In my newly done bathroom I just got a very unpleasant soil pipe whiff. Unnerved by this I have moved the WC pan to check the waste connections. What I found was the new wc pan flexi pipe just shoved in to the old horizontal iron soil pipe with no seal around it! The plumber /if you can call him that/ was aware of the need to replace or repair the cracked collar. He did not do it thou and there is nothing in writing about me asking him to do it. Are there any regulations which would lay down clearly rules for tight coupling wc pan to a soil pipe? And where to find them?
Sewer gases should never be allowed to leak into a room. These gases can be a real danger if allowed to build up into any great quantity because they can be very explosive. Methane Gas ring any bells ? What sort of fitting did the plumber (?) use to connect the pan to the outflow ? it should have at least had fins on it to grip the inside walls of the pipe and stop the gases from blowing back into the room. A proper WC connector isn't an expensive item, especially from any good plumbers merchants.
Just tell him that you've contacted buildings control at your local authority, and they've told you that the WC isn't safe or healthy to use in that condition. If this threat doesn't make him do the job properly, then do contact building control and show them what this idiot has done. They should be able to give written confirmation of the regulations that need to be enforced. Then you can show the plumber (?) that your threats are not idle ones.
To stop any gases blowing into the room until you get the plumber back, just pack some tightly twisted clothes in the gaps between the pipes. But remember to tell the buildings control people that is was you that had to put clothes there to stop the smells.
Thank you very much for this extensive reply. I spoke to him again and he insists that the convoluted pipe positioned in the iron soil pipe has rubber fin gasket which should seal off any gaps. I told him that this may be the case but if the pipe twists easily when I push it with two fingers the seal is not sufficient and requires additional sealing perhaps with mastic or something like that. He replayed that hi did not manufacture any of those parts, they made to British standard and I can basically f..k off. So looks like I am indeed off but to Lambeth Building Control office tomorrow
If the pipe is allowing smells to blow back into the room, then it isn't very tightly fitted at all, is it ? Did you tell the plumber that the smells are bad from the pipe ? If you've explained everything to the plumber that you're not happy with, then your next step is the building control. Well done on standing up for your rights.
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