junction box just dangling? LOL. I hope that is just temporary.

I've been studying the plumbing code. I think I'll have to take a crack at studying the electrical code once I feel I've gotten a decent grip on plumbing knowledge.


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## nealtw (Jun 13, 2014)

The more times you look at these pictures the more you think Jungle should just cut it out and start over. But the problem complained about was sewer gas leaking into the house, which could be the vent outside the kitchen. What it looks like to me is the outside vent is servicing the washing machine and there is no vent servicing the sink up stairs unless there is something we haven't seen yet. With out that vent it is easy to see why the sink trap would vacume out the water from the trap.


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## zannej (Jun 13, 2014)

nealtw said:


> The more times you look at these pictures the more you think Jungle should just cut it out and start over. But the problem complained about was sewer gas leaking into the house, which could be the vent outside the kitchen. What it looks like to me is the outside vent is servicing the washing machine and there is no vent servicing the sink up stairs unless there is something we haven't seen yet. With out that vent it is easy to see why the sink trap would vacume out the water from the trap.



Good point. I'm also wondering what the sort of louvered white thing on the left is in this picture:





Is that something that brings air in to the house? If so, then the sewer gas could be going in to it. 

I wish I could find my photo of how one of my vents goes around the soffit... I think that is what needs to be done in this case-- making sure that it maintains the 1/4" per foot incline.


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## nealtw (Jun 13, 2014)

That wood be a range hood van and when the fan is not running....


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## zannej (Jun 14, 2014)

I'm also now noticing that the hole where the vent pipe comes out of the wall is rather large and doesn't look like its sealed up and it looks like it might have an ABS elbow, but I can't tell for sure. I wonder what the green thing coming out of the wall is.. Looks sort of like a garden hose. I think that mounted thing on the wall is to hold a hose...


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