Waste Stack Challenges...

[darrenh]

Out of the blue this week my waste stack has started to play up.

The waste stack is fed by toilet, sink, bath etc.

It has gone from working fine, to making some strange noises (literally vibrating) and slowly draining. When you flush the loo, the plug holes burp!

Anyway, I have had the toliet off and given the stack a good rodding, but to no avail - issue still persists.

Boxed in is the top of the stack, and I suspect there is a vent on the top - could the issue be here with a dodgy vent.

When the tooilet was off (and therefore vented) the water was running away freely from the bath and sink etc...

Any ideas are very welcome - taking the vent off is big job as the plaster will need to be opened up....

thanks

D

 

[Nige F]

You need to rod the drains in your garden . At least ascertain where there is a blockage by lifting some manhole lids - If you`re on shared drains with other houses the good news is your water ( sewage) undertaker has recently " adopted" a lot more of the network than they used to cover So you might not even need to get your hands dirty

 

[Hugh Jaleak]

If the top of the stack is 'boxed in' then i'd suspect it has an air admittance valve on the top. Does as name suggests, allows air in but wont let air out.

As Nige said, check for blockages. When an appliance is discharged, if the water cant get away due to a blockage then it needs to displace the air in the pipes, hence the plug holes burping!

 

[darrenh]

I have replaced taken off the air addmitance valve and the issue has gone away - I will buy a new one as either this one is bust or the issue is more confusing than I can get my head round.

 

[Hugh Jaleak]

My money would still be on a blockage. Removing the AAV may cure the symptoms, but not the cause.

 

[darrenh]

My money would still be on a blockage. Removing the AAV may cure the symptoms, but not the cause.

As predicted, got home today and saw a little pond in the centre of my gravel driveway.... looks like the bath water has coem through the pipe. So a blocked / caved-in clay pipe sounds most likely.

So I tried to dig it up, but it seems to be covered in concrete "to protect it" so I have a job on my hands to get this fixed.

Exposing it sounds like the challenge as i suspect adding a piece of plastic in the middle with some rubber connectors may be straightforward.

 

[Hugh Jaleak]

Depending on the age of the property you may have the old salt glazed pipes, these are very fragile so exercise caution excavating. (Be aware of other services that may be there as well!) The Victorians often laid drains on a concrete 'raft' then encased the run in concrete once laid. This concrete may well be holding it all together, breaking it could cause the pipes to shatter.

I'd check your home insurance, it might cover you for drains. CCTV survey may be useful at this stage to determine the problem and condition of the pipework. Dont want to be a bringer of doom but you could end up with a lot more work then anticipated here.