Geniescience
Homeowner
here is a process that may help
kim,
glad you are back.
i do agree with you fundamentally (as you just described above) that the previous owners must have made some attempt, and that even the builders must have been made aware of this. Most likely.
I want to suggest an approach, that will be beyond all reproach.
First, before i do so, i do encourage you to contact a couple lawyers and show them this thread, since you have managed to put it all down in writing so far.
Here is the approach: You contact a couple college professors, and ask them to help you define a scientific diagnostic approach to a problem that has no obivious hypothesis that has worked so far. You use the scientific, methodical approach to trial-and-error problems that occur when people have no first hypothesis to suggest resolving it. This means you make a grid, outlining all possible permutations and combinations, and you record the outcomes. Whether you share it with us is not the issue.
You have: sinks, tub, shower, toilet. Each has a P-trap (you can see the P-trap, and you can verify with a little physical probing). Assuming P-traps exist, the next step is -- in my mind -- that you block these P-traps and open only one at a time, and verify the following: What produces the gas smell, how much water, and when. Some will say that this information is too much and not necessary, but i say that it is now necessary since you have tried many other options that did not work.
I.e.
Here is an example, a "for-instance", an illustration, of what a report could look like:
- Opening only one P-trap at a time, while keeping all others blocked:
- sink p-trap: smell - never.
- toilet p-trap: smell - never.
- tub p-trap: smell - never.
- shower p-trap: smell - only after..... xxx quantity of water at xxyxy rate.
nonetheless, do the tests. Even if we think we know the answers in advance. One result or another might provide surprising information. and it might help resolve this.
You can also have verified that only one P-trap is in the line down to the drain, and not two P-traps in series, for any one item.
hope this helps.
My idea of getting a college professor involved is to help you remain focussed on the "scientific" process and not to cut corners. Also to help a real live person coaching you instead of an internet person.
David
kim,
glad you are back.
i do agree with you fundamentally (as you just described above) that the previous owners must have made some attempt, and that even the builders must have been made aware of this. Most likely.
I want to suggest an approach, that will be beyond all reproach.
First, before i do so, i do encourage you to contact a couple lawyers and show them this thread, since you have managed to put it all down in writing so far.
Here is the approach: You contact a couple college professors, and ask them to help you define a scientific diagnostic approach to a problem that has no obivious hypothesis that has worked so far. You use the scientific, methodical approach to trial-and-error problems that occur when people have no first hypothesis to suggest resolving it. This means you make a grid, outlining all possible permutations and combinations, and you record the outcomes. Whether you share it with us is not the issue.
You have: sinks, tub, shower, toilet. Each has a P-trap (you can see the P-trap, and you can verify with a little physical probing). Assuming P-traps exist, the next step is -- in my mind -- that you block these P-traps and open only one at a time, and verify the following: What produces the gas smell, how much water, and when. Some will say that this information is too much and not necessary, but i say that it is now necessary since you have tried many other options that did not work.
I.e.
Here is an example, a "for-instance", an illustration, of what a report could look like:
- Opening only one P-trap at a time, while keeping all others blocked:
- sink p-trap: smell - never.
- toilet p-trap: smell - never.
- tub p-trap: smell - never.
- shower p-trap: smell - only after..... xxx quantity of water at xxyxy rate.
nonetheless, do the tests. Even if we think we know the answers in advance. One result or another might provide surprising information. and it might help resolve this.
You can also have verified that only one P-trap is in the line down to the drain, and not two P-traps in series, for any one item.
hope this helps.
My idea of getting a college professor involved is to help you remain focussed on the "scientific" process and not to cut corners. Also to help a real live person coaching you instead of an internet person.
David