my en siute has a stack which went outside and vented normally. but we had an extension built and now the stack is vented in the loft is this a good practice? there is a slight damp fusty smell could this be from the u bends evaporating or from the position of the stack?the bathroom has a fan fitted which comes on when the light is used.
soil stack
- Thread starter chris2060
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mysteryman
No. it is absolutely awful!
Get it vented outside - as your builder should have done.
Get it vented outside - as your builder should have done.
Does it smell of sewage at all? Because this is what you are actually smelling and inhaling. Get it sorted. Thats rough.
Traps/U bends don't evaporate (not unless unused), it's normally bad pipework/drain design that causes siphoning so the source could be due to other problems.
Where's the smell in that bathroom or the loft? The stack should not just be open vented in the loft but you can vent a stack internally using an AAAV (Durgo valve) providing there is another open vent to allow positive ventilation on the foul drain system.
Where's the smell in that bathroom or the loft? The stack should not just be open vented in the loft but you can vent a stack internally using an AAAV (Durgo valve) providing there is another open vent to allow positive ventilation on the foul drain system.
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I do have another bathroom upstairs and that has a stack that is vented. I think the smell is more damp fusty than sewage?and it is in the bathroom. the ensiute does have a [durgo valve] fitted. we may only use that shower once a week! not that we are mucky devils the other shower is bigger and the wife still likes her bath soak ![ that bath is also in the other bathroom].the ensuite is tiled top to bottom and we do get condensation in the corner of the room during winter dont know if thats relevant
I’m now a little confused ; can you just confirm exactly what you have by way of bathrooms/en-suites & which room the smell is in? What room does the stack terminating in the loft serve? Does it already have a Durgo fitted?
; can you just confirm exactly what you have by way of bathrooms/en-suites & which room the smell is in? What room does the stack terminating in the loft serve? Does it already have a Durgo fitted?I’m now a little confused
sorry for the confusion .I have 2 upstairs bathrooms the ensuite has the damp smell and a durgo fitted in the loft. the other bathroom has a normal vented stack.
As you have another open stack on the system & a Durgo already fitted, that should be fine. They can go faulty but as the smell is in the en-suite rather than the loft, it’s likely to be either a problem with the waste systems or, if it’s a musty smell rather than sewage (you can definitely tell the difference). It could be caused by a leak (have you checked for water under the shower); water getting in behind tiles & rotting out the plasterboard behind (if that’s what you have) or just moisture festering away behind the tiles. If the shower/basin waste runs are teed to a common pipe (not good practice) & there are no anti-siphon traps/valves, you could be pulling the water from the basin trap when the shower is used or when the toilet is flushed if they are inter-connected rather than directly connected to the vertical stack. Check that water remains in the shower/basin traps after flushing/showering. Do you know how the waste runs are plumbed to the stack & what length they are?
All this could of course be a complete red herring; is there any sign or reason for damp/water getting into the walls from outside as a result of the new extension? Was there a problem before the extension was built? Did the extension involve additions/changes to the drain systems?
All this could of course be a complete red herring; is there any sign or reason for damp/water getting into the walls from outside as a result of the new extension? Was there a problem before the extension was built? Did the extension involve additions/changes to the drain systems?
I’ve pasted your profile comment into your thread so it gives the complete picture to others reading it.
! No matter, you can use the cut & paste facility to answer individual questions.
; I won’t go into detail here but I was an Engineering Systems Design Consultant in a previous working life.
But I thought you’d already sussed that one going by your previous post
! No matter, you can use the cut & paste facility to answer individual questions.Doesn’t sound untoward; bad leaks will usually show themselves as you say but not always. Leaks can sometimes be enough to cause dampness/smells in the floorboards/joists/fabric but not show to any great degree on the ceiling below.
If you’ve got solid, plastered walls & mould growth behind fitted units inside, you may have just found the cause of your smells. Damp penetration through single skin brick/stone walls is very common; when these properties were originally built, the plaster materials used on the inside were designed to allow the walls to breath so any moisture absorbed through the wall from outside could evaporate naturally without causing too many problems. Problems can arise when they are re-finished using modern sand/cement render & Gypsum plaster; I don’t know the refurbishment history of your property (is the en-suit part of a conversion?) but use of inappropriate materials &/or tiling over will effectively seal the moisture into the wall & could well be the cause of your problem. Damp penetration through single skin walls & how to cure it is a completely different & sometime complex subject; if you do a search in the plastering forum you will find several archive posts that will explain things in more detail. However, before jumping in that direction you need to eliminate any possibility of it being your drainage system but nothing you’ve said so far gives me cause for alarm. You should also check for defects outside (gutters tiles etc) which could be directing excessive water onto the outside wall making matters worse.
Unlikely, the amount of water in a trap would evaporate under ambient temperature before it went stagnant.
Very interesting you should say that
; I won’t go into detail here but I was an Engineering Systems Design Consultant in a previous working life. Paid to be pedanticI’ve pasted your profile comment into your thread so it gives the complete picture to others reading it.
!
Very interesting you should say that
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