Hi, we just moved to a new build. There is a dreadful 'sewer' smell in the house. No outside soil stack. AAV is sited behind bath panel in family bathroom upstairs. Had this replaced as plumber thought may be faulty, no change in smell. We are one of three houses and there is a joint pump station to the main sewer. There doesn't appear to be a vent on the pumping station, should there be? I have read advice and put all the plugs in downstairs sinks and covered with water to form a seal. This does seem to have stopped smell but obviously not answer to problem. Can't get builder to take notice! PLEASE can anyone advise what the problem could be.
Welcome to the forum. Although you can post in any forum, the USA forum is here in case of local regs or laws
I wouldn't think so don't I wouldn't mention it to them see if it cures your problem end of the day it's your property .
Most new builds have 18 months - 24 months my son has a brand new property the shower tray is leaking been six months butwillget sorted eventually I suppose
We are doing a snagging list ourselves but it seems impossible to find the reason for the awful intermittent smell. The builder is far too busy and ignores us..and our next door neighbour who has same problem.
If all three houses suffer from the same problem it seems likely it'll relate to the pumping station. Flush some septic tank treatment down the toilet (preferably when nearer empty than full) and see if it delays the stink some.
Thank you for your reply. All 3 houses have same problem to a degree but we are worse effected. We are the highest property. The pumping station pumps to main drain so should I still put septic tank treatment down? Should the 'holding' tank be ventilated? Had a look and there is no ventilation at all. A tank in the ground and next to it a green metal box which has a hole in the top but nothing attached to the hole, looked into the hole and there is no vent. I really appreciate your knowledge and help, thanks.
They can stay but it far better to have em fitted from the start put one one the outlet from kitchen sink waste to start with if you're DIY handy there nothing to difficult , I'm just saying try it the easiest way which will be on the outlet pipe to the drain
Thanks for reply. No, none of us have an external vent of any sort. We all just have AAV's sited behind the family bath panel. The plumber originally changed ours thinking it must be faulty but it made no difference to the smell. We did think it would have been a coincidence that all three had faulty AAV's.
That's main cause of problem what sort of a idiot would do that?
Against building regs as well at least one property has to have drains vented.
Probably saved £100 per dwelling and caused endless problems!
Against building regs as well at least one property has to have drains vented.
Probably saved £100 per dwelling and caused endless problems!
Thank you! We have been trying to get info on the drainage but its impossible from the builder. We are also trying to get info from the Agent who on behalf of the building control at the council did (?) the final checks. So far this hasn't happened. We dont know about these things but always felt there should be a vent somewhere. Should this be on the holding tank at the pump station to the main drain. We have never lived in a house without an outside soil stack. Are AAV's not enough?
AAV'S are exactly what they say air admittance valves .
Drains need venting to clear any dangerous buildups of gasses if nothing else.
Methane,carbon monoxide , hydrogen sulphide are just some of possible nasties.
I've worked on pumped sewage systems each manufacturer has it's own instructions.
I still do a certain amount of new build so know somebody has issued a final certificate .Private building inspector seem to be favoured route of many small developers.
Drains need venting to clear any dangerous buildups of gasses if nothing else.
Methane,carbon monoxide , hydrogen sulphide are just some of possible nasties.
I've worked on pumped sewage systems each manufacturer has it's own instructions.
I still do a certain amount of new build so know somebody has issued a final certificate .Private building inspector seem to be favoured route of many small developers.
Experienced this for 4 years in a house that was a self build. Finnaly plucked up the courage to investigate fearing the worse and began dismantlement boxed-in pipes. There was an internal stack with an external vent. Replaced with durgo..smell fixed. Must have been a self certifying plumber as building control would never have allowed it
That all sounds like it could be our answer, thank you so much. So do you think a vent on the tank or a vent on the house is the best answer?
I've been involved with building drainage for over 50 years (also where my higher qualifications are) the drains should be vented at there highest point . A combined soil and vent pipe is perfectly acceptable.
As this problem affects all the properties I would suggest you get together to put pressure on builder to get it sorted.
As this problem affects all the properties I would suggest you get together to put pressure on builder to get it sorted.
Back in the old days, each and every house had a soil and vent pipe open to atmosphere. The vast majority of these systems are still giving good service and need no attention as there . I can, however, see a slight disadvantage in having such a system in that each house will have an inside pipe that becomes an outside pipe with associated thermal bridging, whether the stack runs externally or whether it runs internally and up through the roof.
Nowadays, it is common to have fewer open vents than houses. Those houses that do not have an open vent will have a 'durgo' or AAV at the top of the soil and vent pipe. This works until the valve fails and a smell comes up through the faulty valve. Provided there is easy access to replace the valve, and people don't do idiotic things such as box the valve in where you cannot see it, this is not a problem. But the system relies on the fact that at least one house (or more if required at design stage) has an open vent, and some people just don't understand this.
Part of the problem is the (probably unavoidable) grey area between what work really needs a dedicated plumber and what does not. Obviously a general builder could construct a perfectly functional drainage system, but this relies on a fit for purpose building control system, which the UK currently lacks. As others have noted, private building control inspections often lack substance.
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