Sewer gas coming into house (Royal Oak) - anybody else getting this?

[Zero102]

We are up in Royal Oak and have sewer gas coming into our house. I checked all the traps and poured water down them to make sure they aren't dry. I have been up on the roof and the vent is clear and I even poured a bunch of hot water down it to make sure. The smell from the vent is the same as the smell coming into our house so I'm positive it's sewer gas and not a gas leak. Further complicating things, the smell is coming out of the gap around a pocket door in the master ensuite, not from any of the drains - they all smell fine.

Yesterday a fire truck was called to a nearby house, then again today another fire truck visited a different house about 20 houses away from ours. Thinking this might be related to our problem we knocked on their door and spoke with them, they have exactly the same smell and thought it might be a gas leak or something. They said the fire department decided it is sewer gas and not their problem, but did mention that they had been out to 40 houses in our neighbourhood this week for the same issue. We asked a couple of our immediate neighbours and they are not having this problem.

We called 311 and they said before they will do anything we have to call a plumber to decide whether it is our problem or the city's and only then will they get involved.

So I have 2 questions:
1) Is anybody else on here in the area having this problem?
2) Why is the smell coming out of a pocket door hole in the bathroom and not from the drain? I must have a break in the vent pipe somewhere, right? Can anybody recommend a reasonably priced plumber to help find the leak? I tried to do it with my fog machine but I couldn't get smoke to come out anywhere - I don't think I had enough pressure or airflow.

[cancer man]

Are you sure sewer gas and not a dead rodent? Sink is usually sewer gas.
Vent pipe is working..remove the cap and give it a wiff smell should be minimal.

[Tenkara Way]

As the issue appears to be all over the neighbourhood, it sounds like a water main or something expensive and they'll be ripping up your streets for weeks. Fingers crossed they don't find fault with the pipes on your property. Happened on my street in 2014, we could smell sewage coming from a house down the block.

[Tik-Tok]

Originally posted by Zero102
Why is the smell coming out of a pocket door hole in the bathroom and not from the drain? I must have a break in the vent pipe somewhere, right?

That would be my guess. There might be a common theme between the houses, same builder, same plumber, etc. who used bad practices/pipe, and then something going on with the city sewage that is making it apparent to everyone with the same plumbing issue at the same time.

[Zero102]

Update:

So somehow this is the city's fault. After talking to the city they decided that they COULD send somebody out since 40 people in our neighbourhood were having problems. About an hour and a half later a city water services truck showed up and the guy explained that there is a problem with the wet pond down the street, that water is getting back up the pipes and into everybody's weeping tile and causing the smell. He said that the reason the smell seems to be coming from the wall is because it's coming through the ground and comes in everywhere. I don't notice the smell outside but they insist it is there.

They also said they have a crew scheduled to come fix the drain / storm sewer problem tomorrow and we should notice an improvement after that. Here's hoping because fuck does my house ever smell bad!


I'm not convinced that I don't have a problem with my plumbing because of how oddly this presented but I guess we'll wait and see. I wish I knew this before making several trips up and down to the roof, dumping water down my stack and eventually bringing up a smoke machine and a box to try to smoke test my stack. :banghead:

[Zero102]

Originally posted by Tik-Tok


That would be my guess. There might be a common theme between the houses, same builder, same plumber, etc. who used bad practices/pipe, and then something going on with the city sewage that is making it apparent to everyone with the same plumbing issue at the same time.

That's exactly what I was thinking - my house was built by Beattie during the boom and so many things are wrong with it - it's really impressive how much stuff is fucked up in here so forgetting to glue a joint in the vent pipes seems almost guaranteed.

I was planning to renovate the bathroom where the smell is this summer, if the smell doesn't go away I'll be ripping it open before that - either way I'll try to remember to update this thread if I find anything wrong.

[Darkane]

Damn hopefully quick easy fix. When I first opened this thread all I thought was:

"Merry Christmas, shitters full"

[bookem]

In royal oak as well, noticed the smell last couple days for sure. Good to know this is getting resolved.

[Zero102]

Originally posted by bookem
In royal oak as well, noticed the smell last couple days for sure. Good to know this is getting resolved.

We saw the city workers out yesterday so we spoke to them and they said they got the balloon to seal up again and the smell should be gone. They were going up my street checking manholes and said there was no smell there and it should be good now.

My house still stinks as of last night.... Hopefully it's just residual smell and will clear over the next couple days!

[mr2mike]

Sewer gas is poisonous and combustible, fyi.

Don't let the levels get too high or Kaboom!

[D'z Nutz]

Originally posted by Darkane
When I first opened this thread all I thought was:

"Merry Christmas, shitters full"

Me too hahaha

[trevh]

Originally posted by Zero102


We saw the city workers out yesterday so we spoke to them and they said they got the balloon to seal up again and the smell should be gone. They were going up my street checking manholes and said there was no smell there and it should be good now.

My house still stinks as of last night.... Hopefully it's just residual smell and will clear over the next couple days!

Call 264-1022- they'll send a fire crew out to make sure your home is alright to be in and hopefully give you some advice if you do have kids - Honestly; the risk is not worth it. You pay taxes and you have the right to know if your home is safe to live in.

[88CRX]

Never heard of this problem happening in the 'non-dirty and non-smelly' south. Perhaps the map needs to be revised.

[carson blocks]

Originally posted by Zero102


My house still stinks as of last night.... Hopefully it's just residual smell and will clear over the next couple days!

If they had something backed up bad enough that shitwater was hitting your foundation, it might take a while to clear. Maybe a good melt will flush things out a bit.

[ExtraSlow]

If the shitwater hit your weeping tile, yeah, no smell relief until spring rains.

[suntan]

http://www.calgary.ca/citycouncil/ward-1/Pages/News/Odour-in-Rocky-Ridge-and-Royal-Oak.aspx

Buttplug was deflated.

[Zero102]

If anybody was looking for the resolution - the smell finally started to clear on the 7th and was basically gone by the 8th.

On the up side, if you're selling stuff on kijiji and your house smells like a fucking sewer people don't stay to haggle. They will just give you cash at the door and take your things and run. Easiest sales I've ever made thanks to the smell!

[Zero102]

Originally posted by suntan
http://www.calgary.ca/citycouncil/ward-1/Pages/News/Odour-in-Rocky-Ridge-and-Royal-Oak.aspx

Buttplug was deflated.

Thanks for linking this - interesting they specifically say into homes that do not have an effective one way valve or p-trap on their stormwater connection. I'll be looking into what I can do here. Beattie cut a fuckton of corners on our place I wouldn't be surprised if they fucked this up too.