2in pipe vent for bathroom comes up in attic and goes across attic to the kitchen vent and then out the roof. Is the 2in ok or is it supposed to be 3in.
thanksDo you have symptoms of ‘gurgling’ while the water is draining?
tom
nope and I thought this is a none issue but someone else was trying
I believe you can use a 2" line to vent a 3" waste.
Hello…well im new to NACHI but i have been building homes for …well a long time…I have always done the plumbing and im pretty sure…that bathroom plumbing must have a 3" vent…reason i know? …well the local inspector was the general contractor for the olympic village in Atlanta…he was also a master plumber …long story short…he didnt like my 2" inch vent and made me put in a 3" and said it was required by the southern building code…and my water wall was built out of 2x4 studs…after that all my water walls were 2x6 studs…:roll: Anyway now im an inspector too…but not exactly a newbee…lol;)
if we’re talking about new construction, it should be inspected and passed. size of vents depends on fixture units and size of the building drain.
In my area a bathroom can be vented with a 2" pipe but, there are other factors for a whole building.
Most bathrooms can be served by a 3-inch drain and a 2-inch vent. Without a toilet, a bathtub with shower and bathroom sink can share a 2-inch drain and 1 1/2-inch vent. If you live in a snow and frost area, I would suggest you go the next size up to prevent freezing.
Welcome to Nachi.
A couple of things you should learn.
- Just because you “built” houses, this does not (necessarily) mean that you know squat about inspecting them.
- Mere local codes mean nothing. They are more a political document than a technical document.
- If you were “building homes” for so long, how come you didn’t know the requirements for the local jurisdiction you were building the house in, where the local code inspector called you out?
- When writing client reports, please use complete sentences and proper spelling and punctuation.
- Inspectors do not build, or tell how to fix. We inspect. I have run into many new inspectors who had been “building” houses (not, GCs, just guys who have been “building houses”, whatever that means) for many years. This is the first thing that they have to learn. We don’t build or fix, we inspect the work of those that do.
- Inspectors call things out against the current national standards, not local codes (we don’t work for the city, town of village, we work for the client). "Grandfathering means nothing. Always compare against the current nationally accepted standards, especially when it deals with safety issues. You get sued less that way.
- You may be an experienced “builder” (what building trades are you state licensed for, by the way?) but you are a new inspector. Whole different place to be.
Please, don’t take this as a slam or personally. Just some friendly advice.
Feel free to call me (below) if you have any questions or you disagree.
Hope this helps;
I appreciate your input…Here is mine:
- You are sorta right…but…I still know a “tad” bit more about construction than someone starting in this business with no prior knowledge…when i was 6 years old i was following my daddy up ladders and on to roofs to find leaks. That was 45+ years ago…still…you are sorta right.
- Can you really appreciate just how political things can get? Well I do! We just got building inspections here a couple of years ago. So the good ole boys still get away with a lot. I have only lived here for 5 years.
- Well that was a different county with a new inspector. And it takes time to find out what an inspector expects…they all have their little quirks and sometimes it has nothing to do with code…local or otherwise.
- I alway do. I thought this was a “freindly” site. Guess not. Didnt know that was ness here.
- No and I dont build anymore either. I was just trying to be helpful. I was very sick last year with breast cancer. It killed my balance and Im not able to walk walls or hoist OSB anymore. So be a little kinder to someone who you dont know anything about.
- Yup
- Agree…but still…far far from being a newbee.
Oh and that was an open attack…Your not very nice. I guess this southern girl should just sit down and shut up! The more I think about this the more angry I get. Just who do you think you are? What have you ever built? Oh yeah I forgot…you dont have to know how to build …you just have to know how to spell ( or not be to lazy or not worried about it among freinds). Geezzz!
Dana,
As you spend more and more time on the board I think you will come to appreciate more, the skill and helpfulness that Will Decker gives to all of us. I sincerely believe that Will’s advise to you was meant sincerely, and with no malice. I can see how you took his post personally. However I am sure it wasn’t meant as such. He was simply pointing out the pitfalls a number of “tradesmen” stumble on as they change careers into Property Inspecting.
I for one appreciate his advice. He is a very wise man. While you will never read a thread where everyone totally agrees. I think my opinion of Will Decker is fairly consistent with the majority of the posters. I will be very surprised if anyone would disagree with that statement. He is a credit to NACHI.
Sincerly, welcome to the board.
Mark
Folks please, please, please …
Its great to ask questions but many times you expect answers without providing any info that would render a more correct answer.
In this particular case you don’t tell us the age of the building. Is it new construction or existing? If this is a 20-30 year old house the building code at the time would dictate the requirements. Not knowing this any of the above answers could be correct or wrong.
A lot of plumbing vents in my area have a reducer inside the roof penetration which effectively reduces the opening to about an inch and a half or two inches.
