Any plumbers here?

[slakjaw]

Wondering if there are any plumbers around to help me with some questions. Looking at a house that is older. Place was built in 1936 and under all the sinks it has S traps. Is this a big deal today? There are also no vents, the stack is vented to the roof but there are no vents on the individual sinks and whatnot. I ran the water on all the sinks and everything seems to drain ok there is a little gurgling I guess. Installing vents would be a major project on this place and I couldn't do it. Are air admittance valves ok to use or is that asking for trouble?

The only way to get it to code would be to tear up walls and run vents to the roof I'm just not sure this particular code would be worth it on this old house.

[plumb4u2]

air admittance valves have been adopted to code and are fine to use.....I'm speaking to the national plumbing code but every jurisdiction can choose whether to allow them...in MD we can use them

I have yet to find any call backs or problems with the valves themselves however it is kinda rare for me to encounter them

I have personally installed a handful because I had no other option

[plumb4u2]

and to be clear S traps are still allowed today

as long as the trap is within 11' of the main stack vent you're fine

if you think about it many new home kitchens are built with the kitchen sink in an island which does not allow for a proper vent ie S trap
this is allowed because the vent is within 11'

[dyount]

IF it was built in 1936 and you have a ton of "S" traps you may have a whole house trap in the basement. Originally houses couldn't actually have that many lead bends to make what we now see. The entire house would be trapped in the basement with a vent leading typically out the wall near the front of the house. Whole house traps are no longer permitted as well as "S", crown and drum traps.
Air admittance valves are permitted pretty much anywhere anymore but cannot be concealed within walls or ceilings etc. As well, you could typically eliminate the "S" and as long as the part after the lowest part of the trap is 2 X the size of the first bend of the "S" it's now a "P"

Not a plumber btw and didn't stay at a Holiday Inn.... codes guy doing commercial plans examining and inspection of all trades.

[plumb4u2]

I appreciate your input dyount but there is no way this house has a whole house trap

I have been in the service biz for 17y and have worked in many houses over 100y old and have NEVER seen a whole house trap

without a response from the OP I can guarantee this house has cast iron main stacks with galvanized steal branch lines to the sinks (very common in 30's)

any gurgling he is hearing is because the galvanized lines are rusting shut

[sammyg2]

This lawn supervisor was out on a sprinkler maintenance job and he started working on a Findlay sprinkler head with a Langstrom 7″ gangly wrench. Just then, this little apprentice leaned over and said, “You can’t work on a Findlay sprinkler head with a Langstrom 7″ wrench.” Well this infuriated the supervisor, so he went and got Volume 14 of the Kinsley manual, and he reads to him and says, “The Langstrom 7″ wrench can be used with the Findlay sprocket.” Just then, the little apprentice leaned over and said, “It says sprocket not socket!”

“Were these plumbers supposed to be here this show…?”

[Bill Douglas]

Lol

[75'930cab]

I've taken out whole house traps in 2 of my houses. They were built in 1910, so it is possible that he has one.

[slakjaw]

I feel like this story needs a leprechaun thrown in.

This lawn supervisor was out on a sprinkler maintenance job and he started working on a Findlay sprinkler head with a Langstrom 7″ gangly wrench. Just then, this little apprentice leaned over and said, “You can’t work on a Findlay sprinkler head with a Langstrom 7″ wrench.” Well this infuriated the supervisor, so he went and got Volume 14 of the Kinsley manual, and he reads to him and says, “The Langstrom 7″ wrench can be used with the Findlay sprocket.” Just then, the little apprentice leaned over and said, “It says sprocket not socket!”



“Were these plumbers supposed to be here this show…?”

[slakjaw]

Thanks for the replies you guys I appreciate it. The main stack that comes out of the ground in the basement looks like cast iron to me. Branch lines look like a mix of cast iron and galvanized.

[dyount]

So if you've got cast coming out of the basement does it continue up through the bathroom and through the roof? Somewhere it's gotta go through the roof ? You could be closer to code than you think with connections within a specific distance to the stack/vent. Although "S" traps can be converted to "P" traps and as well a air admittance valve added without too much trouble.

Old school whole house traps are a city typical thing and can actually be a problem with use of newer systems. They actually cause a new trap to not work correctly by what becomes double trapping. No matter what wrench you use

[dyount]

Something I didn't think of right away is that your vent system could be clogged ... or as noted the galvanized drains could be clogged as well.

I would think you'd start by finding what venting system you do have, rod the drains and verify clear vent and you should be good to go.

[fintstone]

Ask the seller/realtor to let you have a plumber inspect the house before you offer.

[MBAtarga]

Originally Posted by sammyg2

This lawn supervisor was out on a sprinkler maintenance job and he started working on a Findlay sprinkler head with a Langstrom 7″ gangly wrench. Just then, this little apprentice leaned over and said, “You can’t work on a Findlay sprinkler head with a Langstrom 7″ wrench.” Well this infuriated the supervisor, so he went and got Volume 14 of the Kinsley manual, and he reads to him and says, “The Langstrom 7″ wrench can be used with the Findlay sprocket.” Just then, the little apprentice leaned over and said, “It says sprocket not socket!”

“Were these plumbers supposed to be here this show…?”

"and the most amazing thing to me is... I get paid for doing this!" (With an arrow through his head!)
Steve Martin - a very funny guy