Help with roof vent issue!

16 years ago

Okay, plumber installed lines for washer and dryer including a vent to go up through the roof. Same for a kitchen sink.

Our roof guy is also a general contractor and ame and cut one hole for the vent, put washer and sink vent through same hole via a "Y" connection.

Now the two are fighting. I trust the roof guy because he is an engineer and very up on codes, but the plumber i saying the roof/contractor guy installed the "Y" connection for the air vent the wrong way.

Is that possible? Is it an issue? Need help here because I don;t want to change stuff out accordin to the plumber only to find out that it was unnecessary and more $$.

Thanks.

Amy

Fremont, CA

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Comments (2)

ron6519
16 years ago
Vent pipes are the perview of the plumber. He should know the plumbing code better then the GC.
Have the job inspected and see if it passes.
Ron
lazypup
16 years ago
There is not enough information in the post to give a definitive answer to the question.

The structure is located in Fremont, California therefore you are under the California Plumbing Code which is primarily based upon the Uniform Plumbing Code.

Unlike the International Residential Code, the Uniform Plumbing Code does not require a "Main Vent" but instead it requires the combined aggregate cross sectional area of all vents to be equal to or greater than the cross sectional area of the building main drain.

Under the IRC once we have established the Main Vent all additional auxiliary vents may be reduced to 1/2 the diameter of the line they serve providing that no vent is less than 1-1/4" diam.
\ Under the UPC & Calif code all vents may be reduced in size providing you still achieve the minimum required cross sectional area of venting however the UPC sets a minimum size of each vent based upon the DFU (drainage fixture unit) load on the line being served by that vent.

In order to answer the original question we would need to know the total DFU load for the entire structure, the diameter of the building main drain and the number and size of all vents.

On the other hand, I fail to see how installing the additional vent as defined by your plumber would cause any significant price increase for the roofing job. You simply cut a hole in the roof decking, run the vent line up and slip a flashing on the vent line. Understanding that the flashing is $10 or less I fail to see how it could significantly impact the cost of your roof.
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Help with roof vent issue!

Comments (2)

ron6519

lazypup

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