Help! Plumber, Drain Services or Roofer??

Neil_Sedaka

Hi all,

we have an internal soil pipe running from the floor to a vent tile on the roof.

About 6 months ago we noticed that whenever a strong wind or even sometimes just a breeze blows from the east or south east, there is a bad sewerage smell in both the upstairs main bathroom and also the en suite.

I am almost 100% positive that the odour is coming from the ceiling mounted extractor fans.

I have made sure that all the waste traps have water in them when this happens, but the problem is still there.

I'm guessing there's something amiss with the soil pipe itself (cracked somewhere) or something to do with the roof tile vent.

I don't think the roof vent is blocked, as I can hear the wind howling through the system.

For what it's worth the attic is converted, so I can't see what's going on from up there as all the pipework is behind the slabbed wall and under the floor.

Any thoughts please?

Prenderb

Is your soil vent pipe broken or damaged? It should project above the roof line to prevent it blowing back in.

DublinDilbert

Have you checked the top of the stack in the attic? is there a flexible pipe connecting it to the roof vent?

Had an identical problem, except the smell was falling all the way down in to a ground floor room, which the soil pipe was routed through. When i got into the attic i found the flexi pipe from the roof vent was not attached to the soil pipe.

Neil_Sedaka

Hi Prenderb,

it's an internal pipe, so it's boxed in from ground level all the way to the roof tile vent.

It's not on the outside of the house, we live in a semi D and it's located on the shared wall with the neighbour.

Neil_Sedaka

Thanks DublinDilbert, can't see a thing up there as the previous owners converted the attic, so everything is slabbed in or hidden.

I do occasionally get a slight odour from the sitting room, where the soil pipe is boxed in behind the plasterboard. Rare, but I've noticed it from time to time.

DublinDilbert wrote: »

Have you checked the top of the stack in the attic? is there a flexible pipe connecting it to the roof vent?

Had an identical problem, except the smell was falling all the way down in to a ground floor room, which the soil pipe was routed through. When i got into the attic i found the flexi pipe from the roof vent was not attached to the soil pipe.

Neil_Sedaka

It's weird that we lived here for over 10 years without this problem, that's why I'm guessing that a coupling has come loose somewhere or the soil pipe has split.

Sleeper12

DublinDilbert wrote:

Had an identical problem, except the smell was falling all the way down in to a ground floor room, which the soil pipe was routed through. When i got into the attic i found the flexi pipe from the roof vent was not attached to the soil pipe.

I absolutely hate soil pipes going through the attic like this. I've been in many an attic where the ducting fell away and the attic smells like a sewer. Not a healthy thing.

Give me the old style stack at the side of the house any day of the week

DublinDilbert

In the house where i saw this before, it was only a problem on a warm day. The warm air seemed to circulate from the attic (possibly cooling/falling) down around the soil pipe to the ground floor.

pawdee

Could it be that the wind is causing suction that's causing the traps from the sinks / showers that feed into that stack to slosh about and gradually drain away? Try pouring water down the sinks and showers and see if that helps. If the toilet trap was low it would be very obvious.

If what I've just suggested is of no use or absolute BS apologies in advance

pawdee

Sorry! Just re-read your post. You've checked the traps. Ignore my amateur plumbing advice. Hope you get it sorted!

andyd12

Is there another roof tile close by on the roof? Being used for extractor fans?
Seen it before on a job where the smell from the soil/vent pipe was leaving through roof tile and coming back down extractors roof tile. Like yours it was intermittent also.
We only coped it after ripping up tiles and kangooing up bathroom floor looking for a leak etc

Neil_Sedaka

@andyd12 that would make perfect sense, unfortunately I don't think there is a second vent close to the soil pipe vent.