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pmccarth · Feb 18, 2008, 10:30 AM

Can I vent my house plumbing through the soffit instead of through the roof?:confused:
Hear is why... I have a standing seam roof on my house and my vent pipes have been taken out about 8 times due to snow & ice build up. We thought we finally had it resolved, we had put up braces we had made & secured to the standing seams - it worked for about 3 years. This past weekend, mother nature won again... the pipes are bent over and it pulled the braces screws & all right out.

ballengerb1 · Feb 18, 2008, 04:02 PM

Short answer NO. If you vent to the soffit the sewer gas will be drawn back inside the soffit vents that allow air into the attic. You can move you vent stack over to a better location possibly on the leeward side of your roof. I am not familiar with the term standing seam roof, can you explain further please.

massplumber2008 · Feb 18, 2008, 04:18 PM

Ballenger said it... no... you cannot vent plumbing system into soffit. Answer his questions... then mine.

How many vents out the roof? How tall are they sticking above roof? And what type of pipe is being used? Get back to us

KISS · Feb 18, 2008, 05:39 PM

The roof has to be able to move around the pipe when it expands and contracts. otherwise you'll end up with a big mess. See Ultra Seam Inc., Standing Seam Metal Roofing Typical Details

Under roof penetrations to see if it helps.

pmccarth · Feb 19, 2008, 05:47 AM

Originally Posted by ballengerb1

Short answer NO. If you vent to the soffit the sewer gas will be drawn back inside the soffit vents that allow air into the attic. You can move you vent stack over to a better location possibly on the leeward side of your roof. I am not familiar with the term standing seam roof, can you explain further please.

A standing seam roof is a metal roof designed to make the snow come off the roof so that you don't have large amounts of snow sitting on your roof - So you do not need to get up there an shovel your roof off. While the roof clears the snow off great, it comes off with enough force that it takes the vent pipes out with it.

I wasn't planning on letting the pipe end in the soffet, but making a hole through the soffit to the outside - so I would still be venting outside of the house, just not through the roof. The house has a catherdal ceiling therefore there is no attic.

Even if we moved the pipes over, the pitch on the roof is the same (6 pitch), therefore you would not be gaining anything.

The concept of the metal roof is so that you do not need to get up there to shovel it off. This house is in the Green Mountains were we receive large amounts of snow every year. If I have to get up there to fix the pipes every winter, I am gaining nothing.

pmccarth · Feb 19, 2008, 05:54 AM

Originally Posted by massplumber2008

Ballenger said it...no...you cannot vent plumbing system into soffit. Answer his questions...then mine.

How many vents out the roof? How tall are they sticking above roof? And what type of pipe is being used?? Get back to us

There are 2 vents out of the roof. They stick up about 20" and they are made of the plastic pcv piping like in most houses today.

massplumber2008 · Feb 19, 2008, 07:04 AM

Hi PM... so tell me, you come out the side of the building now(?) and then go vertical to past roof line 20 inches... right. How are you securing the pipes to the side of building? Just wondering... and a pic would help wonders here if you had any... if you do just repost under the "go advanced" button.

Now, with what you have presented (cathedral ceiling, etc.) I have to wonder if it is not intelligent at this point to call your local plumbing inspector up and ask him to drop over to look at this situation and make some recommendations himself. My guess is that he does not want you having to repair these pipes every year or so... so he may have a good suggestion as to what to do... may even let you go through soffit (if no windows close by).

Most of these city/town/county plumbing inspectors really like to help out... this sounds like a good one for them. Tell them it is getting to be a safety issue (pipes shattering and you getting up yearly) as well a nuisance.

Hey... I hope this is a good suggestion... worth a try at least. Let us know what happens... ok?

If my answer helped, please RATE THIS ANSWER by clicking on rate this answer at upper right or bottom of this post. Thank you. Good luck.

ballengerb1 · Feb 19, 2008, 11:54 AM

OK, thanks for the explanation. I have a cathedral ceiling in my log home too but I also have a chase that hides my vent and gives me electricity at the ceiling. You still can't vent below the roof line even if you have come out of the soffit. My only other thought would be for you to build a small roof gable just above the vent stack where it comes through the roof. The gable would protect the pipe and deflect the ice. Good luck.

KISS · Feb 19, 2008, 12:37 PM

How's thins for a funky idea based on bb's statement.

Build a Litle house (Gable) that's diamond in shape where the back edge points to the ice/snor path. So when ice melts it deflects around. -or-

Build a deflector which is the expected snow/ice height, say using fiberglass angle, that will channel the ice around the pipes.

I have no idea how much snow or ice that causes damage.

What about galvanized pipe for the vents?