Unvented old bathroom woes
Hi all! I bought a 1840s farmhouse that was added onto in the 1980s. It has 2 newer bathrooms downstairs and 1 old (but recently refinished) bathroom upstairs. For a while we didn't use the upstairs bath at all, but more recently it has become a Grandma suite and there's frequently a bad, bad septic smell. Running water makes the smell go away, so I assume that trap water is being siphoned off somehow. But then, on further investigation I realized that the upstairs drain is not vented to the roof at all (!) I know both downstairs bathrooms are, however, because I can see the pipes sticking out of the roof. Would this setup normally/possibly be enough to keep a vacuum from developing? Why would they not vent the upstairs bathroom? Were the previous owners possibly smell-impaired? Possibly Informative Tidbits: I have yet to inspect either roof vent to see if they are clogged. The house was largely neglected for at least a decade after kids fled the nest. Question Part B: If this is a condition I need to fix, would an AAV possibly be a good solution to avoid having to add a roof vent. Advice appreciated before I go tearing into walls! (I can post pics as well, but might not help much in this case.) Cheers, GG submitted by /u/greasegum [link] [comments]
gravitywebapps
Hi all!
I bought a 1840s farmhouse that was added onto in the 1980s. It has 2 newer bathrooms downstairs and 1 old (but recently refinished) bathroom upstairs. For a while we didn't use the upstairs bath at all, but more recently it has become a Grandma suite and there's frequently a bad, bad septic smell.
Running water makes the smell go away, so I assume that trap water is being siphoned off somehow. But then, on further investigation I realized that the upstairs drain is not vented to the roof at all (!) I know both downstairs bathrooms are, however, because I can see the pipes sticking out of the roof.
Would this setup normally/possibly be enough to keep a vacuum from developing?
Why would they not vent the upstairs bathroom?
Were the previous owners possibly smell-impaired?
Possibly Informative Tidbits:
- I have yet to inspect either roof vent to see if they are clogged.
- The house was largely neglected for at least a decade after kids fled the nest.
Question Part B:
If this is a condition I need to fix, would an AAV possibly be a good solution to avoid having to add a roof vent.
Advice appreciated before I go tearing into walls! (I can post pics as well, but might not help much in this case.)
Cheers,
GG
[link] [comments]