I am sorry if you were offended. Slamming you was not my intent, as I stated at the bottom of the post.
I have worked with and taught many inspectors who used to be tradesmen of many different types. One thing I have noticed is that it is VERY hard to get them out of their tradesman mentality. Maybe that is why I seemed so hard on you. I was not belittleing your experience, but trying to let you know that:
-
It really does not mean much in the Home Inspection profession. Usually, being an experienced electrician or carpenter or plumber means that:
a) A previously experienced inspector tends to concintrate on the systems that they worked with, in the past, and ignore systems that they never worked on. A good inspector has to look at the WHOLE house.
b) Many times, people who have been building houses for 20 years have been building them wrong. They, therefore, have to unlearn what they were doing wrong, which is hard and ego shattering. If a roofer has been doing ‘acceptable’ for for 20 years, that does not mean that they know ‘best practices’ which is the standard that inspectors follow. You mentioned OSB. Was this for roof decking? If so, you must realize that OSB is an ‘accepable’ but inferior material to use for roof decking. -
Inspecting for a client, using best practices and nationally accepted standards, is your goal. Basing your inspections on local codes and the particular vaugeries of various local inspectors is not the way to go. I, regularly, differ from the local inspectors (and in Chicago!) but they have their job and I have mine. Two different jobs, for two different reasons and based upon two different sets of standards.
-
You will see, on this board, regular disagreements with electricians. That does not mean that the electricians are “right” or that the inspectors are “right”. Again, two different jobs. It is not, usually, a question of being right, but more a question of how to apply national standards and common sense to a particular house. That takes interaction and argument. If you are upset by argument and “iron sharpening iron” interaction, maybe home inspection is not a good choice for you. No one will care how long you “built houses” or what your experience was or what your education was. It’s all about what you know NOW, and ho willing you are to learn new things. When you come close to believing that you know it all, you become dangerous to yourself and to your clients. How you gonna learn without arguing?
Hope this helps;
**Hello Mark. Thank you for the welcome. I am sorry if I stepped on some toes and I can appreciate the fact that Mr Decker has been around for a while. I am also most positive that he has a lot of knowledge and shares that knowledge generously with others. No one knows everything. Not even one who has spent years making inspectors happy. I was only trying to be helpful. I understood (the title) that this was new construction. I did go to “inspector school” and that does not make me an inspector either. What makes me an inspector is that I love this industry and It was a natural fit for me. I’ve always been good at spotting things that are a safety hazard and I really and truly care. A home should be a warm safe zone for our loved ones. That’s what I tried with all my being to achieve when I was building. Mr Decker may not have meant to attack me but that’s what it looked like to me. Spelling for crying out loud. I spent 6 years in college becoming an accountant only to find out I go crazy indoors. So yeah…I know how to spell…some really big words. However, I thought this was a friendly forum and I was being lazy. I still say he was not being very nice. 
**
Mr Decker,
I understand what you are saying. And I know that I don’t know a lot. I also have a lot of wisdom. And wisdom does not come cheap or fast. A whirlwind inspection course could actually get you or someone else killed if you had no knowledge and experience in this industry at all. Like the generator cord hanging by the panel box. Its over in the electrical section. I would have never touched that because I have seen It before. Remodeling is scary sometimes. I am not one of the good old boys that have done the same thing the same way forever. I understand that there are multiple ways to “skin a cat”. And yes I have a lot more to learn…just like everyone else. I’m just not at the beginning of that path. When I go to an inspection I’m not just “looking around”. I not only know a little about inspecting plumbing, electrical, framing …I know what makes it work and why things should not be done certain ways. Just yesterday I was wearing a different hat…cleaning a vacation cabin…and noticed that the deck was low on one side. Four decks high on 6x6 posts that were twisted. Well you would prob say that 6x6 is not proper…my take is that its twisting under a load it can’t bare. I told the owner. How could I not? All I could see was a deck full of happy people with their grand babies and children falling 30+ feet. That deck is going to fail. Just a matter of time. But I’m not going to…I’m to tough for that.
Dana
Hey Dana,
Welcome, and good luck. The most important thing to remember here when posting, don’t take anything personally. Many people like to “blow smoke” out of their rears, but then there are the ones that are helpful and dedicated to helping others. It will take you awhile to figure out which ones you need to ignore.
I don’t need to stick up for Mr. Decker, but he’s one of the helpful ones. 
Wow, some spineless twit gave me a red square for that. “Wuss” at least sign your name. 
And, usually, (at least in my case), the smoke is blue. :mrgreen:
oh great…now I gotta go find out what a red square is…but thank you! :roll:
Some one likes you, if you notice you have a green square that didn’t get there by itself. It took a few kind people to click your gold star and give you a positive vote. 