American Metal 4 Adjustable Vent Pipe – 2Wall 4E12A

Telescopes onto standard Ameri-Vent pipe length for adjustments from 3″ to 10″ for 12″ lengths.

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Get Rid Of Your Roof Vent Pipe Leaks Once And For All

Getting rid of the leaks around your roof vent pipes does not mean getting rid of the vent pipes altogether. When you are frustrated because you keep getting those nasty water stains in your ceiling and you know there is considerable damage being done to the structure of your home before you even see the stains, you may be inclined to rip your vent pipes out forever.

Don’t be quite so hasty! Those pipes are there for a reason – not just as an anchor point for your roof top holiday display! Anywhere wastewater is produced in your home at plumbing fixtures such as sinks, toilets and showers a vent pipe is needed. The waste eventually ends up in the sewer system connected to your house, but the gases produced needs a place to go and that is precisely the function of your roof vent pipes. Without the pipes you would be inundated with foul odors inside your home.

To locate the leak, you need to climb up into your attic and locate the PVC pipe that goes through your roof. Be careful not to step between the ceiling joists or you may fall through the ceiling. You will have to pull the insulation carefully away from the pipe where it penetrates the roof. If you see daylight you know you have a problem. That’s where water can come through. If the roof decking is rotted, you will need to have it replaced. Hopefully you can locate the problem before it gets that bad. If you think it’s going to rain again before your roofing repair contractor gets to you, tie a towel around the vent pipe to soak up the water before it reaches your ceiling. Most good contractors can be there on the same day you call. One of the most common issues is a cracked boot around your vent pipe. The boot is the rubber cover that hugs the pipe and keeps it watertight. Exposure to the elements causes it to shrink and crack over time. Replacing it is a standard procedure.

 

You could also have the rubber boot replaced with other flashing solutions such as lead pipe flashing that are not nearly as susceptible to the weather as rubber. Your roofing contractor can advise you on the latest technology in repairing roof vent pipe leaks. The important point is to have it handled before it becomes more costly.

How to fix a vent pipe in a building

Vent pipes are used to air the plumbing systems in a building. They are connected to foul and soil water pipes. These are placed on bathroom and lavatory rooms. They allow the foul smell from the utilities to leave the house into the open above the roof. They have caps to prevent birds or pests from entering the house drainage system. They are usually PVC pipes. The pipes can be positioned inside or outside the building. For aesthetic purposes, they are placed inside to give the facades a good appearance.

The diameter of a vent pipes should be a minimum two inches. An air pipe located in the house should be encased in plaster. It should not pass through a living room, bedroom, dinning or kitchen. The connection should start from the ground floor to the roof. It should be from a man hole or inspection chamber to the roof. The connections must be air tight for the system to be effective. All soil or foul water pipes should have good gradients. This is important for the water to clean the pipe as it carries the waste to the sewer.

The fixing of a vent pipe should be done with medium duty pipes. When fixing the air pipe, identify the corner to position it. The water closet is usually a good point of adding the air pipe. The pipe taking the waste to the sewer outside is given a tee junction. The middle point will go into the water pan. The other two ends will connect to the sewer and bend for the air pipe at the corner. The bend connection is done with an appropriate adhesive. The pipe is measured to pass the roof covers. It extends by one foot above the roof while fitted with a cap.

A chicken mesh or gauze wire is tied to the vent pipe. Plaster is done to cover the pipe. Tiling is then done to match the lavatory finish. The point where the pipe cuts through the roof is then sealed. This will prevent rain water from passing into the house. The sealant used should allow for the structure movement. A Hard or brittle sealant will easily get broken and let in water through the crack. Water is then filled to test the system. This should be able to flash without any leakages.

WALL THIMBLE DIRECT VENT

“SIMPSON DURAVENT” WALL
THIMBLE EXHAUST VENT PIPE
For direct vent gas stoves
and fireplaces
Wall thimble provides for a
complete pass through and
fire stop
For 6-5/8″OD exhaust vent
pipe
Galvanized finish
Exterior laser welded seams
For use with direct vent gas
appliances vented horizontally
Replaces Ace no. 4167292

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Vent Free, Direct Vent or Fully Vented Fireplaces – How to Choose the Right One

First, let’s get an understanding of the venting used for each type of fireplace. The word “venting” refers to the means the fireplace uses to vent its exhaust safely from the room. In the case of Vent Free, exhaust is vented directly into the room. In a Vent Free system, the consumption of gas is limited to a maximum of 40,000 BTU per hour to help prevent the room from being “starved” of oxygen. In a Direct Vent system, a double vent pipe is used (pipe within a pipe). The outer pipe draws fresh air from outside to feed the combustion process while the inner pipe vents out the exhaust from the combustion. A Fully Vented system, including a B-Vent system, uses either a masonry chimney or a B-Vent (double wall metallic pipe). Now that we touched on the three primary methods of venting, we can take a closer look at the pros and cons of each.

1. Vent Free – As mentioned, a Vent Free system vents its exhaust directly into the room. In other words, it does not use a chimney at all. As you can imagine, this can cause a carbon monoxide concern as this system continuously uses oxygen from the room it’s being used in. For this reason, Vent Free systems are equipped with an oxygen detection safety pilot which detects when the oxygen level falls below 18%. If this occurs, the gas will automatically be shut off. The pros for this type of fireplace? You can install them almost anywhere in your home. They are very efficient, meaning you get almost 100% of the heat benefit from the fuel you are burning (the heat is not escaping outdoors). The downsides of this type of burning system? You need to buy specific types of burners/log sets specially made for Vent Free systems. You cannot burn wood in them nor regular vented log sets nor other specialty vented products. If you have respiratory-related health conditions, you may want to think twice before installing this type of system.
2. Direct Vent – A Direct Vent system pulls fresh air in and sends its exhaust out through a combined flu system. The flu pipe vents either out of the top or out of the back of the fireplace, for versatility. The flu pipe generally exits through a side wall in your room. The positives for this type of fireplace? No chimney is required, so less expensive to install than a Fully Vented fireplace. They are highly efficient and may be used as a gas wall furnace. If you like a fireplace with a sealed fire box (because of children, cats, etc.) this style may work well for you. The cons? You can’t burn wood in it. They require specific types of burners and logs so you cannot use specialty vented products in them. You are not supposed to burn them without the glass cover attached, as this disrupts the air flow in the balanced vent system.
3. Fully Vented – A Fully Vented system is what most of us think of when we think of a traditional fireplace. Most of us think of a fireplace having a full chimney (like the kind Santa Claus comes down). Usually we think of a brick and mortar chimney, but a Fully Vented fireplace can also incorporate a B-Vent flu (a double wall metallic pipe that rises up from the fireplace and out through the roof). Air for combustion comes from the room. The upsides of this type of fireplace? You can burn wood it in. You can purchase a model that helps to make it more heat efficient by having a fire box “float” inside a second box so that air can circulate around the fire box and back into the room. You can burn many kinds of vented fire logs and specialty vented fireplace products in this style of fireplace. Now the cons. For a new fireplace installation, you may spend more money having a chimney built than you would with the other styles. This style is less heat efficient than the other two styles.

Hopefully, you have a much clearer understanding of the three types of fireplaces that were discussed. After reading the various points on each, you may have very valid reasons for choosing one over the other to suite your needs. I’m glad this article helped you make this decision. Personally, I choose Fully Vented because I like the versatility of being able to use this type of fireplace for a number of different products. New products are coming out all the time and I don’t want to be restricted from using them. With Fully Vented, you can switch to different types of products as often as you choose.