Old kitchen Pipe drips water into basement when it rains

Sammyc53 · 08-09-2011, 04:20 PM

There is a roughly 1.5" pipe that drips water into my basement when it rains.

My guess it was part of an old stove or something that vented to the roof. (There is a 2.5" pipe in the roof above the kitchen).

How can I stop this? I'm not certain what is going on here. I would think that the Pipe on the roof above the kitchen is for the sewer stack (It's almost right above the sink). Could these pipes be interconnected? The house was built in 1932.

Can I put a rain cap on the sewer vent? I don't want to block anything out of fear. Not sure what I should be looking for.

Thanks!

AGWhitehouse · 08-09-2011, 04:32 PM

1.5" is a typical sink drain size and the 2.5" through the roof is it's vent. You should have a flashing boot on the roof around the pipe. These can crack with age and provide a source for water intrusion. you can pick up a jar of roofing cement at your local hardware store and goop it around the boot or you can replace the boot entirely.

The boot looks like this typically: http://roofrepairnj.net/wp-content/t...stallation.jpg and the black part around the pipe is rubber.

Sammyc53 · 08-09-2011, 04:40 PM

The boot is fine, I was just up there. The water is coming from INSIDE the pipe.

Sammyc53 · 08-09-2011, 04:41 PM

And I have inspected the pipe in the attic. It's solid.

AGWhitehouse · 08-09-2011, 04:44 PM

Is that pipe cut off in the basement? And the water is dripping from inside it?

If so, then I would assume they are still connected somehow. Try to trace it out if you can can cap it at the in-use stack. If not you'll have to connect the open end of the pipe in the basement to your waste system so it can drain properly.

Sammyc53 · 08-09-2011, 04:52 PM

Yeah, it comes straight through the bottom plate of one of the walls, through the basement ceiling and sticks out about 4 inches. Previous owner had a little jar around it to collect water. I think the basement used to be dirt, so it's probably by design.

A roof cap *should* take care of this, right? I don't want to have to plumb it, I can plumb just fine, but due to the layout, it would be REALLY tricky.
I can only find vent caps for pipes 3 inches or greater. I might have to retro-fit one.

Thanks for your help!

AGWhitehouse · 08-10-2011, 09:32 AM

Theoretically it should. I'm not totally familiar with plumbing codes and whether or not this is allowed. I only say it because i've never seen a cap on a waste vent.

Don't forget that if water is passing through then so is the potential for waste gases. You may be revisiting this issue down the road if you just cap the vent stack.

Ron6519 · 08-10-2011, 10:54 AM

Install a vent cover on the roof and cap the pipe in the basement after you're sure there's no more water coming in. If there's still water dripping from the pipe(after covering), you'll need to do further research into the issue.
I don't understand the vent being attached to the stove.