IaHawk
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Hi all,
I've got a leak problem that I think I may be able to handle myself, but I'm wondering the best way to go about it. I am a novice, but I have actually joined some pvc pipe together.
Noticed a little black spot on our son's ceiling (drywall) and thought I'd better check it out. First went outside and checked the roof in the approx. spot and sure enough, it's where the plumbing vent pipe sticks out. I live in Iowa and we've recently had a ton of snow. First thought it was probably the flashing around the pipe, but I hoped in the attack and strolled over to the pipe to check it out. What I found was that the water does not appear to be coming in around the flashing and the hole in the sheating. I dried off the DWV pipe and watched it with a flashlight. The DWV pipe runs quite a ways across the trusses and goes from 1.5 inches to a 3 inch pipe. The 1.5 inch elbows to 1.5 inch, runs up for about 4 inches and then goes into a reducer coupling that transitions to a 3 inch pipe that goes up through the roof.
The water is not dripping down the 3 inch pipe. It is actually leaking at the point where the 1.5 inch pipe goes into the fitting that transitions to a 3 inch. Hope that makes sense.
My best guess is that there is just a lack of adhesive at this point??? Not sure. The plumber that installed must have just not put enough on???
So, the amount of water on the sheetrock was actually more than what had soaked through. Right now, I've got a good sized pan sitting underneath until I can fix it, but I want to fix it asap.
My first thought was to cut the pipe create a new section and just replace the section with some couplings on the 3 inch and 1.5 inch. Here's my first question though, how do you replace a mid section? The pipe won't have a lot of give and won't I have to have at least an inch greater than the opening so that the existing pipe can cement into the new couplings?
My other option would be to replace the whole elbow and vertical section, couple the 3 inch pipe and then try to use a compression fitting on the longer horizontal 1.5 inch section. I've never used a compression fitting though and I don't know if that would be up to code. I think that might be the easier way to fix it even though it will require more parts.
Is there a third and better alternative?
I appreciated any advice anyone can offer. The house is only two years old and I'm a little bummed this happened. Please don't say call the builder. If I actually thought his guys would fix it the right way, I would.
I drew up a picture, but I'm not sure how to insert the photo. Thanks.
I've got a leak problem that I think I may be able to handle myself, but I'm wondering the best way to go about it. I am a novice, but I have actually joined some pvc pipe together.
Noticed a little black spot on our son's ceiling (drywall) and thought I'd better check it out. First went outside and checked the roof in the approx. spot and sure enough, it's where the plumbing vent pipe sticks out. I live in Iowa and we've recently had a ton of snow. First thought it was probably the flashing around the pipe, but I hoped in the attack and strolled over to the pipe to check it out. What I found was that the water does not appear to be coming in around the flashing and the hole in the sheating. I dried off the DWV pipe and watched it with a flashlight. The DWV pipe runs quite a ways across the trusses and goes from 1.5 inches to a 3 inch pipe. The 1.5 inch elbows to 1.5 inch, runs up for about 4 inches and then goes into a reducer coupling that transitions to a 3 inch pipe that goes up through the roof.
The water is not dripping down the 3 inch pipe. It is actually leaking at the point where the 1.5 inch pipe goes into the fitting that transitions to a 3 inch. Hope that makes sense.
My best guess is that there is just a lack of adhesive at this point??? Not sure. The plumber that installed must have just not put enough on???
So, the amount of water on the sheetrock was actually more than what had soaked through. Right now, I've got a good sized pan sitting underneath until I can fix it, but I want to fix it asap.
My first thought was to cut the pipe create a new section and just replace the section with some couplings on the 3 inch and 1.5 inch. Here's my first question though, how do you replace a mid section? The pipe won't have a lot of give and won't I have to have at least an inch greater than the opening so that the existing pipe can cement into the new couplings?
My other option would be to replace the whole elbow and vertical section, couple the 3 inch pipe and then try to use a compression fitting on the longer horizontal 1.5 inch section. I've never used a compression fitting though and I don't know if that would be up to code. I think that might be the easier way to fix it even though it will require more parts.
Is there a third and better alternative?
I appreciated any advice anyone can offer. The house is only two years old and I'm a little bummed this happened. Please don't say call the builder. If I actually thought his guys would fix it the right way, I would.
I drew up a picture, but I'm not sure how to insert the photo. Thanks.
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