What is a plumbing stack and why is it so important for your home?

Knowing and understanding the working of the equipment, HVAC parts, plumbing, and ventilation systems installed in your home will help you monitor their performance and also identify problems if any. With this thought, we are coming up with the Understanding your home series where we will tell you about different plumbing and HVAC systems that are installed in your home. In this article, we will talk about Plumbing stack, what it is, how it works, and see how to identify signs of replacement. So if you are going to install a new pipeline stack or replace the existing one, you will get a better idea to buy the right one.

What is a plumbing stack?

The visible pipelines connected to sanitary wares in homes are just 20-30% of the total pipeline installed in homes. A whole network of a pipeline is hidden underneath. The Plumbing stack acts as the center of that whole pipeline network. The plumbing stack is a vertical pipe that is connected to an underground sewer pipeline network at one end and extends out of the roof at another end. It serves a lot of purposes including fresh air intake, venting out poisonous methane/sewer gas, etc. The following image attached shows a proper arrangement of pipelines with a plumbing

stack.

Structure: Three components of a plumbing stack

A plumbing stack basically consists of three parts – A vent stack, Drain Stack, and Soil Stack. If you are facing a problem with the plumbing stack, you must know which part is faulty and it will help you reduce the repair costs.

Vent stack: It is the topmost part of the plumbing stack that is extended out of the roof of the house. As the name suggests, it is used to vent harmful sewer gases out of the municipal or private septic tank.

Drain stack: This is the middle portion of the plumbing stack. All the dirty water coming out of the kitchen, wash basin, and bathroom comes through a pipeline in the drain stack, from where it goes to the septic tank. The drain stack can be seen as located outside or inside of any home.

Soil stack: This is the lowest portion of a plumbing stack that meets the main sewer line of the home. This is located below the foundation of the home.

What are the important functions of a plumbing stack?

The plumbing stack is one of the most important parts of the plumbing system of any building. Since it serves a lot of important functions, one just cannot ignore the plumbing stack and should not use low-quality plumbing stack for installation in homes.

1. Ventilation of sewer gases – decomposition of sewer waste releases poisonous and combustible gases. There have been many cases where blockage of vent stack causes an explosion in septic tanks. A plumbing stack helps to vent out all such gases releasing pressure inside the septic tank
2. Prevents foul odor from septic.
3. Drain out wastewater from various fixtures out of the home into the main sewer line.
4. Fresh air intake – flushing water creates a vacuum and the fresh air from the vent stock helps to create pressure so that water is flushed out of the pipe into the septic tank. Without air intake, the vacuum inside the pipeline won’t be enough to push wastewater from the pipe to the tank.

In which material plumbing stack is available?

Plumbing stacks come up in different materials. While the old homes can be seen with copper or cast iron plumbing stacks, the new homes usually have plumbing stacks made of PVC, Plastic, or ABS which are quite cost-efficient and durable. Cast iron plumbing stacks are expensive and easily breakable but they are highly heat and fire-resistant. PVC pipes are slightly resistant to heat but they can easily melt. They are also highly flexible and cannot break easily during repair or installation.

What are common issues with plumbing stacks?

1. Blocked vent stack – the topmost part of the plumbing stack is exposed to sun and wind throughout the year. There are chances that they get blocked with leaves or other dry waste. This blocks air inlet and drainage of wastewater into the sewer tank
2. If there is a drainage problem with only one fixture, say the kitchen basin, then it is the fixture pipe that is blocked. But if the drainage problem is with all the fixtures, then it may be because the plumbing stack is clogged somewhere.

How to know if a plumbing stack needs replacement?

1. Slow drainage of wastewater from all fixtures in your home indicates your plumbing stack is clogged.
2. A foul odor in the home means there is a leakage in the plumbing stack and they are not venting the harmful gases out.
3. Seeing wet patches and mold formation in walls.
   All these indicate it’s time for the replacement of your plumbing stack.

Conclusion

This article is only for informational purposes and to help you out in making an informed decision in identifying and repairing the issues with the plumbing stack. The plumbing stack can face various other serious issues and should be diagnosed and rectified by expert plumbers only. Everest Mechanical provides quality plumbing services in different parts of Colorado. We have professionally trained and certified plumbers that can easily identify problems in your plumbing stack and repair/replace them without any getting heavy into your pockets. Need plumbers? Contact Everest Mechanical now.