John Lansing
@pipedreaming.bsky.social
Plumbing, building codes, engineering design guides, water and nutrient cycle, architecture, embodied carbon, development, cities, and the international variations of them all
If you add water to the traps (including any floor drains or washing machine utility box), the smell should stop if it’s an issue with the trap seals. It could alternatively be a leak in a vent pipe in the walls which releases odors during heavy wind events.
November 12, 2025 at 4:45 AM
If you add water to the traps (including any floor drains or washing machine utility box), the smell should stop if it’s an issue with the trap seals. It could alternatively be a leak in a vent pipe in the walls which releases odors during heavy wind events.
There’s been some recent work on the impact of airflow from an external source on the performance of sanitary drainage systems from Khanda Sharif at Heriot-Watt University.
www.irbnet.de
November 12, 2025 at 4:40 AM
There’s been some recent work on the impact of airflow from an external source on the performance of sanitary drainage systems from Khanda Sharif at Heriot-Watt University.
Wind can generate pressure differentials in the drainage piping, leading to loss of water in the trap. This will be especially notable at the top floor. If the vent termination is near a parapet or wall, it can be particularly extreme. Caps are sometimes used to protect against wind pressure issues.
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November 12, 2025 at 4:25 AM
Wind can generate pressure differentials in the drainage piping, leading to loss of water in the trap. This will be especially notable at the top floor. If the vent termination is near a parapet or wall, it can be particularly extreme. Caps are sometimes used to protect against wind pressure issues.
Some unfortunate developments with antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) over the last several years have suggested the water seals in traps are not a safe barrier. A solution is not clear yet but this will prove to become a more pressing issue over time.
November 12, 2025 at 4:14 AM
Some unfortunate developments with antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) over the last several years have suggested the water seals in traps are not a safe barrier. A solution is not clear yet but this will prove to become a more pressing issue over time.
Absolutely. SARS CoV-1 and SARS CoV-2 are good examples of this and even managed to spread through failed trap seals. The concept of airborne disease spread, as miasma theory suggested, remains valid, but not the transmission pathway for deadly diseases plaguing Europe in the Industrial Revolution.
Yes, which is particularly important because Amoy Gardens was one of the earliest outbreaks of the SARS CoV-1. The aerosol viral transmission is in some ways, not too dissimilar to what the Victorians were concerned about!
November 12, 2025 at 4:03 AM
Absolutely. SARS CoV-1 and SARS CoV-2 are good examples of this and even managed to spread through failed trap seals. The concept of airborne disease spread, as miasma theory suggested, remains valid, but not the transmission pathway for deadly diseases plaguing Europe in the Industrial Revolution.
The miasma theory of disease was debunked in the 19th century, but the theory persisted well into the 20th century, especially when it came to regulations on the design and installation of sanitary drainage systems.
November 12, 2025 at 2:52 AM
The miasma theory of disease was debunked in the 19th century, but the theory persisted well into the 20th century, especially when it came to regulations on the design and installation of sanitary drainage systems.
If siphonage wasn’t a real issue, the vent piping could then be justified as reducing the risk of miasmatic disease spread.
London plumbing code (LCC Drainage Bylaws) commentary from 1908 explaining that the vent piping was not only to protect against risk of siphonage but also to keep the air in the drainage piping clean (miasma theory). The single stack, which omits this trap vent piping, was already common in Germany.
November 12, 2025 at 2:28 AM
If siphonage wasn’t a real issue, the vent piping could then be justified as reducing the risk of miasmatic disease spread.
Yes, significantly more cost-effective.
November 12, 2025 at 1:43 AM
Yes, significantly more cost-effective.
All of the excitement over the ‘British single stack’ in the 1970s resulted in a slightly rivalrous memo drafted by an AHJ at the City of Philadelphia.
November 11, 2025 at 10:36 PM
All of the excitement over the ‘British single stack’ in the 1970s resulted in a slightly rivalrous memo drafted by an AHJ at the City of Philadelphia.
