Bad Vent installation

Hello,
Recently, I had my home reroofed, and my handyman suggested that I have the vent pipes redirected out the side of the house (next to the attic vent slats) instead of out the roof in order to eliminate any openings in the metal roof that might leak later. Assuming he knew what he was talking about, I said o.k. and he cut the vent pipes. At first, he left them venting IN the attic! I was clued in to this by the odor in the house! Now, he has connected a joint and the pipe runs horizontally just to the attic vent slats; it still is not vented outside. I need to amend this asap, and wonder if I need to call back the roofer to go ahead and cut a hole in the roof and have the pipe run out that way, or is there another solution (like maybe cutting through the wood siding or the attic vent and connecting another joint to run another pipe up to the top of the roof.) Also, after reading all the scary stories about methane gas, is there a risk in running power tools near the pipe, and/or any precautions I should take when messing around with this mess?
Thanks!

one more thing. . .

Additionally, the present solution proposed yesterday by the handyman is to use a reducer to take down the 3" pipe to fit a 1 1/2" Studor mini-vent out the side attic vent. . . still don't know if his plan was to vent it right at the outside opening or put in another joint and run it up the outside wall 12". Please help. . .I know nothing about plumbing and I fear he doesn't, either! I'm in Tennessee, and also have no idea right now what codes prevail. (It's a rural area--the closest plumber is probably an hour away.) All I know is that what's been done is not right!
Thanks!

I would suggest calling professional roofers and seeing what they say...
I would opt for the 3" vent going through the metal roofing...
The roofers should be able to waterproof it - that is what they do...
Your handyman is definately NOT someone I would want doing any plumbing for me...

Yes, absolutely!

On a job for a Nat'l Guard base, we had several vents per building going thru the metal roof. The tin knockers had vents, too. The roofers flashed and caulked them. No leaks. My point is that there are probably millions of metal roof penetrations that don't leak. they need to be done properly is all.

Vents penetrating a metal roof are common. Sounds as if this handyman was either too lazy or didnt know how to properly flash around your vent. Here in Ohio, a vent CAN run out of the side of a building if certain criteria are met however, I have yet to see a house ever meet these requirements and have only done this on one commercial project over the years.

Your vent needs to remain 3" and go through the roof....not through the side of the house; not reduced down to 1 1/2" and an air admittance valve installed, not left in the attic, etc, etc, etc.

<insert soapbox statement here>:
I know most homeowners want the save a buck here and there and as a fellow homeowner, I completely understand that. However, allowing someone who isnt a skilled tradesperson work on your plumbing, electrical, HVAC, boiler, etc most often winds up costing you more in the long run. I'm not trying to put down those in the handyman/woman business; I know everyone needs to put food on the table, but installing a trap or changing out a faucet doesnt make one a plumber just as changing a furnace filter doesnt make one an HVAC service tech.
<end soapbox statement>

Again, have your vent ran correctly penetrating the roof with no reduction in size. If the man cant properly flash it to make it watertight, you'll need to hire a roofer who knows how.

Good luck

Metal roofs

Metal roofs are becoming very popular here in the south again. They have a great warranty, are easy to install and come in a variety of colors. Because of this, I have to run vents through them on many occasions. Flashing them isn't a problem for even a novice because they sell roof boots made for the application.

Thank you for all the good advice. I'll call the roofer today.
As a clarification, the roofer and the handyman are 2 different people. The roofer is a professional roofer, so fortunately he'll know how to do the flashing. (I don't know why he didn't object to the idea being put forth by the handyman--I guess he figured the guy knew what he was doing. The roofer is a Mennonite; I don't think he'd knowingly steer me wrong.) The handyman just thought he was helping out; he knew the old roof had leaked in the past and just figured that the fewer cuts in a roof, the better. I should have researched this before agreeing to it--I know that I've never seen those pipes anywhere but up on the roof, just never thought about why that was, and never knew what purpose they served. An (expensive) lesson learned, but hopefully can be corrected.
Thank you again for the help with this problem. Wish I'd found y'all earlier! You're in my Favorites now on the computer.
Thanks again.

BTW, I'm in east Tennessee, too. . . so the plumber that just replied--can you pass along your contact info?

vents

Who put the roof on? Any competent roofer would have cut the holes for the vents and then used their devices to seal them. That is where the vents should be, and how they should be sealed.

roofer coming today

Thank you for all of the good advice re: the poor vent installation. The roofer is coming today to install the vents properly. Any precautions that should be taken to vent the fumes? I read that methane interacts with air to create explosions in coal mines. Is this a worry on smaller areas?

finished!

Apparently, all safe and sound. The job is finished, with a beautiful 3" pvc pipe sticking out of the roof! All's well that ends well.
Thanks again for your advice, everyone.

Just Venting said:

I read that methane interacts with air to create explosions in coal mines. Is this a worry on smaller areas?

Click to expand...

That "interaction" would be a specific mixture, thereafter needing ignition, I believe ... and evidently your overall combination was rightly-wrong for an explosion today, eh?!

Yes, thankfully!