I recently roughed in house for a friend. The carpenter refuses to vent straight out of the roof, not wanting to put holes in the roof. That attitude doesn't seem very professional to me. There are two vent terminals, since it is a big rambling house with fixtures at both ends, and the owner added fixtures after part of the DWV system was built. The carpenter ran one vent through the wall while I was away for the summer, with two 90s so it points to the ground. I've explained reasons for the need for a vertical exit, free flow of sewer gasses, frost considerations (Alaska), difficulty in case of clog, potential to become an animal nest, etc. but another plumber friend of his says the gasses should exit OK. Do you agree? I'm looking for more points to convince these guys this is a stupid way to go. Also, the carpenter removed the vent I ran from the bathtub, and capped it off inside the wall. That area of vent with the lav and another toilet and lav above, was built to drain into the tub drain, and now he has created a trap in the wall, and has the homeowner convinced there is no need for a vent off the upstairs tub. He also wants to run the vent on that side of the house out the side and bend it down. I need to convince the owner this is BS. I guess I'm mostly "venting" here, but I am looking for some good arguing points, or thoughts about why the carpenter's methods may be acceptable.
Carpenter interference
- Thread starter AKGirl
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Unless he has a contract to do the plumbing on the job and a plumbing license he is way out of line. Get the building dept. involved.
Have them sign a waiver, spell out the additional costs to be incurred should they bypass the vent, then wash your hands of it, when they have issues pull out your waiver and charge them double the cost to fix it.
In Idaho we are aloud to combine our vents into a 3 or 4 in line and exit the eve as high as possible turn the 90 down and put a screen in it do to snow shear. As for blocking off the vents for the upstairs bath and lav this will cause poor drainage flow and will always be closing within the first yr or so of use I would give them your professional opinion but they will always do what they want that is all you call do 
The owner has agreed to let me put the vent back on the 1st floor tub and finish the 3rd floor tub vent (opposite ends of the house). I explained that sewer gases will eventually work their way through the trap without the vent downstream of the trap.