In his 1968 report on the single stack, Robert Wyly at NIST makes no mention of the single stack being used in Philadelphia or Boston. It’s unclear if Wyly was aware of this practice in the US Northeast.
November 11, 2025 at 10:29 PM
In his 1968 report on the single stack, Robert Wyly at NIST makes no mention of the single stack being used in Philadelphia or Boston. It’s unclear if Wyly was aware of this practice in the US Northeast.
The Building Research Station in the UK attempted to collaborate HUD, but nothing materialized and NIST investigating the single stack for the US after widespread adoption in the UK over 25 years later.
The Building Research Station (now BRE) and National Housing Agency (now HUD) were exchanging a lot of information on the single stack in 1942. Note the mention of some installations of the single stack in Baltimore (Philadelphia and Boston not mentioned here).
November 11, 2025 at 10:10 PM
The Building Research Station in the UK attempted to collaborate HUD, but nothing materialized and NIST investigating the single stack for the US after widespread adoption in the UK over 25 years later.
You can just rely on old disproven theories of how how people thought stuff worked. 🙃
November 11, 2025 at 9:40 PM
You can just rely on old disproven theories of how how people thought stuff worked. 🙃
Gonna have to be at César E Chávez Boulevard on the Arc de Triomphe we’re building behind Joan of Arc.
November 11, 2025 at 2:46 AM
Gonna have to be at César E Chávez Boulevard on the Arc de Triomphe we’re building behind Joan of Arc.
Similar to IKEA, Costco’s warehouse style store model generally ends up with locations near airports and in the suburbs, both inside and outside of North America (thinking of Shanghai and Edinburgh). There are exceptions to this of course but those are unique, even in the international context.
November 9, 2025 at 9:10 PM
Similar to IKEA, Costco’s warehouse style store model generally ends up with locations near airports and in the suburbs, both inside and outside of North America (thinking of Shanghai and Edinburgh). There are exceptions to this of course but those are unique, even in the international context.
The Vancouver Brick has made an appearance. 👀
November 9, 2025 at 4:06 AM
The Vancouver Brick has made an appearance. 👀
Skytrain passing Science World, both of which were introduced as part of the 1986 World Exposition in Vancouver.
November 9, 2025 at 2:03 AM
Skytrain passing Science World, both of which were introduced as part of the 1986 World Exposition in Vancouver.
It’s especially odd considering so many other parts of the world have done away with venting for bathtubs. Unlimited case studies showing it works.
November 9, 2025 at 1:21 AM
It’s especially odd considering so many other parts of the world have done away with venting for bathtubs. Unlimited case studies showing it works.
It’s also great for urban wildlife!
November 9, 2025 at 1:09 AM
It’s also great for urban wildlife!
That’s exactly how this home was providing heating through the night in the 1940s! Fairly simple technology that’s now a scalable solution for energy storage. Much cheaper than lithium ion and not hazardous (toxic or flammable).
November 6, 2025 at 7:50 PM
That’s exactly how this home was providing heating through the night in the 1940s! Fairly simple technology that’s now a scalable solution for energy storage. Much cheaper than lithium ion and not hazardous (toxic or flammable).
I’d say more the latter. It’s an inevitable diversification that I think everyone in Canada realizes needs to happen but Canadians are about as unfamiliar with European products as Americans are, so people don’t know what this looks like yet.
November 6, 2025 at 7:40 PM
I’d say more the latter. It’s an inevitable diversification that I think everyone in Canada realizes needs to happen but Canadians are about as unfamiliar with European products as Americans are, so people don’t know what this looks like yet.
Sunamp in the UK makes these ones. This presentation was from a geothermal engineer (Sunamp wasn’t at the tradeshow).
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November 6, 2025 at 7:36 PM
Sunamp in the UK makes these ones. This presentation was from a geothermal engineer (Sunamp wasn’t at the tradeshow).