Discovered a drip on outside of vent pipe in second floor bathroom that
eventually wore a hole in the ceiling. Replaced the vent cap and drip
seemed to go away for a while. It soon returned and I had a roofer check it
out and he put on another vent cap. Drip has returned again after a couple
of weeks. Any ideas on what to do next would be appreciated. I need to fix
the ceiling but want to fix the drip first.

I wonder if the replacing of the vent cap has moved the pipe and in
doing so temporarily moved any joints below fixing the leak. The safest
method of stopping the drip would be to check all joints in the pipe as
that is where any leak will come from including the roof penetration.
Also get in the ceiling space to try and pinpoint that leak. Sorry i
cant help more, shame we cant get a photo or diagram.

Regards

Chris

www.interiordezine.com

vent pipe shouldn't have any water in it. Maybe you have a leak where
it comes out of the roof..

tim1198

rivahrebel wrote:
Discovered a drip on outside of vent pipe in second floor bathroom that
eventually wore a hole in the ceiling. Replaced the vent cap and drip
seemed to go away for a while. It soon returned and I had a roofer check it
out and he put on another vent cap. Drip has returned again after a couple
of weeks. Any ideas on what to do next would be appreciated. I need to fix
the ceiling but want to fix the drip first.

tim1198 wrote:
vent pipe shouldn't have any water in it. Maybe you have a leak where
it comes out of the roof..

It will when it rains. It is possible, but I think unlikely that rain
water falling into the pipe could leak past a bad joint.


tim1198

rivahrebel wrote:
Discovered a drip on outside of vent pipe in second floor bathroom
that eventually wore a hole in the ceiling. Replaced the vent cap
and drip seemed to go away for a while. It soon returned and I had
a roofer check it out and he put on another vent cap. Drip has
returned again after a couple of weeks. Any ideas on what to do
next would be appreciated. I need to fix the ceiling but want to
fix the drip first.

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia duit

"Joseph Meehan" wrote in message
.. .
tim1198 wrote:
vent pipe shouldn't have any water in it. Maybe you have a leak where
it comes out of the roof..

It will when it rains. It is possible, but I think unlikely that rain
water falling into the pipe could leak past a bad joint.

Joseph Meehan

Dia duit

Agree. I got a new roof. Roofers moved the whatchamacallit (conical sheet
metal device) where the water-heater vent pipe comes through the roof but
didn't recaulk it at the top. Rainwater hitting the side of the pipe ran
through and dripped on top of the heater. Silicone caulk at the top of the
cone fixed the problem. Since vent pipes aren't supposed to contain water,
it seems this lack of a seal is a likely cause of the problem. Or maybe the
roofing has failed, letting water get under it to reach the pipe.

SJF

"SJF" wrote in message
news:4s39g.23486$iF3.19632@dukeread01...

"Joseph Meehan" wrote in message
.. .
tim1198 wrote:
vent pipe shouldn't have any water in it. Maybe you have a leak where
it comes out of the roof..

It will when it rains. It is possible, but I think unlikely that rain
water falling into the pipe could leak past a bad joint.

Joseph Meehan

Dia duit

Agree. I got a new roof. Roofers moved the whatchamacallit (conical
sheet metal device) where the water-heater vent pipe comes through the
roof but didn't recaulk it at the top. Rainwater hitting the side of the
pipe ran through and dripped on top of the heater. Silicone caulk at the
top of the cone fixed the problem. Since vent pipes aren't supposed to
contain water, it seems this lack of a seal is a likely cause of the
problem. Or maybe the roofing has failed, letting water get under it to
reach the pipe.

SJF

If this is a burner vent pipe, check that any horizontal section slopes up
toward the roof. A low spot can trap condensation or rainwater and cause a
leak. Normally any water in the pipe drains back to the burner.
Don Young

Yeah, my problem with water leaking at a (plumbing, not burner) vent
stack turned out to be the roofers not installing a flange.

Before I realized that, my first thought was to cap the vent (there was
no cap initially). When that did nothing I decided to rip out the
damage in the kitchen ceiling and there it was -- the back side of the
shingle. The rood deck is 1x4's -- nothing like a round pipe going
through a square hole to cause water damage.

My solution was strategic caulking (with asphalt caulking) under the
shingles, around the vent (primarily above, of course). So far so
good, but I suspect I'll have to revisit it.