Soil Pipe Vent Stack Leakage ?

Leodogger

We have recently moved into a bungalow and we have a foul smell coming from the toilet /vent pipe.

When we viewed the bungalow there were loads of air fresheners plugged into sockets but we thought this was because the bungalow was left empty for 18 months whilst trying to sell. The fella who sold it on behalf of his mother who passed away did loads of DIY and bodged most of them. The bathroom he was really proud of because he had fitted a disability basin and toilet which we have since replaced thinking that the smell came from this but we have a vanity unit in and the smell is pungent when you open the doors to the vanity unit or lift the lid of the toilet.

There is a soil stack in the corner of the bathroom which runs half way up the corner. It has a wooden lid but the actual enclosed box has been tiled in to match the bathroom. The flexible plastic soil pipe runs about 3 and a half feet from the toilet along the back of the vanity unit to the soil/vent pipe. We think there may be a leak somewhere. How can we establish where it is? Do we have to remove all the tiles from the boxed area in the corner to expose the pipe ? There does not appear to be a leak on the floor when we replaced the sink and toilet so it was not obvious there was a leak.

Any help or advice would be appreciated

muckybutt

It might be down to a hole in the soil pipe, not necessarily a leak !

Only way to find out once and for all is make some access into the boxed in section then inspect it with a mirror and a torch.

googler

You have a flexible pipe of three and a half feet.....?

You should have a flexible join between the WC pan and the soil pipe, then a sloping rigid pipe run to where it joins the vertical stack. Why does the vertical go halfway up the wall? Is there an external vent at the halfway point of the wall?

Have you spoken with the plumber who replaced the WC and basin, or did you do this yourself?

keystone

My first thought was that flushing the loo is syphioning the water out of the basin trap but if he was such a bodger (particularly using a flexi pan connector stretched out for 3½ feet!!) the you need to get in amongst it I'm afraid. If that means exposing all the joints then so be it.

Cheers

Leodogger

The soil stack only runs half way up the wall because the plumber (my brother) told me there should be a one way trap on the top of the stack which allows the air to be sucked in when the water flushes out (apparently a new invention). He said that the trap might not be working due to being damaged or else there is a hole in the pipe which runs from the toilet to the stack. My brother did put a flexible join in the pipe when he changed the basin and toilet and the pipe does run into a solid join just before it meets the stack. There is not much fall however from the toilet to the stack on the pipe which doesn't help but our bungalow is just one of many on our development and I have been in a couple of the others and they are all designed the same but they don't have a problem with the smell.

anotherbaldrick

JWhite wrote: »

The soil stack only runs half way up the wall because the plumber (my brother) told me there should be a one way trap on the top of the stack which allows the air to be sucked in when the water flushes out (apparently a new invention). He said that the trap might not be working due to being damaged or else there is a hole in the pipe which runs from the toilet to the stack. My brother did put a flexible join in the pipe when he changed the basin and toilet and the pipe does run into a solid join just before it meets the stack. There is not much fall however from the toilet to the stack on the pipe which doesn't help but our bungalow is just one of many on our development and I have been in a couple of the others and they are all designed the same but they don't have a problem with the smell.

Should be a Durgo air inlet valve on the top./ these can stick in the open position, first thing is to check and see what exists and is it working properly. Cheap to buy probably better to just replace it.

googler

If the air admittance valve at the top is stuck open, would that explain your situation...?

keystone

If its the only stack in the property then it should not be fitted with an AAV. AAVs are permitted on secondary stacks but you must have at least one stack on your system which vents to atmosphere above roofline.

Cheers

anotherbaldrick

keystone wrote: »

If its the only stack in the property then it should not be fitted with an AAV. AAVs are permitted on secondary stacks but you must have at least one stack on your system which vents to atmosphere above roofline.

Cheers

There needs to be one vented stack to the drainage run, preferably at the head, if the drainage system is such that it serves more than one property on the connection, then not all properties need to be vented to atmosphere.

keystone

anotherbaldrick wrote: »

There needs to be one vented stack to the drainage run, preferably at the head, if the drainage system is such that it serves more than one property on the connection, then not all properties need to be vented to atmosphere.

Clearly your interpretation of Part H and mine are different but thats allowed. The local BCO has the final say however you or I interpret it.

Cheers

Leodogger

Hubby has now taken off the "cap" put on the soil stack which was boxed in by the previous owner and guess what - "bodge it and scarper", the previous owner, had either damaged the cap and removed it for some reason and the soil stack was open ended so nothing to stop the smells from feeding back down the stack box and into the bathroom. We have covered it now temporarily with a plastic bag until we can go out and obtain the Durgo valve mentioned above and the bathroom is now a delight to be in

I cannot believe he did this after bragging to neighbours that all his DIY had made his bungalow the best on the development, plus his mother was an invalid in the bungalow and was left to use the bathroom in these gasses escaping from the soil stack. All we have done is correct his rubbish work. He even tiled in the kitchen right up to the electric sockets and grouted them in so we had to break the sockets off the wall to retile when we moved in. We couldn't even wire our electric cooker without breaking the box off the wall to get at the wiring. We have spent £6,000 correcting his crap work !

Thanks to all for their advice.