The plumbing stack sticks out 2' from my roof. It is a 4" iron pipe (OD is 4.66"). That's all there is, just the pipe sticking out. What kind of cap, if any, is appropriate for it? I can get a cap that is made for appliance vents and is adjustable for 3-5" diameter. However this is designed with an upward flow of combustion gases in mind. Thanks.
As others have noted, no cover is the norm, however after retrieving a drowned squirrel that was blocking my drain line I capped my vents. All I did was cut oversized squares of aluminum window screen, fold them over the top and down the side of the vent pipe and secure them with stainless hose clamps. No more risk of squirrels or anything else falling down the vent.
Pete C.
You don't need a cap unless you're having problems. Are you having problems?
Most of the stacks I've seen stick up about a foot. Is the 2' exposed stack typical where you are?
R
Perhaps there is too much rain going down the stack. ;-)
Maybe in a high snow area? I'm in VT and only have about a foot of the stack exposed (though it's hard to see).
No problems (that I know of, anyway). I was thinking along the lines of the furnace chimney, that got a new liner and a nice cap. They didn't find any dead things in there either. However, as mentioned in this thread, there is a possibility of a rodent or bird finding it's way in there, and I get my neighbor's huge tree shedding its autumn glory on my roof and yard, so something could get in there. Plus the snow which I will pay to melt. Not a biggie, but if it doesn't hurt anything, I'd rather have it capped.
Also, as mentioned in the thread, I thought of window screen mesh, but I think the snow would block it off then.
I was up there today, and it is only about a foot. There was no flashing around it either, so I used gutter caulk.
Back up there, hombre. There's _no_ flashing boot around your vent stack? If that's the case that's a far bigger problem that a potential blockage in the vent stack.
Using caulk does not work. It will fail. Far better to pull a few shingles install the flashing boot and reinstall/replace the shingles.
While you're up there, put on a cap if it makes you feel better. Be aware that the cap will prevent rain from falling into the stack which will make it far more inviting to animals and insects. If you cap it, make sure there's some screen as well.
R
Although not always good advice, in this case I have to say "not broken, don't fix it".
The standard practice is no vent. Most nearly every house in the entire country is built this way, and not because people are cheap -- because this is the best way to do it. I would be surprised if you can even find a product sold anywhere meant for capping a dwv stack, so that right there should tell you that it really is pointless and stupid.
Squirrels don't like living in shit. Neither do birds. Or even mice for that matter. There is nothing down that pipe except a 20+ foot drop straight down, with smooth sheer vertical walls, then its all sewer, slime, and yuck at the bottom. A few leaves, pinecones, whatever are not going to cause any problem at all, any more than the, um, crap, you put down the toilet. Remember that is a 4" diameter pipe.
A screen will catch the leaves and snow, blocking your vent. A cap can get clogged by leaves and debris, possibly, or more likely just create a perfect, dry place for wasps and bees to nest, blocking your vent.
The case of your utility vent stack is completely different, with different requirements (it needs to stay hot, and clean, and preferably dry I suppose). Your sewage stack is exactly that -- a smelly, wet, dirty place.
The "squirrel or bird down the vent stack" sounds about as likely to me as a mouse wedging itself in your hose bib. Sure, it could happen, but the once in several lifetimes event is simply not worth protecting against. There are better things to worry about, and your just causing yourself more trouble than you are saving. Besides, that would have to be some lard-butt squirrel to clog a 4" pipe, no?. The ones around here aren't that big.
[rant over]-k
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