ᐅ Sewer Odor / Ventilation System

Created on: 19 Nov 2018 07:24
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bene1981
Hello everyone,

We recently moved into a newly built house equipped with a ventilation system from Zehnder. The problem is that the wastewater vent pipe is located right next to the supply and exhaust air ducts of the ventilation system on the roof, which occasionally causes a very unpleasant smell inside the house.

Does anyone have experience with this? How was it resolved? Would this be considered a construction defect (from a legal standpoint)?

Attached is a picture of the roof situation. Maybe someone has a simple solution for this.

Best regards,

bene1981

Red tiled roof with several chimneys under clouds
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bene1981
19 Nov 2018 09:25
Thanks for the information. I will discuss this with my building inspector. Looking forward to it. This situation is definitely not acceptable!
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Lumpi_LE
19 Nov 2018 09:26
Anyone planning something like this might be better off retraining...
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Ricco
26 Nov 2018 14:22
This is definitely a construction defect. How long ago was the final inspection?

First, I would engage with the contractors involved in a friendly manner to reach an agreement on installing the correct spacing. If this cannot be agreed upon, the person who last worked on the system (from the two trades) should be contacted and asked to complete the connection. If nothing happens after that, a lawyer should be involved to handle the matter.
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bene1981
26 Nov 2018 15:03
Hi Ricco,

Thanks for the information. We purchased everything as a turnkey solution. Interestingly, the developer himself told me why the ventilation system in the house is causing these odors, but didn’t consider it necessary to do anything about it. We have now set a deadline for this defect to be resolved.

Regards,

bene1981
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Ricco
26 Nov 2018 15:34
bene1981 schrieb:
Hi Ricco,

Thanks for the information. We bought everything as a turnkey project. Interestingly, the developer himself told me why the ventilation system in the house causes these odors, but he did not consider it necessary to take any action. We have now set a deadline to have this defect remedied.

Regards,

Bene

That is the right approach. The usual deadline here is 2 weeks. During this time, the company should have at least reached out.

In the case of a turnkey build, the trades should definitely be able to coordinate with each other, which works in your favor if you have to take legal action (in the worst case). Now it is crucial to gather all the information you have (construction plans, contracts). Was an architect involved? They should have noticed the issue as well, so explain the problem to them and expect suggestions for solutions (with a 2-week deadline).
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bene1981
26 Nov 2018 15:37
Hi Ricco,

Coordinating between the builder and the architect shouldn’t be difficult, as they are actually the same person.

I will definitely get in touch once I have more information. Thanks anyway!

*b