Help finding a leak....

I get a rather fuzzy picture of your problem. But it prompts me to recite an experience which may relate.

I had a reroof job. Water dripped off exterior of the vent pipe onto the hot water heater when it rained. Checked on the roof. Roofers had lifted the smoke jacks/pipe jacks but had not recaulked them at the top where they meet the pipe. Rain water hitting the exposed pipe ran down inside the smoke/pipe jacks into the house. Recaulking with silicone caulk fixed the problem. Furnace and heater vents, of course, need a cap. Plumbing vents do not.

SJF

Reply to
SJF
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I have a bi-level ranch, just moved in, first house so excuse any mis-terming of items.

In the 2-car garage, the main sewage drain pipe that is angled into the ground always drips (slowly about every

15 seconds) whenever it rains, no other times at all. The pipe seems to have 2 others connecting to it, from the right & left. I can't cut the sheetrock to get a better view of the vertical dripping because there is a horizontal wood beam blocking my view of the drainage pipe if I were to stick my head up into the ceiling sheetrock.

I checked the attic while it rained hard and there are no obvious leaks and all the roof openings are bone dry with cobwebs around some of them. My house also has 2 overhangs, both sloping away from the house along w/ the gutters which are leak-free.

The only culprit I can think of is that for some reason, the vent pipe sticking out of my roof (not from the furnace, that one is covered), collects water whenever it rains and that water finds it's way out of a perhaps broken seal or something somewhere and it hugs the pipe down into the garage. Because the roof water vent pipe seems to be directly above the problem area in the garage...I was going to try 2 things to fix this even though I'm not sure where the drip starts from:

  1. Cover the vent pipe (not sealed, just to prevent rain water getting in, but air will still get in/out)
  2. Water sections of my roof/gutters with a hose to try and re-create the leak and figure out where it is coming from....

Any other ideas? Unless of course it is somehow coming from where my raised deck is bolted to the side of the house, but I find that to be a stretch of the imagination....

Thanks!!!

Reply to
G

i dont really know the answer but if you suspect the vent pipe you could run a water hose into it to see. lucas

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Reply to
ds549

If you can't see a rusty spot I bet the water is riding along the pipe exterior when it rains. Most homes have more than one roof vent. Have you checked them all? Water standing inside a horizontal run of iron pipe for a long period of time may have rusted a spot and allows the rain water to travel the pipe.

Gee I wasn't a lot of help.

Colbyt

Reply to
Colbyt

Maybe there is no leak, maybe it's condensation from high humidity during rain?

Reply to
Nick Hull

It appears my "smoke/pipe jack" may not be the right term. What I was referring to is the conical piece of sheet metal around a pipe where it comes through the roof. Don't know what it's properly called.

SJF

Reply to
SJF

Ok, so I found the leak I referenced in my previous post...but the problem is, it only occurs when I run a hose INTO the plumbing vent pipe, the flashing & rubber gasket AROUND the pipe are in perfect condition.

So my question now is....everywhere I read states that a plumbing vent pipe should NOT need a cap. Given that mine leaks when it rains and/or I run a hose into it, can I get away with just capping the pipe (obviously not restricting the air flow)? Or do I have much bigger problems than that? It does not drip when we take showers or use water in the house, only when it rains...

Tnx!

Reply to
G

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