Originally Posted by PimTac
Originally Posted by y_p_w
Originally Posted by PimTac
You should have a vent pipe going up through the roof. Usually there is more than one depending on the plumbing layout. It looks like a piece of pipe sticking out of the roof. On some older homes the vent pipe might be running up the side of the house and then fitted to face downwards like a candy cane. That's not common though.
I've never heard of a check valve in a sewer line. That must be a California thing?
We've got several of those little tubes on our roof although I'm not sure what each one is for.
The plumber explained to me that this was standard where there was a toilet at a level just barely above the sewer line. He said that without it there was the chance that with back flow, sewage could shoot right back into the sink and toilet. Maybe about a one foot height difference.
He showed it to me as he installed it. I don't think it was a standard backwater valve, but he pulled it out pretty easily and showed that it just dropped in and self sealed.
That's interesting. Something new I've learned.
The vents are set per the local codes. Each bathroom should have one. Otherwise the sewer gas could migrate into the house. Usually there is another one at the kitchen. The code may specify a vent at either location or per length of drain.
I wonder if this was an addition in the past to accommodate the laundry and it was cheaper to run a separate line versus tying it in to the main drain? I've seen that. We have to remember that laundry machines were not around much prior to the fifties. Thinking about this reminded me of a neighbor back in my childhood days who had a wringer washer put on her back porch. They plumbed that drain separate from the house but in her case the sewer was close by so it was a small job. She used that wringer washer until the late sixties when she got her fingers caught in the wringer. At that point her daughter bought her a dryer.
Not sure. I just looked in front and saw maybe three of those little tubes. There may be more in the back that I didn't notice.
This is for a specific city, but they're incorporating the standard California Plumbing Code. I live on a hill, so I guess the upstream manhole cover is well above the level of my lowest fixture.
Quote
https://www.codepublishing.com/CA/Benicia/html/Benicia15/Benicia1512.html
710.1 Sewage backwater. Where a fixture is installed on a floor level that is lower than the next upstream manhole cover of the public or private sewer, serving such drainage piping, such fixtures shall be protected from backflow of sewage by installing an approved type of backwater valve or mushroom type device or other fixtures approved by the Building Official. Fixtures on floor levels above such level elevation shall not be discharged through the backwater valve. Cleanouts for drains that pass through a backwater valve shall be clearly identified with a permanent label stating, "Backwater Valve Downstream."
i went out and had a look at the check valve. The plumber showed me the old cast iron check valve before he replaced it the next day. Said it was intermittently stuck shut because of a lot TP (been warning my kid about it) and it wasn't moving smoothly. I think the replacement part was relatively cheap (a few hundred dollars), but the labor wasn't. The valve is a RectorSeal Clean Check Extendable Backwater Valve 6" PVC. It's got a screw on lid and the valve unit is held in place with a thumb screw. I'm not sure where to get just a replacement flapper, but the plumber said I could easily replace it myself if it was ever stuck.
https://www.amazon.com/Rectorseal-96926-6-Inch-Extendable-Backwater/dp/B008A3UKNQ
As for the separate line - I have no idea. As far as I can tell, the kitchen has always been in the same place. I think the laundry room has always been there, although it might have been a cast iron sink before it was modified for a standard washer/dryer setup. The drain from the kitchen sink is exposed and feeds right into the same drain as the washer. The cleanout hole is on the floor and closed off with an expansion plug with a wing nut. The cleanout hole is copper, but I can only see a few inches in.