4 months ago we purchased a home in the country with a septic system. Recently a strong sewer odor has started coming from the side of the house (outside). There seems to be a PVC pipe opening high on the side of the house. A tall narrow wooden box has been built going up from the PVC opening. However, there is no bottom on the box. The odor must be coming from the pipe. Should we nail a bottom to the box forcing the odor to go up? I'm assuming this is some sort of vent for the toilet. Does the fact that we can smell it at all mean that we have a bigger problem than just redirecting the odor? We do not notice the odor in the house or around the septic area. We'll be leaving for a while, and need to know if we can expect things to get worse while we're going. Thanks. Lizziesmom

Does this pipe outside the house connect to the sewer? If it does then the wooden box is just used as a chase. You can remove it and install a Odor Hog vent cap,(see image) on your pipe. Check them out at; OdorHog(tm), roof vent pipe filter that stops septic tank odor. 1-800-963-6746 Good luck, Tom