I am living in a 2 year old house with an unfinished basement that I had built. Recently, I have been finishing the basement slowly but surely. I'm to the point where I need to start roughing in the plumbing. I plan on having a plumber do this because I want someone that is insured in case of problems. The drainage is already roughed in and there is an ejector pit (no ejector). I was just poking around looking at what needed to be done and while looking up to see where the ejector would drain in to, I noticed there is an open line (that's all I can think of to describe it...it is just where the PVC would connect once the ejector is hooked up...sorry that I am unsure of the correct terminology). This vent is not capped or taped. I was curious to see if it was actually open so I went upstairs and turned the bath on. I came back down and sure enough, I saw the water flowing through.

My question is, does this pose a health risk to my family and myself? I have a 2 year old daughter and a wife who is six months pregnant. I've called my dad and brother to ask their opinion. My dad said, "I'd call a lawyer." My brother said, "if you haven't smelled anything and haven't gotten sick, I wouldn't worry about it." This past summer, I had a urine smell (not sewage, urine) in my kitchen. We are very clean people so it was driving me crazy. I pulled out all of the appliances and cleaned out all of the cabinets (I even kicked my cat a few times thinking it was him!) and I still could not find the smell. I wonder if the open sewer line was the issue.

Please reply with any suggestions. Should I just go on like nothing is wrong or should I start involving lawyers/health department/contractor/etc? THANKS!!

Chris

First things first lets get that drain capped off. Either use a Fernco Quik Cap or a test plug, I'm going to guess 2" but check either the I.D. of the pipe or the writing on the pipe to be sure.

Quik Cap



Test Plug


As far as rhe Lawyer... Without actual proven damages probably not worth much... Your probably better of chugging hot coffee at Mc Dees.

As far as the smell Urine smells are probably the last odor that you would get out of a sewer except maybe in the neighborhood of the stadium on Super Bowl Sunday at 1/2 time. You were probably right on target kicking the cat!

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Hi Chris
You've lived in a house that is two years old and not finished? Who is the contractor and who is doing your basement? Being a responsible homeowner these days is not easy and having open lines in the basement doesn't help when you have a wife and a baby.

Can you take a picture of the system and post it here for all to see?
Thanks
Best Wishes

I used exactly what you posted (the second picture) to plug the opening. I am not one to litigate over something stupid. However, if this were to pose a health risk to my family, I would not hesitate to go to court. Do you think that there is any chance that this could be a health risk? I'd rather save the headache and finish this basement before my second child is born but would definitely halt if there was a health risk. I know the contractor (not well, but we talked regularly during the building process). I am extremely upset about this issue. Do you think I should just call him to bitch a little and call it quits? Thanks for your advice!

Chris

The house is finished. The basement came unfinished. I'll run down there and snap a few pictures to show.

I'd definitely give the builder an earfull... Has your family had any health issues?

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Here are some pictures. I took the cap out to give you the full effect.







As for health issues, my 2 year old has been running high fevers (103-105) with no other symptoms. However, the doctors think it is something viral and I would imagine sewage would give her a bacterial infection. I know nothing about the medical field but my wife is a nurse so I am just repeating what she said.

Its certainly possible...

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What is that opening called (so I can describe it a little bit better in the future)? Thanks for your help!

It would be the socket of a wye.

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cant tell wether the plumber mised a joist or
you have future plans for this wye.
sound like a lota fus over a simple mistake buy the plumber.
you said ther was a cap put sum pvc glue on the cap.
it should have a short peice of strait pipe glued to the cap
and insert into hole with pvc glue on both joints.
if you go the lawer rout i can tell you with out a dout
witch will be less exspensive.
if you dont have the know how call a plumber and back charge
the plumber or builder they have to warrenty your home for
one year. quit complaining and get it fixed the health of your
family comes first.
(then go get lawers guns and money). call the darn plumber!!!!!
some body missed this one on the punch list.



Edited 1 times.

Well good. It sounds like everyone thinks that this is just a mistake that has caused no harm. I was worried that I have raw sewage particulates (dust) floating around my house! It's temporarily plugged now. The next step is to call a plumber and get that ejector hooked up to it. Thanks for the advice! I will be calling the builder to give him an earful but it sounds like I should call a lawyer (believe me, that saves a headache). If anybody thinks differently, let me know. Thanks for all your help. This is a very informative forum and I will be visiting often to read!

Chris

There was probably a test plug in the fitting socket at one time, (for the DWV leak test), at least there should have been.

e-plumber
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"The society which scorns excellence in Plumbing as a humble activity and tolerates shoddiness in philosophy because it is an
exalted activity will have neither good Plumbing nor good philosophy: neither its pipes nor its theories will hold water." -
John William Gardner 10/8/1912 - 2/16/2002

Repair your leaking Plumbing fixtures ASAP [www.theplumber.com]
This slow drip will waste 7+ gallons of water per day.

call the locale plumbing inspector and ask he if he can explain how your plumbing system was passed.any and all should have been capped.be aware if you take this route that he being the inspector resonsible will be dam sure he's not missing anything else.on the other hand you being easy going and a family expanding man may want to call the plumbing co. who missed this and ask if they might want to finish the basement plumbing for you.free or at a really reduced cost.

