Middle of nowhere TX, Questionable plumber.

[Carlton Ferguson]

Hello:

A recommended plumber has started replacing the old drains in an ancient back-house that concerns me. I have tried to draw a diagram. The red is the vent stack. It goes quite higher than where I cut it off on the drawing.

It is approx 4' from sink and toilet to the main drain (under the sanitary T) and approx. 5' to the vents. The sink and bathtub connect before the vent.

I have never seen a sanitary T positioned like that. It is a 'y on the one side (falling from the toilet side) and 90 degree going towards the vent. I thought the vent would need to be DIRECTLY above the sanitary trap instead of parallel for another three feet before going up. It never had a vent above the sink as it is positioned in a difficult place to get to (in front of a load baring wall). Any comments?

 

[Master Plumber Mark]

poor drawings

need better drawings to figure out what you are talking about

 

[Sponsor]

 

[hj]

vent

A better drawing, or better still, a picture would make more sense. It makes sense to you, because you can see what you are describing.

 

[Carlton Ferguson]

Picture 1

shows total room. venting out opposite wall. On other side of wall, rises approx. 6 ft. before vent from bath and sink (right side pipes) go 90 degrees and meet with vent from above soil drain.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h235/akk0415/2007_0402Giuliaapril20070110.jpg

 

[Carlton Ferguson]

picture 2

Shows drain from toilet (coming from left side); Sanitary T, Vent out through the wall and you can barely see where the pipe is coming-in from the sink and bath at the very bottom.

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h235/akk0415/2007_0402Giuliaapril20070109-1.jpg

 

[Carlton Ferguson]

Picture 3

Far right of the page is the line coming from the sink. The open end of the T will go up to the tub drain. Pipe going through the wall is the vent. Pipe going down far left goes into the main drain (seen at bottom of first picture). Any comments? Should I leave the guy alone? This plumbing won't be 'heavily used' but I hate things to be done wrong.

THANK YOU for your help!

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h235/akk0415/2007_0402Giuliaapril20070109-1.jpg

 

[Geniescience]

no good.

you may want to post that third picture; right now it is the second one posted twice.

the whole thing looks bad.

Can you tell use what the pipes looked like before this all got redone?

david

 

[Carlton Ferguson]

Thrid picture... Sorry about that.

I can't be of much help on the way it looked before. Everything moved around. It was set up much easier (sink, tub toilet on one wall). It cut into the shape of another room making it an 'L' shape so I crammed it all into one room... I've called another plumber. I had allready yelled that I had never seen anything like his work before (So I'm glad I don't have to go back and appologize, frankly).

Picture 3:

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h235/akk0415/2007_0402Giuliaapril20070108.jpg

 

[Dunbar Plumbing]

Looks like this guy is no plumber; any fool mixing DWV with pressure PVC fittings is a joke to the trade.

To turn a San tee down like that basically says, "Screw you, you don't know as much about plumbing as I do and I won't be back when it fugs up."

Between these pictures here and those pictures MPM posted of that hack job in that basement, I'd literally haul off and deck the installer and smash their face into the wall for putting up that kind of work. It would be worth the trip to jail to teach them a valid lesson that hacks like that have no place in this profession.

It all leads to consumer fraud.....a consumer getting chumped out of their money because some fool can glue pipe to fittings.


Put the coals to this guy who hacked your job; he deserves it.

 

[Carlton Ferguson]

Thank you.

Thank you.

I had another plumber come out. He's going to change the san T and make a few other changes to 'clean it up' (his words). I think we're on a better path now.

I just knew it didn't look anything at all like anything I've seen before and I couldn't find anything that showed a san T positioned like that in any of my plumbing books! I understand the general concepts but plumbing - more than all other construction - is full of subtleties that DO MATTER.

Thanks to all for your help - and for the body of knowledge shared in the postings throughout.