beneath the bathroom floorboards stinks !!

[job_bodger]

I have an en suite in my main bedroom and on smelling the hole that the sink waste goes through in the floor it stinks ( I smelt the area because I had occasionally smelt a very faint whiff in the bathroom-not because its a favourite pastime!!). The smell is that of a sewer. Is this a likely leak ? I haven't seen any other sign of such. Is the close proxity of the main drainage pipe enough to make it smell like this?
I should probably lift the floorboards but it will be a major pain in the ass as its MDF(MR) and god knows what wires or pipes I may cut in the process. Whats the best way to go about cutting a hole? Just a normal jigsaw?

 

[bobthebender]

When cutting through flooring i set my circular saw at just on or just short of the floor thickness and on or as near a joist as possible.
I would wear a mask with MDF and close all doors

 

[job_bodger]

dammit, ripped up the floor to find no leaks, nothing. I can see the pipes for much of the length of the house and no leaks or damp . Guess it must have been my own breath after all

 

[and1c]

dammit, ripped up the floor to find no leaks, nothing. I can see the pipes for much of the length of the house and no leaks or damp . Guess it must have been my own breath after all

to the bad breath bit

it could be the remnants or a previous leak that was not cleaned up properly. Might be wise to don a mask and suit and clean around the suspect area. Then seal er up good and tight so cant smell it

 

[JohnD]

maybe there is a slight leak of soapy water that is not leaving a visble wet patch; maybe someone previously left the basin tap running and water went under the floor.

Haven't you got airbricks to ventilate the void?

 

[tigerjimbo]

Is the smell definately from the floor and not coming from the plug hole itself?

Dependant on how long the run of the waste pipe is from your basin to the soil stack, it could be that the water is being pulled from the trap, thereby leaving you with no seal and allowing the smell back up.

A good way to overcome this would be to use a Hep Vo trap or similar. It's a waterless trap and means you're pipe runs dont have to be restricted.

James

 

[job_bodger]

tigerjimbo

I think thats a good possibility although its quite a distance to the internal soil stack . I've seen no signs of a leak or a wet patch anywhere. The house is not massive but it does have 5 toilets (because its one of these new builds) and an awful lot of waste pipe which seems to have a permanent low level of waste in it (I dismantled the toilet and had a look)and theres quite a stink. Now that I've had the floor up for a few days the smells gone except from the drain. Haven't seen any airbricks. Are they easy to install ?


In the mean time I might change some of the traps
cheers