Where's the smell?

[Gardner]

Vent everything

Agreed. If the objective is to make it right, then a re-do is needed.

But I don't feel like the OP actually knows where the smell is coming from, and without knowing that, it's difficult to know if putting the proper vents in is sufficient to fix the complaint. If the objective is to fix the smell, then job 1 is to find the source. You can't do that by looking at a picture. The OP has to get his schnoz in gear and find it.

I don't know how many similar threads have wound up with "I found a dead rat in my attic" or "something icky was growing in my shower pan". If your man tears everything out, re-does everything properly and still winds up looking for a smell that's coming from a rotting sandwich behind the drywall or an improper vent in the attic, I'm not sure he's gotten much help from me.

 

[Nate R]

How about a pic of the fitting where the shower and sink drain come together? From here it looks like it could be a vent tee?

 

[Sponsor]

 

[internatrolet]

How about a pic of the fitting where the shower and sink drain come together? From here it looks like it could be a vent tee?

Here it is:

Obviously I want to get the smell to go away but by making it right with the venting, the smell WILL go away. Unless it is a dead rat, but I would know if I had rats...I'd hope, but I don't.
I assume if it was a whole house drain problem, I would notice the odor elsewhere, and I don't.
After searching some similar threads, I found some people were having issues in the cold, and I live in Rhode Island, so it's cold. A combination of that and the lack of proper venting could all be playing a part...
Either way, I will be adding a vent shortly...

 

[Nate R]

You will need a pro's help here to confirm, but I believe that needs to be a wye. Almost positive. Shouldn't be a santee, that I know.

The upside is you posted these pics here before you went further.

 

[Basement_Lurker]

Nate R, it's not a santee under the toilet, it's a heel outlet 90. Which is a terrible way to do it.

internatrolet, I realize space is limited, and that you were most likely recreating what was there in PVC, but this entire installation is done incorrectly. You should have redone the layout of the bathroom and used a wye for the toilet, you should have used a wye and not a santee on its side for the sink branch, there is the issue of venting, there is the issue that you used galvanized steel strapping to secure your copper tubing you naughty boy, and there is the issue of how badly the joists were destroyed simply because a properly sized hole saw was not used!

This layout needs to be planned out properly. For example, I could have taken out two bends from the sink branch simply by using a wye were you have the first 90 after the toilet fitting. I can see that you put in time to try and do this thing well, but you have exceeded your skill level.

On the note of venting and your smell, the only correct thing about your layout, is that fact that in your current wet vent setup, the toilet is placed first. Because of that, I doubt it is sucking the traps dry, however since you used the heel outlet 90, it is only compounding the venting problem. I suspect that enough air is being pushed/pulled in the lines to possibly break seal in one or both of the traps. So, as you know, you need to vent each fixture properly, and then go from there. If you happen to have everything open again, you should also double check the cast iron stack to see if they were damaged at all during the renovations.

Also, I know you have said that you reinforced your joists, but I sure hope you went overboard sistering and blocking to attempt to reinforce that mess!

I suggest, if you are unwilling to hire a plumber to take over and get you past the rough in stage, that you do ALOT more reading and learning. This is your home, and you want it to be done correctly just like everyone else right!

 

[C NUMB]

This is my first post but been reading alot of these posts in the last month. I also get the feeling that most of you all are from up north or out west. To help you with this problem this is how we would install it down south.

sorry for the drawing but I am not good at any type of photoshop, hopefully you get the idea. You will need the reinforce those joists.


Start at the stack with a 3" 45 run along joist and install a 3" combo(wye and 1/8 bend) , this will require another hole in the joist then install 2-3" 45's and a 4x3 closet bend to pick up the WC. Out of the head of the combo install a 3x2 bushing,then a 2" wye, a 2" 45 and a 2" ptrap for the shower. Out of the wye install 2-2"45's along with a few more 2-2" 45's and a 2" long turn 90 for the lav. Above the floor at the lav install a 2x 1 1/2" san tee for the lav waste and a box above for the Studor Vent.

There is a box made for them with a metal vent access panel.

Hope this helps.

BTW, is everything up north still individually vented??

 

[Nate R]

I knew the toilet fitting was a heel inlet. I was talking about the santee that joins the tub and sink branches before the toilet.

 

[Basement_Lurker]

I knew the toilet fitting was a heel inlet. I was talking about the santee that joins the tub and sink branches before the toilet.

Oh I'm sorry nate, I was so fixated on the use of the heel fitting to do this installation that I thought that's what you were talking about too! lol

Don't mind my comment then.

 

[internatrolet]

You will need a pro's help here to confirm, but I believe that needs to be a wye. Almost positive. Shouldn't be a santee, that I know.
The upside is you posted these pics here before you went further.

By not going further do you mean finishing the floor, because if I did not mention this before, the bathroom currently looks like this:

All work to add the vents today was done from below the floor. I am totally remodeling this whole house so, tearing apart the ceiling in the kitchen was next on the list anyway...

 

[internatrolet]

there is the issue that you used galvanized steel strapping to secure your copper tubing you naughty boy,
Fear not, that was temporary, they were all replaced with copper brackets
and there is the issue of how badly the joists were destroyed simply because a properly sized hole saw was not used!
Don't worry here either, I think I mentioned earlier but I was clearly the third person to mess with this room since 1953 and the joists were, very hacked. I did everything to improve them. Some areas were very bad but a good amount of re-enforcement went in to fix it all.
This layout needs to be planned out properly. For example, I could have taken out two bends from the sink branch simply by using a wye were you have the first 90 after the toilet fitting. I can see that you put in time to try and do this thing well, but you have exceeded your skill level.
I appreciate all of this, really. I don't claim to be any kind of plumber but as you mentioned, I tried to do this right, and will not just "Get it done" for the sake of being done. After today, though not ideal I am confident it is vented properly.
On the note of venting and your smell, the only correct thing about your layout, is that fact that in your current wet vent setup, the toilet is placed first. Because of that, I doubt it is sucking the traps dry, however since you used the heel outlet 90, it is only compounding the venting problem. I suspect that enough air is being pushed/pulled in the lines to possibly break seal in one or both of the traps. So, as you know, you need to vent each fixture properly, and then go from there. If you happen to have everything open again, you should also double check the cast iron stack to see if they were damaged at all during the renovations.
I checked the cast iron this afternoon also, it looked fine. As of now when I flush, there is no movement in either trap and the smell is all but gone. I am going to run the exhaust fan over night to be sure but I think it's resolved.

Ideally, I wanted from the beginning to get rid of the cast iron and put in all PVC, but it just was not an option, in hindsight, it would have made EVERYTHING easier in the end. Next time Gadget...