1985 Texas Townhouse Plumbing and drains

[handygirl911]

Hello. I have lived in this townhouse since 2001. It was only in 2016 did the owner finally sell it to me after I paid so many years in rent. My mortgage broker did try and talk me out of buying becuuse he said it needed too much work, I started about 2 years ago to try and get to work on the kitchen such as ripping out everything and replacing everything. So two years ago, I ripped out pantry and sink side cabinets and a few months ago ripped out sink countertop, cabiinets and the whole 9 yards. My kitchen is a gallly style and only 10 ft x 12 ft. Any how I am washing dishes with a water hose on the driveway. The more I tear out, the more I want to tear out.. This leads me to the first question that I have. I aleady replaced the sink stop valves and checked the main drain for issues. Started working on the sheetrock and then decided to take out the soffetts above the kitchen cabinets. I have a wet bar in the other room and it is taking up space that i could expand the kitchen into. I never have used the wet bar and I have the demo started. However, the wet bar has its own vent pipe that goes up in the ceilling beyond the sheetrock and up to the second floor attic roof . To make a long story short, OOPS sorry about that. Can I cap off that drain below the concrete and the water connections, and then tie the vent pipe into another vent pipe in the second floor attic to prevent water from draining into the kitchen??

 

[Pipe Dreams]

You can cap off the vent wherever you want, assuming it is not used to vent another fixture such as a shower or toilet. You can cap off the vent just above the ceiling. Use a SCH40 pressure cap, not not use a rubber or wafer type test cap.

As for the water line, it would be best to find out where the lines feed from, (likely the water heater area or an adjacent bathroom on a non common wall somewhere, and cap them BEFORE they go into the slab. If you have to cap them under the slab make sure you protect the cap with duct tape or pipe insulation to give another layer of protection. I assume the lines are copper? If so, blazing (silver solder not soft soldering would be the proper way.) If pex, crimp well and protect the rings from the concrete when you pour it back.

 

[handygirl911]

You can cap off the vent wherever you want, assuming it is not used to vent another fixture such as a shower or toilet. You can cap off the vent just above the ceiling. Use a SCH40 pressure cap, not not use a rubber or wafer type test cap.

As for the water line, it would be best to find out where the lines feed from, (likely the water heater area or an adjacent bathroom on a non common wall somewhere, and cap them BEFORE they go into the slab. If you have to cap them under the slab make sure you protect the cap with duct tape or pipe insulation to give another layer of protection. I assume the lines are copper? If so, blazing (silver solder not soft soldering would be the proper way.) If pex, crimp well and protect the rings from the concrete when you pour it back.

Thank you for replying, I just know that the pipe does go to the wet bar sink. There is no way of knowing if it is shared by another fixture. I know the toliet upstairs and downstairs most likely share the 2 inch drain pipe. The kitchen has a 1.5 " drain. But, the whole point of me capping it off, is to cap it below the concrete so it is not getting in the way of me tearing out and expanding the kitchen where the wetbar will have been.. I can remove the part of the pipe as far as I can reach above the ceiling. I was going to tie that vent pipe into another one in the second floor attic to keep rain water from coming down the pipe. How would I know if it is shared with another system? There are no drawings or blueprints from the original construction.

 

[Pipe Dreams]

Thank you for replying, I just know that the pipe does go to the wet bar sink. There is no way of knowing if it is shared by another fixture. I know the toliet upstairs and downstairs most likely share the 2 inch drain pipe. The kitchen has a 1.5 " drain. But, the whole point of me capping it off, is to cap it below the concrete so it is not getting in the way of me tearing out and expanding the kitchen where the wetbar will have been.. I can remove the part of the pipe as far as I can reach above the ceiling. I was going to tie that vent pipe into another one in the second floor attic to keep rain water from coming down the pipe. How would I know if it is shared with another system? There are no drawings or blueprints from the original construction.

Well, there is no "other system". You have one system in the building. All roads lead to Rome so to speak. There is not a maximum for the amount of vent you can have in a system.

The plumbing upstairs will have nothing to do (considering the vent) with the sink on the first floor. It is unlikely that the sink vents anything else, just making you aware.

As long as you use a SCH40 cap, you can glue it on anywhere available to suit your needs. Assuming it is a vent only. There are some circumstance whereas a vent for a sink could also be used as a waste stack for another sink directly above on the next floor. You can tell of course when water runs down the pipe, you can generally feel or hear it. Again, unlikely.

In theory, assuming you knew which vent was what, in you attic, you could follow that pipe to where it connects with another, and cap it there, thus deleting the entire thing. This is to much bullshit to do, just cap it in place. Use a SCH40 cap in the ground aswell. Just cut the pipe 2 '' below the finished slab height, glue and cap, and pour concrete right back, no problem.

Understand, I am not familiar with local codes where you are, but it will work with no issue or damage in the future.

Good luck

 

[handygirl911]

Well, there is no "other system". You have one system in the building. All roads lead to Rome so to speak. There is not a maximum for the amount of vent you can have in a system.

