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Correct installation of coupling on cut sewage gas PVC pipe through roof

dougrobinson

Registered User
Joined
Sep 5, 2018
Messages
2
Location
Texas
I have a customer that had a very short 1 1/2" TO 2" piece of rubber with no stainless steel clamps attached on a 3" PVC sewage gas pipe through her roof. I believe this is not a correct installation according to IBC code but I wanted to get some input from a plumbing professional or licensed plumber in TX. Everything I see says that this plumber should have used a longer 3" to 3" coupling adapter with two stainless steel clamps to hold it in place or a PVC connection joint that was glued to hold it in place. Can someone verify if there is in fact a code requirement that it be done properly. The one there was only 1 1/2" to 2" long with no clamps and it came lose when we did the roof and she is now saying we are responsible for damages that I believe were caused by an improper installation.

The second question is that the piece of pipe was only 3" to 5" through the roof and she is saying we should have had it a minimum of 12" above the roof decking. Correct me if I am wrong but plumbing is a licensed trade and we should not be responsible for a short plumbing stack. I have had numerous short pipes through the roof, including metal pipes that were very short. Should I be making them pay to extend the pipes and she is insinuating that we should be responsible because it is less than 12" and we should have been responsible for correcting it. This would not revert to the roofing contractor, would it?

Thanks for your assistance in advance.

Doug
 
Last guy in and all that.......6”.......6” above the roof is generally all that’s required. In this case it’s 12”.......12” above the roof is all that’s needed. So buy a no-hub and a couple feet of abs....make your customer happy.

You could probably pull it off from the roof with an abs coupling.

Shirley it would have been better if you didn’t have to be talked into it.....there’s not much goodwill to be found with this job but there’s always the next one. Do you have Yelp in Texas?

Maybe clean the gutters and run a magnet around the house......she’ll remember that.
 
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dougrobinson,

Welcome to The Building Code Forum !

The IBC would not be the correct Code of reference.

The International Residential Code or the International
Plumbing Code would be.

Question # 1: Was there any type of permit obtained, or

inspections performed for the plumbing "vent-thru-the-roof"
[ i.e. - VTR ] piping ?

According to the 2015 IPC, Section 903.1, the VTR should
extend to a minimum of xx inches above the roof.......The
adopting jurisdiction is supposed to specify this distance
above the roof.......Older editions of the I-Codes may have
specified a minimum of 12 inches.......California & other
states may have their own minimum requirements......If

you will be involved in the repair of this VTR issue, some
approved solvent cement for the pvc and a 3" pvc coupling
is all that is needed, or a local licensed and [ REPUTABLE ]
plumber could be hired.......Proving that you did not damage

the existing, non-compliant VTR piping and the rubber
might be a whole other issue........Can you offer to have the
VTR piping fixed to a Code compliant condition [ i.e. - obtain
a permit, ...have an inspection, etc. ? ] to satisfy the owner ?


Any materials, parts, cements or other planned for use is
required to be approved by the local jurisdiction BEFORE
use [ RE: Section 705.16, 2015 IPC ].


Question # 2: Is there a local Code Official that you can

call to discuss ?


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In my area the first snow fall could have removed the vent and you would then have effectively created a leaky roof. My question is this since the OP appears to be the 'roofer" and states that the owner has stated damages have occurred. Did you provide new boots at this pipe and when doing so did you inform your client about the connection at the plumbing vent (and maybe asking your client what they would like to do about this) - or did you just install the boot and move on? If you did just pass it by, even though you were not the one who installed something likely defective, you should practice the installation of your work in a manner such that you would want to warranty the roofing work. When you find existing conditions that would affect the performance of a roof you should be proactive in getting your client involved in the decision of what to do (hopefully that brings back a qualified plumber to correct the pipe).
 
why go through the roof at all? install an AAV lessen the chance of leaks etc .
 
AAVs aren’t a right; subject to LA approval. And they fail.
Btw: sometimes service plumbers get fed up with fixing things for free and just don’t have the patience with homeowners complaining about money to the plumber who’s hoping he’s got enough money to make his insurance payments
 
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