What is this pipe in my cellar for? (from cellar to front of house)

Hello, I have a pipe in my cellar that leads to the front of the house.  Below you will find 3 short clips.  Can anyone tell me what this is being used for? 1\.  Just a video of the pipe –  http://goo.gl/uouyM  2\.  Tracking the pipe inside the house (cellar) –  http://goo.gl/fm0GD  3\.  Outside the house –  http://goo.gl/6tSOI

guikazoid

in Plumbers and Plumbing 12 years and 2 months ago

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Master Plvmber | 12 years and 2 months ago

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As unemployed said, that’s a “fresh air intake” and it vents the main house trap.  A “wet vent” is a completely different arrangement of piping done at the fixture outlets.  It’s possible to get some sewer smells from the FAI so maybe someone decided to extend it away from the window with that PVC add-on. FAIs don’t do much and houses that don’t have them report no consistent problems, but Code says we gotta have ’em.

Townie | 12 years and 2 months ago

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I could be crazy but could that little room have had a toilet in it?    Did they remove the toilet and extend the vent out doors?

unemployed_master_plumber | 12 years and 2 months ago

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This is fresh air intake pipe, done in a way no plumbing inspector would sign off and no sane plumber would do it like that. Usually you see perforated plate on the front wall or 180 bend in front of the house.

daveinbedstuy | 12 years and 2 months ago

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OK.  Back to your original question though from your earlier post, I would not tap into that vent for your basement air recirculation vent.

daveinbedstuy | 12 years and 2 months ago

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If there are no other “wet” stack vents then this is your only vent for the plumbing system which definitely does not meet cod and is probably very inefficient.  Do you have any problems with your sinks/tub/toilets not draining properly?   A wet vent is usually a 2 1/2 – 4″ pipe that extends a foot or so above your roof.  It should generally be in the area of where all the bathrooms and kitchens in the building are located because, by code, they can only be a certain distance from that vent that hooks to the waste line and carries gases up and out.

argylerd | 12 years and 2 months ago

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I always assumed that was a vent for the waste line.

guikazoid | 12 years and 2 months ago

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I dont get why this forum always screws up URLs: Here they go again.  http://goo.gl/6tSOI – http://goo.gl/fm0GD – http://goo.gl/uouyM

stevecym | 12 years and 2 months ago

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waste line back up.  if your waste line to the street clogged, this would allow waste to leave this house without backing up in the bathrooms or sinks.