List of articles on inspection, installation, diagnosis, & repair of building drains & building sewer or septic system connecting piping
Questions & Answers about Building Drain Pipes & Sewer Lines
Sewer piping: this article series describes how to diagnose problems with building drain, waste, and vent piping (DWV), main building drains, and sewer connection or private septic system piping. We include information about the proper inspection, installation, diagnosis, and repair of building drains including clogged or slow drains, damaged or broken drains, and improperly-constructed DWV piping.
InspectAPedia tolerates no conflicts of interest. We have no relationship with advertisers nor with topics or services discussed at this website.
How to Diagnose & Repair Problems in Building Drain Waste Piping & Sewer or Septic Connecting Pipes
Our page top photo shows a sewer line cleanout under and building exit piping under construction at a New York Home, courtesy Galow Homes. Citation of this article by reference to this website and brief quotation for the sole purpose of review are permitted. Use of this information at other websites, in books or pamphlets for sale is reserved
to the author.
Definition of building drain
Plumbing codes define a building drain as "that part of the lowest piping of a building drainage system that receives the discharge from soil, waste, and other drainage pipes inside the walls [or upper floors] of the building and conveys it to the building sewer [or septic system] beginning two feet (0.6m) outside the building wall." This piping and its horizontal branches are required to have cleanouts, however no cleanout is required for any pipe or piping above the first floor of the building.
In our list of plumbing piping articles below you will find description of inspection, installation, diagnosis, and repair articles concerning building drain waste vent (DWV) piping. Types of building supply piping and supply piping problems are described and listed at PIPING IN buildings, Clogs Leaks Types.
PIPING IN buildings, Clogs Leaks Types - Illustrated guide to different types of Water Supply Piping, & Drain Piping, Water Supply Equipment, other Building Pipes and Plumbing materials; guide to supply and drain pipe problem diagnosis, repair.
AGE OF PIPING - How to determine the age of building plumbing piping, drains, materials, & fixtures AIR DISCHARGE at FAUCETS, FIXTURES - how to diagnose & repair air discharge from water supply piping or plumbing fixtures
BRASS WATER PIPES - Brass water supply piping inspection, diagnosis, repair, replacement, life expectancy
CAST IRON DRAIN PIPING Cast iron drain piping inspection, diagnosis, repair, life, leaks CAST IRON DRAIN LEAK, ODOR, REPAIR - troubleshooting cast iron drain piping CHECK VALVES, WATER SUPPLY - water system check valves on municipal water supply or on private well piping: inspection, diagnosis, repair CHINESE DRYWALL HAZARDS - Chinese drywall outgassing can damage copper piping in buildings COMPRESSION FITTINGS - identifying & using compression fittings for flexible copper tubing connections COPPER PIPING in buildings - types of copper pipes used in buildings, inspection, diagnosis, repair, life expectancy of copper supply or drain piping
CLEANOUTS, PLUMBING DRAIN - where plumbing cleanouts should be located, how to open & use the cleanout to de-clog a drain CLOGGED DRAIN DIAGNOSIS & REPAIR - how to diagnose and repair blocked, slow, or clogged plumbing drain traps and pipes
DEBRIS in WATER SUPPLY, Water Heater - what is the cause and cure of particles of debris found in building water supply DIAELECTRIC PIPE FITTINGS - definition, use, requirements to avoid corroded metal piping DRAIN & SEWER PIPING - building drain waste piping inspection, diagnosis, repair articles & procedures DRAIN LINE DEPTH - how deep should building drains be buried outdoors? DRAIN NOISES - how to diagnose and cure noises at building drains
FLARE FITTINGS - how to identify & use & avoid problems with flare fittings used on copper tubing or pipes FLOOR DRAIN / TRAP ODORS - building floor drains: odors, noises, backups, check valves, smells, problem diagnosis & cure FREEZE-PROOF PIPES - how to prevent frozen pipes in buildings; how to fix frozen pipe damage
PLUMBING DRAIN VENTS - why are plumbing vents needed, where and how are they installed, inspected, diagnosed, repaired; plumbing vents and slow or noisy drains
SEPTIC BACKUP PREVENTION - how to avoid septic or building sewer line backups and sewage contamination SEPTIC BACKUP REPAIR - what to do about a septic or sewer backup into a building, cleanup procedures, priorities, health risks
SEWER GAS ODORS - how to track down and fix odors from building drain piping
SOUND CONTROL for PLUMBING - how to prevent noisy pipes or drain noises or supply piping noises in buildings SUPPLY PIPING - types of water supply pipes in buildings; water supply pipe inspection, diagnosis, repair;
Transite Pipe Water Supply Piping - cement asbestos pipes used for piping at buildings; hazards, inspection, diagnosis, repair or replacement TRAPS on DRAINS - how to install, inspect, diagnose, repair plumbing traps; why are traps needed on building drains; trap odors, leaky traps;
VALVES, PLUMBING - types of plumbing valves and controls; inspection, diagnosis, repair, replacement of valves on pipes and fixtures in buildings
VENT PIPING - what are plumbing vents, why are vents needed on plumbing drains; plumbing vent and drain noise, slow drain diagnosis and cure; plumbing odors
WELL PIPING LEAK DIAGNOSIS - how to find and fix problems in well piping; leaks, loss of pump prime, loss of water pressure WATER PRESSURE LOSS DIAGNOSIS & REPAIR - how to diagnose and repair poor water pressure or complete loss of water supply or pressure in buildings
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Building Drain Pipes & Sewer Lines
Critique, contributions wanted: Contact Us to suggest corrections or additions to articles at this website, and if you wish, to receive online listing and credit as a contributor. Particular thanks are due to the many experts and also consumers who read and critique technical articles at InspectAPedia.com.
Additional technical contributors & reference sources for this article are listed below.
Use links just below or at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.
Eric Galow, Galow Homes, Lagrangeville, NY. Mr. Galow can be reached by email: ericgalow@gmail.com or by telephone: 914-474-6613. Mr. Galow specializes in residential construction including both new homes and repairs, renovations, and additions.
Books & Articles on Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair
Our recommended books about building & mechanical systems design, inspection, problem diagnosis, and repair, and about indoor environment and IAQ testing, diagnosis, and cleanup are at the InspectAPedia Bookstore. Also see our Book Reviews - InspectAPedia.
er
Plumbing Diagnosis & Repair: Water supply, drainage, septic systems, water testing, water contamination, defective plumbing materials & products.
The Home Reference Book - the Encyclopedia of Homes, Carson Dunlop & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, 2010, $69.00 U.S., is available from Carson Dunlop. The Home Reference Book is a bound volume of more than 450 illustrated pages that assist home inspectors and home owners in the inspection and detection of problems on buildings. The text is intended as a reference guide to help building owners operate and maintain their home effectively. InspectAPedia.com ® author/editor Daniel Friedman is a contributing author. Field inspection worksheets are included at the back of the volume.
Mobile View
