PVC mystery pipe

[Brandylb17]

Hello, I just bought my house 6 months ago, and come home to find a PVC pipe in unfinished basement ceiling leaking. Its underneath a half bathroom on first floor, so I'm assuming both PVC pipes in the subflooring ceiling belong to the bathroom. One is capped off, and that's the one leaking. I want to fix the leak and figure out what that pipe is. And why it has water in it. Any suggestions? In the pic, the pipe is leaking where the cap and blue sealer or whatever it is on the pipe. I posted a pic where both the pipes are coming from above.

 

[Terry]

Is there an unfinished bathroom in the basement? That leaking pipe may be the capped off future vent for that bathroom. A completed bath rough-in would have a 2" PVC pipe as a vent, and that leak may be rainwater from the roof vent.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[WorthFlorida]

The blue looks like Oatey Medium PVC Cement. Usually you'll see it used for pools and irrigation. You'll need do some measurements to figure out where this pipe comes from. The glued joint never should have leaked if done properly. Since I do not see any primer stains, this may not have been done by a plumber but a DIY'er? Is this a new house or addition?

https://www.oatey.com/2374235/Product/Oatey-Rain-R-Shine-Medium-Blue-PVC-Cement

 

[Brandylb17]

There is no unfinished bathroom in the basement. It's a duplex home built in 1996, and the leaking pipe is in the middle of my basement. I assume the pipe next to it is for the bathroom toilet and/or sink that's right above the piping. I dont know much about plumbing. It looks like 2inch pipe. I dont know how to track it to see where it leads to. It has been raining all day, but not hard. When I first moved in, we had a bad snow storm with a few feet of water, and there has been many days with lots of down pour rain, and never had I had any leaks. So not sure if it is a vent from the roof, and if so, if it finally gave out or what. This house was touched up by a DIY craigslist guy from what my neighbors told me. There has been a lot of things he rigged to hide, and pass inspection. I was hoping th cap would come off easily once i figure out what it is, so I can seal it and cement it.

[/QUOTE]

Is there an unfinished bathroom in the basement? That leaking pipe may be the capped off future vent for that bathroom. A completed bath rough-in would have a 2" PVC pipe as a vent, and that leak may be rainwater from the roof vent.

 

[Brandylb17]

The blue looks like Oatey Medium PVC Cement. Usually you'll see it used for pools and irrigation. You'll need do some measurements to figure out where this pipe comes from. The glued joint never should have leaked if done properly. Since I do not see any primer stains, this may not have been done by a plumber but a DIY'er? Is this a new house or addition?

https://www.oatey.com/2374235/Product/Oatey-Rain-R-Shine-Medium-Blue-PVC-Cement

There is no unfinished bathroom in the basement. It's a duplex home built in 1996, and the leaking pipe is in the middle of my basement. I assume the pipe next to it is for the bathroom toilet and/or sink that's right above the piping. I dont know much about plumbing. It looks like 2inch pipe. I dont know how to track it to see where it leads to. It has been raining all day, but not hard. When I first moved in, we had a bad snow storm with a few feet of water, and there has been many days with lots of down pour rain, and never had I had any leaks. So not sure if it is a vent from the roof, and if so, if it finally gave out or what. This house was touched up by a DIY craigslist guy from what my neighbors told me. There has been a lot of things he rigged to hide, and pass inspection. I was hoping th cap would come off easily once i figure out what it is, so I can seal it and cement it. What do you mean when you said " do measurements to find out where pipe comes from", how do I do that?

 

[WorthFlorida]

Inspectors usually want to see the purple dye from the PVC primer cleaner and since I see none of it I wonder if it was ever inspected. Most municipalities or counties have online access to issued permits. Here in Orange County, Florida you can go to the website and look for any permits issued by addresses, etc. On my home I can see all permits when the home was built in 2006.

Measure the location in the basement and then transfer it to the bathroom above to get a idea where this pipe is. Probably inside a wall. Since the other pipe is 2" it maybe the drain for the sink or tub/shower. Run the water and listen or feel the other pipe if it is draining. After you're sure where this pipe is then look in the attic if it is the same location for the bathroom vent pipe. You can go up on the roof and place a garden hose in the vent pipe and turn on the water. Then look in the basement if the caps leaks more water or started again if it stopped leaking.

To remove the cap you'll probably have to cut it off. A hack saw blade will do and have a bucket ready to catch water. Just be sure that the water is coming from the cap and not traveling down the pipe. If the water is clear and no odors it probably is rain water.

 

[FullySprinklered]

Drill a small hole first and have two buckets ready.

 

[Brandylb17]

Inspectors usually want to see the purple dye from the PVC primer cleaner and since I see none of it I wonder if it was ever inspected. Most municipalities or counties have online access to issued permits. Here in Orange County, Florida you can go to the website and look for any permits issued by addresses, etc. On my home I can see all permits when the home was built in 2006.

Measure the location in the basement and then transfer it to the bathroom above to get a idea where this pipe is. Probably inside a wall. Since the other pipe is 2" it maybe the drain for the sink or tub/shower. Run the water and listen or feel the other pipe if it is draining. After you're sure where this pipe is then look in the attic if it is the same location for the bathroom vent pipe. You can go up on the roof and place a garden hose in the vent pipe and turn on the water. Then look in the basement if the caps leaks more water or started again if it stopped leaking.

To remove the cap you'll probably have to cut it off. A hack saw blade will do and have a bucket ready to catch water. Just be sure that the water is coming from the cap and not traveling down the pipe. If the water is clear and no odors it probably is rain water.

Thank you. I'm going to do that when I'm off work tomorrow. I just saw on the wood, written in pencil under the pipe. It says 1/2 bath vent pipe. And it is under my half bath that only has a small sink and toilet. But I'd like to look further into this like you said. When I first moved in I had plumbers on my roof snaking the vent pipe up there bc i had a back up(not sewage) in my sanitary sink and washer everytime I tried to do laundry. They were able to get that clog out. The water coming out of the pipe is definitely clean water. I used to do fire water sewage restoration, so I know the sewage smell all to well lol I did turn the water off to the sink and toilet yesterday for a few hours, and it still leaked. So I'm not sure if there is water built up causing the leak, or what. So I'll drill a small hole first to get the water out, then take a saw like you mentioned. Not looking forward to this!! Thank you so much for your advice!

 

[Brandylb17]

Drill a small hole first and have two buckets ready.

Definitely!! Especially since I wont know if it's a little bit of water or a lot!

 

[Cacher_Chick]

Once in a while I find that the roof flashing on the vent has failed, and the rainwater is leaking in down the outside surface of the pipe. It can run down the outside of the pipe all the way to the basement, and always makes one think that their plumbing is leaking.

 

[Brandylb17]

Once in a while I find that the roof flashing on the vent has failed, and the rainwater is leaking in down the outside surface of the pipe. It can run down the outside of the pipe all the way to the basement, and always makes one think that their plumbing is leaking.

Thank you, I didnt even think about that. I cant get on my roof my self, it's a taller house with a steep roof. So if that is the case, I'd have to call someone to repair it. Thank you for letting me know!

 

[Reach4]

Thank you, I didnt even think about that. I cant get on my roof my self, it's a taller house with a steep roof. So if that is the case, I'd have to call someone to repair it. Thank you for letting me know!

A roofer would usually be the best for that.