How can I extend the sewer line vent?

MikeAmann

I am getting a little water in the basement only when the ground becomes saturated. In the front of the house along the foundation is the sewer pipe vent, the red cover with the holes, similar to this: (not mine)

I would like to raise the soil level a little bit to ensure ground water drainage away from the house, but my cover is right at the ground level.
Is there a simple way to extend the vent up by about 6 inches? It's cast iron pipe.

EBEBRATT-Ed

I suppose if you could out a fernco or a no hub coupling on it come out with a 90 up and 2 90s on top . Don't know if that is legal. Why didn't they vent through the roof.

Jamie Hall

Almost certainly a vent for a house trap, not for the rest of your wastewater plumbing. I'd do what @EBEBRATT-Ed said -- but I don't know if it's legal in your jurisdiction either.

MikeAmann

So if I can plug one of these donuts into the cast iron elbow behind the cover, then I should be able to use 2 PVC street elbows and finish it off with a NDS 4" round drain grate? Picture a periscope.

EBEBRATT-Ed

I dunno. If the vent is 4" I would guess you have to keep it 4"

MikeAmann

Yes, I don't plan to change the size. I just want to keep it simple.
It's just a vent and all I want to do is keep the soil out of of it.

Larry Weingarten

Hi, Would you ever want to run a snake down the line? If so, maybe use 45s instead of 90s. 😉
Yours, Larry

Mad Dog_2

In NYC, Fresh Air Inlets need to be a minimum of 6" Above grade last I checked. I like them higher so they don't get buried in a snow bank.  There is no maximum height. Its going to look like a Real "Rube Goldberg" if you try to extend it up with elbows.   Either live with it or  reroute it from inside and pop out higher.  I have to reroute mine because The Fresh Air Inlet is right where we built a Timbertech Back deck....You get whiffs....ewwwww.  I have to core drill two holes in the foundation and pipe it through the basement to the driveway side of the house.  That's why I've been obsessing over Fresh Air Inlet styles...Mad Dog 🐕 

MikeAmann

It's 4" ID cast iron pipe. If I have to, I can use a masonry drill to clean out around the OD of that pipe so that a 4" elbow can slide over. Or something simple like that. I will make it work.

MikeAmann

FERNCO to the rescue - Fernco Icon Internal Couplings for 4"
Ideal for above and below ground sewer & DWV vertical and horizontal applications.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKCdZww-k1c

pecmsg

Raise the bridge or lower the river.

In your case lower the ground level. It appears from the picture that over the years the mulch and leaves have raised ground level. Regrade that side of the foundation and allow the water to flow away.

Intplm.

From the pictures, it looks like the water can also be getting in from the cracks and from the outside diameter of the pipe.
When you extend the pipe, be sure to repair the cracks at and around the pipe too.

ethicalpaul

In your case lower the ground level. It appears from the picture that over the years the mulch and leaves have raised ground level. Regrade that side of the foundation and allow the water to flow away.

If his problem was that the ground level adjacent to the building has raised, he wouldn't be getting the water intrusion (this is said with less than 100% certainty due to not seeing the site).

Likely the building has sunk at bit over the decades

The tiny cracks around the pipe won't be an issue once he raises the grade which will prevent water from sitting there, and they likely aren't an issue today...he's got to get the water away from the foundation and he seems to know this

MikeAmann

@ethicalpaul

100% correct. And all the houses on this street were built the same.
Fernco internal coupling is already ordered and the periscope is made.

The oil tank fill and vent pipes are also right at ground level.
I was thinking about a Roth oil tank to replace the original (it would fit the space in the garage better), but those low pipes were a concern.
They can be moved up at least an additional foot if necessary. But I will probably replace with the same 275 gallon steel tank because I will be the last in my family to occupy this house. After me, it's someone else's problem.

This all started because of a crack in the foundation and a little water in the basement when the ground gets completely saturated. I investigated the crack today and it doesn't even go down a foot. So that is not the source of the infiltration. I think a little regrading pitched away from the house in that area is all that's needed.
And to think that I planned to bury a pipe (exterior curtain drain).

MikeAmann

I have been busy the last few days. I roto-tilled the flowerbed area in front of the foundation and got rid of a bunch of rocks. Then last night (1:20 am - 9 am) I cleared the soil from the foundation, brushed the stucco clean, and painted with Dri-Lok gray. No caulks or crack fillers used - I just packed the Dri-Lok in those cracks. Finished in the rain. Hopefully the overhang will protect it and let it dry without any problems. I really would like to do a second coat and possibly a coat of fibered foundation coating from the new soil level on down. I don't know if time and the weather will cooperate with me.

The ROTH oil tank might still be a possibility in the future, because those pipes need to be raised, and while I am at it, I will make them both 2 inches. How far do they need to be away from a window?

Brent H.

Don’t discount the Roth. Just had one installed and it was only a couple hundred more than a steel tank with a much better warranty. Main difference is the cost of a tigerloop.

MikeAmann

Good to know. The Roth will fit the space better and since I have to move the pipes anyways, it's back at the top of the list. Future project.

MikeAmann

I got a break in the weather, so I was able to apply a second coat of Dri-Lok.
I can finish up to the siding some other time.
I will give it a couple of days to completely dry and then the soil is going back in place.

MikeAmann

Periscope connected and secured. Now I have to call for topsoil.