Sealing outdoor direct vent pipe joint
#1
03-20-17, 05:29 PM
Sealing outdoor direct vent pipe joint
Hi everyone,
Hoping for some advice. From troubleshooting a roof leak, we found that the culprit is most likely cracks in the sealant used for what I think is a connection between a direct vent pipe that extends from the gas fireplace in the topmost unit of our condo building, and the elbow pipe that its connected to. We need to replace the sealant but on closer inspection it looks like they used some kind of latex-based sealant first, followed by a silicone sealant on top. I'm pretty sure I'm going to use an RTV High-Temp silicone sealant, but any ideas on what kind of latex sealant I should use underneath? Is it even necessary? Images attached, the second one is showing upside down for some reason. Thanks in advance for the advice.
Hoping for some advice. From troubleshooting a roof leak, we found that the culprit is most likely cracks in the sealant used for what I think is a connection between a direct vent pipe that extends from the gas fireplace in the topmost unit of our condo building, and the elbow pipe that its connected to. We need to replace the sealant but on closer inspection it looks like they used some kind of latex-based sealant first, followed by a silicone sealant on top. I'm pretty sure I'm going to use an RTV High-Temp silicone sealant, but any ideas on what kind of latex sealant I should use underneath? Is it even necessary? Images attached, the second one is showing upside down for some reason. Thanks in advance for the advice.
Last edited by PJmax; 03-20-17 at 07:41 PM. Reason: reoriented picture
#2
03-20-17, 07:37 PM
Member
There should be a storm collar installed just above the flashing. The storm collar prevents water from running down between the pipe and the flashing.
#3
03-20-17, 11:59 PM
Thanks for that. Wow I wonder why it wasn't installed in the first place when they built it - it only costs like $10. From what I'm reading I then just seal the top edge of the storm collar against the pipe with the high-temp silicone, is that correct?
#6
03-21-17, 04:14 AM
It all depends on the association's bylaws. I've painted some condos where the majority of the exterior maintenance was on the owner and others where the owner did nothing on the exterior. Worth checking into though 
#7
03-21-17, 11:15 AM
We are just a 3-unit condo building so I and the other two tenants are the HOA, hence all this. None of us came into ownership particularly handy so learning as we go. This forum has been great BTW. Thanks for everyone's help!
