Sealing soil stack at foundation?
A tenant complained of a sewer gas smell in a garden apartment. I was able to get to the sewer stack which is located just behind the refrigerator where there is an opening in the wall. There is a flimsy tin cover sitting over a gap between the foundation and the soil stack. What is the best way to seal between the foundation and the soil stack? A friend suggested stuffing some crumpled up newspaper between the stack and the foundation and sealing over with cement. Is this correct procedure. If so, can I leave the tin cover in place to serve as a foundation for the cement and seal over that or should it be removed. What type of cement should I use (hydraulic?). If this is not correct procedure, what do you recommend?
Comment on ballengerb1's post
I'm having some trouble submitting a comment. Just testing to see if this goes through
Comment on ballengerb1's post
Okay... seems to work now. I'm not sure of material (PVC, galvanized?). I am not at building now, but hope to do repair tomorrow. Can you recommend proper procedure depending on the material I find when I am there?
Comment on joypulv's post
Nothing wet. After looking over all the plumbing, my friend (plumber) could not find a problem with p-trap or other plumbing, which he was able to inspect via acess panel in wall. Finally, we pulled out fridge and he was able to get behind the wall. He seeemd to think the poor seal between the soil pipe and the foundation was the source of the problem. The smell was pretty strong in that area. Also, below kitchen sink (hich backs up to this area) is where tenant first noticed the smell.
Comment on joypulv's post
The pipe goes into the floor. The smell is not real strong, but it is noticeable when you smell under the kithcen sink and when you get in that area behind the wall. I think I will do a temporary fix for now (stuff some newspaper in the open space between the floor and the soil pipe, and seal with plastic and duct tape) until I get some further advice. Hopefully, ballengerb1 will respond with further info. Thank you.
Comment on ballengerb1's post
After I do temporary fix today I will write and let you know the material used for the soil pipe. Would appreciate any further information on how to permanently seal the area between the pipe and the floor. If I see anything else that could be causing the problem, I will let you know. Thanks.
Comment on ballengerb1's post
This building is over 100 years old, so maybe things were done differently back then. I don't think sewer waste is coming through this pipe, but maybe shower or sink water from upper floors. What I saw today when I was there was a heavy metal pipe (cast iron?) which goes into a hole in the floor. The pipe is open at the bottom and extends about 4 inches below the floor where it looks like it just drains into another pipe going out to the sewer. I was able to reach down and pull a gob of hair out which was protruding from the bottom of the pipe. There was a rusted tin cover and some crumbled cement around the pipe. I removed the tin and crumbled cement and stuffed some crumpled up newspaper in the perimeter between the pipe and the floor and tape some plastic over the paper and around the pipe, which seemed to help. It would be fairly easy to use the newspaper as a base and add some quickrete over the area for a better seal. Please advise. Thanks.
Comment on ballengerb1's post
Thanks for that help. What exactly is a cirb? Did you meran crib? Are you saying to build a box around the pipe, say with 2x2s and then fill the box with quickrete? If you could provide any more details that would be helpful. How do I build the box so it will fit around the pipe with a bottom to hold the quickrete? Thanks,
Comment on hkstroud's post
I will take a photos of the area the next time I am at the site and post them here. For now, stuffing crumpled up newspaper around the perimeter in the space between the pipe and the floor and taping plastic over the area seems to have solved the problem, but this is probably not a permanent solution. The tenant says the smell is no longer there.
The hole in the floor is about 9" in diameter and the pipe that goes into this hole is about a 3" or 4" steel pipe... probably waste from sinks or showers in the building from the 1st and/or second floor. It is open on the end. Perhaps something has broken away, but I did not see any pipe sitting beneath this open-ended pipe. At any rate, problem has been solved temporarily. Would appreciate additional comments after I post photos. Thanks.
Comment on joypulv's post
Yes, the steel pipe is secure from above. No PVC antwhere. When you say a $2 hair trap I assume you mean those things you put in your tub/showere to block hair from going down the drain. I'm a little surprised my friend (plumber) who noticed where the problem was ocurring didn't tell me what would be the proper fix. He seemd to think a little newspaper and quickcrete would take care of the problem.
Comment on ballengerb1's post
Thanks. That's what I thought you meant. I'm having a hard time visualizing how I would build this box with a bottom (it would need a bottom to hold the concrete, otherwise the concrete would just fall into the hole) and get it around the pipe. Would I cut the thing in half (or build two halves with one side open on each half) and make a half-circle cut it the bottom piece, so that when the two pieces are put together there will be a hole for the pipe to fit through. I could then screw the two pieces together with a brace or something. That would give me a box with a hole in the bottom (for the pipe) that I could fill with concrtete. Make sense? Any other ideas for building this box around the pipe? Thanks again.