"may want to call the plumbing co. who missed this and ask if they might want to finish the basement plumbing for you.free or at a really reduced cost."

The installing Plumber will probably state that the branch fitting was plugged when he was finished/passed his roughing inspection.
Who's to say what happened after he left?

I'd say put this situation in the past and move forward...

e-plumber
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"The society which scorns excellence in Plumbing as a humble activity and tolerates shoddiness in philosophy because it is an
exalted activity will have neither good Plumbing nor good philosophy: neither its pipes nor its theories will hold water." -
John William Gardner 10/8/1912 - 2/16/2002

Repair your leaking Plumbing fixtures ASAP [www.theplumber.com]
This slow drip will waste 7+ gallons of water per day.

The builder and the original plumber were over yesterday morning. They wanted me to call the health department. The health department will be coming out today. Hopefully there no big issue. I just want to finish my basement! I'll keep you posted.

Why would the contractor and original plumber want the health dept called out?

What did the health dept have to say?
Best Wishes

"Why would the contractor and original plumber want the health dept called out?"

...Probably so they too can tell the property owner that there is nothing wrong with the air quality in the residence, to put their mind at ease.

e-plumber
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"The society which scorns excellence in Plumbing as a humble activity and tolerates shoddiness in philosophy because it is an
exalted activity will have neither good Plumbing nor good philosophy: neither its pipes nor its theories will hold water." -
John William Gardner 10/8/1912 - 2/16/2002

Repair your leaking Plumbing fixtures ASAP [www.theplumber.com]
This slow drip will waste 7+ gallons of water per day.

The contractor was just worried about my daughter's health. He knew he might be setting himself up for failure if the air quality is bad but he couldn't stand knowing that a mistake that he ultimately made could be making my daughter sick. The health department did find bacteria within five feet of the open socket but they did not find anything in the ventilation or anywhere upstairs. However, the fire inspector found that when the cap was taken off, an unusually high amount of methane gas had flooded my basement. 5% of methane gas in one room is enough for an explosion. Minutes after the cap was taken off, the reading in my basement was 9%. Upstairs, within 10 minutes, the reading was 3%. Since the gas is heavier than air, it settles on the lowest floor. Methane is also an asphyxiate. If our beds were closer to the ground, there was the chance of the gas swallowing us up just like carbon monoxide. My team of attorneys dug up plenty of case files supporting the homeowner against the building inspector, builder, and plumber netting me $10-75 million. I am not moving forward with litigation though. If something had happened to my family, you better believe I would have gone postal. But since nothing did happen and the builder and plumber have been extremely helpful, I am dropping everything. Now that I know my house isn't contaminated, I need to finish this basement and get ready to have another baby around! Thanks for all of your help.

Chris

"the fire inspector found that when the cap was taken off, an unusually high amount of methane gas had flooded my basement. 5% of methane gas in one room is enough for an explosion. Minutes after the cap was taken off, the reading in my basement was 9%. Upstairs, within 10 minutes, the reading was 3%."

I better watch out next time and put on a respirator when I open a clean-out plug to snake a line...

...$10-75 million? - now that's SICKENING

e-plumber
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"The society which scorns excellence in Plumbing as a humble activity and tolerates shoddiness in philosophy because it is an
exalted activity will have neither good Plumbing nor good philosophy: neither its pipes nor its theories will hold water." -
John William Gardner 10/8/1912 - 2/16/2002

Repair your leaking Plumbing fixtures ASAP [www.theplumber.com]
This slow drip will waste 7+ gallons of water per day.

E-plumber, that was merely an established guideline from case law.

Keeping in mind all details in each case may differ from similar to completely the opposite. Not having access to that case law reference, I can't begin to make a comparison.

As you mentioned, what is more important was the discovery process in your case and what it revealed. Granted, it could have been life threatening, but it wasn't and no one is injured.

You are just in your thinking to proceed in finishing what was started and make sure that you observe all the necessary inspections when you are done to insure that all was done correctly.

I wish the very best for your family and better health in the New Year.
Best Wishes

I understand that Wheelchair but to me it's like the story about someone
who slips on a wet floor in the supermarket, twists their ankle and nets 5M.
1-800-IAM-HURT Law Office

e-plumber
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"The society which scorns excellence in Plumbing as a humble activity and tolerates shoddiness in philosophy because it is an
exalted activity will have neither good Plumbing nor good philosophy: neither its pipes nor its theories will hold water." -
John William Gardner 10/8/1912 - 2/16/2002

Repair your leaking Plumbing fixtures ASAP [www.theplumber.com]
This slow drip will waste 7+ gallons of water per day.