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What the Helen of Troy is This?

What the Helen of Troy are These?

Dear PoPville,

So these wooden poles extend from an old vent on our roof in Columbia Heights/Petworth, and on our neighbors’ as well. But I don’t see them on the block north of ours. Any idea what’s up? Perhaps they’re just to block old, unused vents… but why the long poles then?

Category: Dear PoPville, What the Helen of Troy is This?

By: Prince Of Petworth | 02 February 2012 4:00 PM | 24 Comments

Paul

Torture devises for a particularly nasty set of neighbors?

February 2, 2012 at 4:34 pm
Steve L.

Perhaps to hold antennas?

February 2, 2012 at 4:34 pm
Anonymous

They’re probably just extensions on the ventilation pipes, so they draw properly or to carry sewage odors farther away from neighbors’ windows.

February 2, 2012 at 4:57 pm
- wmm
  
  This is correct. They’re extensions from your bathroom vents. Not sure why the length, though.
  
  February 2, 2012 at 5:12 pm
- early-byrd
  
  hmmm…. but they’re wooden poles, not pipes, so wouldn’t they block rather than extend the vent?
  
  February 2, 2012 at 5:16 pm
  - andy
    
    maybe they have holes drilled in them.
    
    February 2, 2012 at 5:23 pm
    - angryparakeet
      
      They are corroded and look like wood, but they are metal.
      
      February 2, 2012 at 5:33 pm
      - early-byrd
        
        original post says “wooden poles;” the close-up pic looks like wood, but some of them do look more like pipes
        
        February 2, 2012 at 8:33 pm
andy

I think for your plumbing vent stack to work right, the pipe needs to be a certain length. Maybe they needed more length so they put in extensions?

February 2, 2012 at 5:06 pm
- OatsDC
  
  Correct. The shorter the vent pipe, the more likely it is that it will be covered by snow or debris or that animals are able to access it to build nests (squirrels do this frequently).
  
  February 2, 2012 at 5:23 pm
- ah
  
  Code requires 6″ or 6″ above anticipated snow, which these obviously are.
  
  There’s an additional requirement that they be 7 feet high if the roof is used for any purpose other than being a roof (deck, play area, etc.). I suspect having A/C up there, or even some furniture, might lead to activation of that requirement, so people bolted on a few extra feet.
  
  Now, as for the OP’s wooden post, it can’t be explained in a useful way. My guess is someone stuck it there to make it look similar to the other houses or to feign compliance. But it’s counterproductive if that vent stack is actually being used. Personally, I would take it out. If you’re sure the stack isn’t being used you could cap it.
  
  February 3, 2012 at 9:40 am
orderedchaos

Fascinating — thanks, PoPpers, for the responses!

February 2, 2012 at 5:26 pm
orderedchaos

To paraphrase The Tick: “Roof Poles! Most unexpected…”

February 2, 2012 at 5:27 pm
soozles

Um, those look they are located in the middle front of the house. Do you have a bathroom in the front window of your house? If not, that’s probably not a vent, which would go straight up from your stack. We all have stack vents, but most of us don’t have 10-foot tall ones, I bet. Thus, I’m leaning toward the torture device.

February 2, 2012 at 5:53 pm
- orderedchaos
  
  Soozles, it’s front-and-center but no bathroom at the front… we do have one in the middle of the top floor, so I suppose it could be that vent, or just a stack vent as you suggest.
  
  Then again, I’m really torn between “really weathered totem pole” and “torture device,” both of which are more interesting explanations…
  
  Thanks again, all.
  
  February 2, 2012 at 6:46 pm
mabdc

hey that’s my house! haha

February 2, 2012 at 6:01 pm
- orderedchaos
  
  Really, mabdc? Cool… we just moved in (well, in June), stop by and say hi.
  
  February 2, 2012 at 6:44 pm
  - saf
    
    And you’re both just down the street from me?
    
    (I’m on 10th. This looks like Quincy?)
    
    February 2, 2012 at 8:40 pm
    - 4c06
      
      And if you aren’t yet on the ANC e-mail list for our neighborhood, drop me a note at 4c06@anc.dc.gov, and I’ll get you all the updates. David
      
      February 3, 2012 at 7:05 pm
gtmcleod

Im going w stack vent too and thinking maybe the unusual height is because the houses are along a hill and built at the same time. That way they are high enought to me a minimum height about houses within a certain distance. From this perspective it almost looks like the farthest vent is just about clearing the camera location height.

February 2, 2012 at 6:27 pm
bp

Severely weathered, ancient Indian totem poles.

February 2, 2012 at 6:36 pm
- andy
  
  ah! from the ancient burial ground! it’s all starting to make sense now!
  
  February 3, 2012 at 9:59 am
rkcindc

Old boiler systems were open systems, not closed and worked on gravity feed with a roof vent. Could be from the old boiler.

February 3, 2012 at 8:55 am
Anonymous

This is where you dump your revolver after “making an offer he could not refuse”.

February 3, 2012 at 12:21 pm