What is This?
Does anyone know what this enormous pipe is coming out of the skylight? I need to rebuild the roof and I’m not sure if I can just take this out, or if it has some mysterious purpose that I’m not aware of. In it’s current form it provides ventalation for the bathroom, but I can’t…
Does anyone know what this enormous pipe is coming out of the skylight? I need to rebuild the roof and I’m not sure if I can just take this out, or if it has some mysterious purpose that I’m not aware of. In it’s current form it provides ventalation for the bathroom, but I can’t imagine that I would need to keep something this large. Any info advice would be much appreciated. Thanks
It’s not your main stack ( cast iron.) Many of the newer skylights are vented to expell moisture. In your case there is bathroom moisture. It looks like they just piped in the skylight hole to avoid making a fresh hole in the roof.
Since you are putting in a new roof, get a new hole cut in for an exhaust fan and replace the old skylight.
For all you smartiepants commenters here, our main stack vent exits from the skylight on an air shaft off our bathroom in the middle of our roof. It is vertical, of course, however.
BJG, first locate your main stack or your main waste pipe. One half should go vertically through the roof and that is the vent pipe.
Does the bathroom have a window? Or is the only ventilation the skylight? If no window, you need the mechanical ventilation.
big, a fan is not rocket science. any website would have suggestions based on the size of the bathroom (and that’s usually oversized). If it’s a typical brownstone bath…think of it this way…you have no forced ventilation now, so anything is better and even a small fan is adequate. Just go to lowes. If you want to be fancy, the fan could be outside (very quiet) but those are much more expensive.
edifice rex – there is another pipe on the roof at different location on the roof that fits your description, a 4″ iron plumbing vent.
cmu – no the bathroom doesn’t have a fan, just the skylight with the piping/vent attached.
Ventilation for the main stack? What is that? A main stack is typically a 4″ cast iron plumbing vent pipe that independently penetrates the roof and has nothing to do with the ventilation of stale air.
This is likely for ventilation and can be replaced with an exhaust fan. But you need someone knowledgeable to determine the size based on how many cubic feet it vents.
The vent for the main stack is a 4″(?) typically cast iron pipe, and usually near the parapet, not this. If it leads to the skylight, it’s probably an air vent for the bathroom. Does the bath have a fan? If not, this would be an easy way to add one, just get a quiet one…Panasonic is rated highly and anyone can install it.
mopar – How would I determine if this is the ventilation for the main stack? As it stands, all I can see is that it leads into the skylight over the bathroom.