If you’ve been following along on our previous blog posts or on social media, you know plumbing encompasses a little more than just unclogging toilets and clearing drains! Yes, that’s an essential part of the job, but there’s plenty of other matters homeowners need to be mindful of in order to keep their plumbing system running smoothly! In today’s blog, we’re going to touch on a few terms that aren’t as well-known. The primary topic will be a PLUMBING STACK. We’ll provide you an overview of what exactly a stack is, why they sometimes cause troubles for homeowners and how we’re replacing them for homeowners and commercial businesses around Kansas City.
What is a plumbing stack?
While a plumbing stack is undoubtedly a key cog in a home’s plumbing system, most homeowners have either never heard of it or are unsure of its role in the grand scheme of things. According to Zierman Plumbing, “the Uniform Plumbing Code (UPC) defines a stack as a primary pipeline for any water or waste system that spans through one or more floors of a building or home.” This large vertical pipe serves as the focal point in which horizontal pipes are connected and permitted to drain or vent. All in all, the purpose is to transport waste out to the drain and venting designed to balance out pressures.
Having said that, you can break up a plumbing stack into three main areas:
- Vent Stack – The vent stack is at the very top, above the highest drain in the home or building. It’s tasked with allowing air to enter the stack and maintain equal air pressure.
- Drain Stack – Below the highest fixture draining into the plumbing stack, you’ll have the drain stack. This one comes to an end at the point where the lowest fixture drains into the stack.
- Soil Stack – Last, but not least, you have the soil stack. Think of the soil stack as being everything below the lowest fixture and serving as the connection to the sewer.
Before we move on to diagnosing issues with a stack, keep in mind that it isn’t entirely uncommon for a building to have multiple stacks. In these cases, you’ll have a main stack and auxiliary stacks.
Diagnosing Vent Stack Issues
As mentioned in the section above, the vent stack is an integral piece of the overall puzzle. It’s located at the highest point and responsible for keeping sewer gas out of the home or building. Having said that, you’re probably not surprised when I say any issues with a vent stack would fall under the category of things you’d like to get fixed as soon as possible. So…what are the obvious signs of a potential vent stack issue?
- Slow Drains – As is the case with a lot of other plumbing issues as well, whenever you notice your drains starting to run slow, it isn’t a random coincidence. It means there is some sort of obstruction that’ll likely only get worse the longer you let it sit! It’s as simple as that! In regards to vent stacks, this logic holds true once again. As we briefly alluded to, a vent stack is responsible for releasing out those sewer gases that can accumulate. Thus, any obstruction will likely result in air being sucked into the p-traps. Once this occurs, you’ll notice slow drainage and even some weird, gurgling sounds as well!
- Unpleasant Smells – Next on our list is yet another tell-tale sign of a plumbing issue. I would like to preface this point though by providing some more information about p-traps. We mentioned them in the previous point. WL Gary defines the purpose of a p-trap being “to stop the sewage gases from drifting from the drain pipe into your home or building.” It does so by trapping water in it’s dip to prevent any gasses from traveling through. Having said all of that, whenever a vent stack is clogged in a severe manner, that safeguard water barrier can get sucked out, thus creating an open lane.
- Multiple Drains Running Slow – Our final warning sign simply goes a step further from the “slow drains” point. You need to determine whether all of the fixture’s drains are running slow or just one. If they all are, then you’re looking at an issue with the main stack. On the flip side, if just one of the drains is running slow, you more than likely simply have a blockage on that one fixture!
Easy Safeguards Against Vent Stack Blockages
Considering a vent stack is at the top, it’s really fairly straightforward in terms of reducing the odds of a blockage. For one, you’ll want to put some sort of filter or screen on the top to prevent things like leaves or even small critters from finding their way in. If these were to make their way in, the odds of a blockage increase drastically. And secondly, you’ll want to insulate the pipes before the winter. This is something you should already be doing on any exposed pipes before the cold Kansas City winters settle in!
Soil Stack Issues
As mentioned towards the beginning of the blog, the soil stack is the final piece. Being connected to the sewer line, soil stacks are the one that remove all of the waste from the various plumbing fixtures in your house (baths, sinks, toilets, etc). When a soil stack is clogged, you’ll likely start to notice similar issues as the ones we discussed with vent stacks. The toilets will drain slower and once again, some funky odors will arise from the drains.
Replacing Old Materials
Before we wrap up this blog, I wanted to touch on a topic that certainly isn’t new to our plumbing blog! As is the case with just about every industry, over time we’ve learned better ways of doing things. Plumbing is no different. Fixtures with greater efficiency have been developed to use less amounts of water and energy! Technology has made plumbing repairs so much easier! And we’ve learned that certain materials might not always be the smarter option.
In regards to plumbing stacks, we’ve run into plenty of ones that are built out of cast iron. It’s not uncommon for these to eventually show signs of crumbling and cracking over years of usage. This is part of the reason why we recommend transitioning these stacks from cast iron to PVC. Yes, it’ll require an up-front investment, but it will also be one that’ll save you in the long run and certainly avoid some future headaches.
Call Stine-Nichols Plumbing!
Since opening the doors to Stine-Nichols Plumbing back in 2014, our mission has never changed. It has always been to be a one-stop shop for all plumbing projects. We understand every plumbing project can have a unique twist to it and possessing the ability to troubleshoot these situations is an invaluable skill. When you work with our team, you can expect reliable and long-lasting repairs at a competitive price.
We hope this blog about plumbing stacks helped educate you on yet another integral piece to a complete plumbing system. Whether it be for a residential home or a commercial facility, you never want to procrastinate getting it repaired! Our team services the entire Kansas City area, as well as all of the surrounding cities (Liberty, Parkville, Gladstone, Overland Park, Olathe, Lee’s Summit, etc). For a free quote, you’re more than welcome to either call us at (816) 348-3481 or fill out the form linked HERE.