Re: Main Sewer Connection - Odd Extension

[Mark Monson]

It's a standpipe for a washing machine discharge. It could also have been used as an illegal sump pump drain. Not a source of sewer backup but certainly a source of sewer gas in the home since the trap is dry.

Where does the pipe from the top of the tee go? Does it vent out the roof or is it the drain from a first floor fixture?

MM

See attached picture. > > This is the main waste stack in the basement. Note the odd extension. Why > is this here? Is this to code? > > FYI - the toilets in this home frequently backup. Any relationship? > > > >

[Mark Monson]

Erratum to last post:

I somehow missed the part of it being the main stack. I was looking at it and thinking it was two inch.

It's definitely not code. It's probably an illegal sump pump drain. It should be cut off and capped at the tee branch.

MM

[Jeff Jones]

Thanks Mark - I thought as much. The sewer gas coming into the house is a bit scary.

There is a sump pump hole a good distance away. God knows what they were thinking when they put this in.

[Mark Monson]

Sump pumps typically discharge from a shallow pipe out to the curb. In the cold of winter the pipe freezes solid, so the homeowner reroutes it to a floor drain, basement W.C. or makeshift drain like yours. Multiply this times by the thousands of similar sump pumps and you see why sewage treatment facilities get grossly overloaded when it rains. They can't just dump this extra water in the river; it must be treated along with the genuine sewage. We all pay extra for this wasteful practice.

MM

[PLUMBGURU2]

In 01/23/04 "Mark Monson" m [e-mail] writes in part:

Come on Mark, there's not enough shown in the picture for you to make that statement. From what is shown in the picture it looks like a perfectly legal (in jurisdictions that use the Uniform Plumbing Code) installation for a washing machine standpipe. However, there may be piping outside the scope of the picture that would render the above statement incorrect

If there is an odor coming from it it is probably because the trap is dry as posted earlier by someone else.

Speculation......however if it's not being used, caping it off would stop sewer gas from escaping.

Doug

[Mark Monson]

He said it was the main stack. You can't just tee off the main stack with a P trap like that. Because the stack carries discharge from upstairs, a standpipe like this would have to be separately vented.

However, there may be piping outside the scope of

That would be me.

[PLUMBGURU2]

On 01/23/04 "Mark Monson" m [e-mail] write in part:

Go back and look at the picture. There is what appears to be a 3" cleanout tee topped with a 3 x 2 reducer then a 2" sanitary tee. Would you call that a main stack?

You are 100 percent correct on your last statement, I just don't think what is shown in the picture is his main stack. That's why I said there's not enough shown in the picture to fully answer the question as to what it is or if it meets the code requirements.

Doug

[Mark Monson]

At first glance it looks like two inch. That's what I thought too. But look at the 3/4 copper next to it. With my handy dandy desk micrometer I measure the standpipe at about 4.5 diameters of the copper service. 4.5 x .875 O.D = 3.94" O.D.

It's four inch on bottom, three inch on top, with a three inch P trap.

MM

[Jeff Jones]

First - thanks to both of you for looking at this.

I can confidently tell you that the main stack is the vertical pipe on the left. It is 4" PVC. So is the P trap and the straight pipe with the open end.

This is a mess and I'm taking it out as soon as I get back up to my mother's home in Syracuse - I live in Philadelphia. I don't think there's any rush given that this has been in place for the 4 years she's lived there.

Or should I be thinking otherwise?

[jim donovan]

looks like a 4 inch band,a 4inch c/o, a 4x3 bushing , 3 inch san tee,with a 3 inch trap.cut it and cap it or pour mineral oil into the trap it will not evaporate like water.( no sewer gas).but it will still not be up to code.

[Blackbeard]

I wouldn't worry about all the cross-talk. If you're not using it, cut it and cap it with a permanant glue cap (about $3.00 at Home Dopey).

[jim donovan]

tee not cross

[stephen wheatley]

This appears to be the drain for a washing machine, and if you have the new