residential vent stack code???

[Willowman2539!]

Hey all,

I live in Ohio and have a serious problem with sewer gas in my family home. I never noticed this before but whoever built the house used a 1 1/4" maybe 1 1/2" pipe to vent a bathroom and kitchen that goes up to an attic crawlspace, then goes horizontal in a 1" to 1 1/4" pipe for 2ft. one way then 2ft. at a right angle then 2 more ft. and another right angle (all on a horizontal plane) then 6 or 8 ft. to a traditional 3 or so inch diam. pipe to vent out of an "up to code" pipe on the roof.
It just seems like they were skimping on materials and made it look pretty on the outside. Does anyone have any short term advice to alleviate the sewage smell inside, especially in the kitchen above the bath? I can't keep the drains plugged, all the time!

thanks,
Willowman

 

[Twowaxhack]

It’s probably not the size of your vents causing the trouble.


You may have an unvented or improper trap that’s losing its seal or a toilet that needs a new wax seal.

Or an open drain pipe some place....

 

[Mitchell-DIY-Guy]

@Willowman2539! my home in Michigan had something similar. We had 3.5 baths, and all venting for the bath fixtures was with 1.5" PVC. All the toilet vents were 3" PVC. All met in the attic and vented with a single stack at the back of the home. The fewer roof penetrations you have the better. The architect/designer wanted a clean presentation so no penetrations were visible from the road; the attic venting and plumbing vent was on the back of the home's roof. Never had any venting or drain issues in 27 years in that house. It passed code when built in 1992. Code may have changed since then, but it was legit when built and was fine.

 

[Willowman2539!]

Here's some more detail: The bathroom which has two drains and the toilet, A small bar sink and the kitchen which is right above it and has a lot of waste going down into the drain pipe which is like 2.5 inches and oversized in my opinion. All those drains are supposed to vent their gas up out a 1 inch pipe to the attic which then takes those 4 right angle turns to get to the outside air. the vent pipe is not snakeable so i might have to cut it in the attic to make sure it's clear. Birds might have climbed in there to stay warm and died or something, but the gas is not escaping to the outside!!!

 

[Twowaxhack]

Here's some more detail: The bathroom which has two drains and the toilet, A small bar sink and the kitchen which is right above it and has a lot of waste going down into the drain pipe which is like 2.5 inches and oversized in my opinion. All those drains are supposed to vent their gas up out a 1 inch pipe to the attic which then takes those 4 right angle turns to get to the outside air. the vent pipe is not snakeable so i might have to cut it in the attic to make sure it's clear. Birds might have climbed in there to stay warm and died or something, but the gas is not escaping to the outside!!!

It’s not the vent unless it’s an open pipe letting sewer gas out.

Your ptrap is what keeps sewer gas from entering the building. Unless you’re hearing gurgling after you run water, it’s not the ptrap or the vent.

 

[Willowman2539!]

It’s not the vent unless it’s an open pipe letting sewer gas out.

Your ptrap is what keeps sewer gas from entering the building. Unless you’re hearing gurgling after you run water, it’s not the ptrap or the vent.

If close/ block off all the other traps and put soapy water in the bathroom sink - i can actually see the bubbles rising though the water. There is a local problem as well - very outdated sewer system. Another house i lived in here i had to drop the traps to make the trap water 6 inches deep. But this smell is coming from all the sinks and drains connected to an undersized vent pipe that might be blocked. Maybe I could drop the traps and check the vent pipe?

 

[Willowman2539!]

It’s probably not the size of your vents causing the trouble.


You may have an unvented or improper trap that’s losing its seal or a toilet that needs a new wax seal.

Or an open drain pipe some place....

The wax seal was bad on one toilet -- fixed that already!

 

[Willowman2539!]

Okay! I figured out the issue. It might be the small vent pipe, I've lived here on and off for 35 years -- basically I had to put a mechanism into the wall tubes on all effected traps.

Willowman out.

 

[Hamberg]

I was going to suggest the wall tube mechanism thingy but didn't want to sound foolhardy...