The plumbing upstairs will have nothing to do (considering the vent) with the sink on the first floor. It is unlikely that the sink vents anything else, just making you aware.

As long as you use a SCH40 cap, you can glue it on anywhere available to suit your needs. Assuming it is a vent only. There are some circumstance whereas a vent for a sink could also be used as a waste stack for another sink directly above on the next floor. You can tell of course when water runs down the pipe, you can generally feel or hear it. Again, unlikely.

In theory, assuming you knew which vent was what, in you attic, you could follow that pipe to where it connects with another, and cap it there, thus deleting the entire thing. This is to much bullshit to do, just cap it in place. Use a SCH40 cap in the ground aswell. Just cut the pipe 2 '' below the finished slab height, glue and cap, and pour concrete right back, no problem.

Understand, I am not familiar with local codes where you are, but it will work with no issue or damage in the future.

Good luck

Hi thank you for the advice. Just now I cut the pipe in the kitchen and I did not expect there to be any water at all in the pipe. It drips about every 4 seconds. So I went up stairs and tried each fixture from the shower, the two sinks and the toliet. None of them are piped into this as far as waste. The pipe dopped down about 7 inches and I could not push it back up. I had a plumber here last week and while I was in the attic he shooked the pipe in the kitchen and i was at the pipe in the attic and it was the pipe in question. I Just went up to the attic and it does not look like the pipe moved any.. I can cut the pipe down below the concrete and cap off. Tie it into another pipe in the attic. Makes no sense that there should be water in it though. I have not even touched the wet bar sink and if I recall correctly, the water is turned off to it. It is really humid today but i do not think it is sweat

 

[handygirl911]

Well, there is no "other system". You have one system in the building. All roads lead to Rome so to speak. There is not a maximum for the amount of vent you can have in a system.

The plumbing upstairs will have nothing to do (considering the vent) with the sink on the first floor. It is unlikely that the sink vents anything else, just making you aware.

As long as you use a SCH40 cap, you can glue it on anywhere available to suit your needs. Assuming it is a vent only. There are some circumstance whereas a vent for a sink could also be used as a waste stack for another sink directly above on the next floor. You can tell of course when water runs down the pipe, you can generally feel or hear it. Again, unlikely.

In theory, assuming you knew which vent was what, in you attic, you could follow that pipe to where it connects with another, and cap it there, thus deleting the entire thing. This is to much bullshit to do, just cap it in place. Use a SCH40 cap in the ground aswell. Just cut the pipe 2 '' below the finished slab height, glue and cap, and pour concrete right back, no problem.

Understand, I am not familiar with local codes where you are, but it will work with no issue or damage in the future.

Good luck

 

[handygirl911]

About 5 days ago my ac in second floor attic leaked condensate and the ceiling caved in. I can stand in the hallway upstairs and see the ac unit. I remoed the condensate lines and rerouted and replumbed, cleaned the coil and routed the condensate to a closer location that I thought was another pipe. The other pipe adjaccent it to it, goes down to the kitchen both are 1.5 pipes. It cannot be the condesate from the ac because while ac is running alot, the condensation fills up a 5 gallon bucket in 4 to 5 hours. I know because I had to rotate buckets for a couple of days in the attic. This was before I cleaned the coil. Highly doubt that the condensate would be less now.

 

[Pipe Dreams]

Without being there I would not be able to tell you what is going on. Make sure nothing is going into that pipe that cant be rerouted elsewhere. That is likely all the help I can give.

 

[handygirl911]

Without being there I would not be able to tell you what is going on. Make sure nothing is going into that pipe that cant be rerouted elsewhere. That is likely all the help I can give.

I know. It is hard to know without being here. I just know that this pipe has turned into a mystery. I tied my harbor freight vibratory tumbler to the pipe that is supposed to be the wet bar vent in the kitchen and went down stairs and it is definitely the right pipe. The other same sized pipe in the kitchen is over by the main drain in the kitchen. I had a bucket to catch anything under the pipe that I cut in the kitchen that is supposed to be the wet bar drain. This morning I had to shorten some of the pipe for the condensate drains and some of the debris that i cleaned out of of the coil was in the pipe. Later when I checked the bucket, that debris was in the bucket. Not supposed to be going to that drain

 

[Pipe Dreams]

I know. It is hard to know without being here. I just know that this pipe has turned into a mystery. I tied my harbor freight vibratory tumbler to the pipe that is supposed to be the wet bar vent in the kitchen and went down stairs and it is definitely the right pipe. The other same sized pipe in the kitchen is over by the main drain in the kitchen. I had a bucket to catch anything under the pipe that I cut in the kitchen that is supposed to be the wet bar drain. This morning I had to shorten some of the pipe for the condensate drains and some of the debris that i cleaned out of of the coil was in the pipe. Later when I checked the bucket, that debris was in the bucket. Not supposed to be going to that drain

right, so the condensate line from the AC has to be re routed either to a different pipe, or to daylight by itself ( which is the best thing)

good luvk