I think a big part of what makes this job so interesting is seeing all the ways that people can come up with to "solve" a problem.  The example I am interested in today is the challenge of getting a wire from a satellite dish on the roof to the interior of the building.  One could go through the wall and up and over the roof, or one coulddrill into the sewer vent pipe and run the wire to the roof through the vent pipe.  This method avoids having to seal around a hole through the roof or unsightly wires at the exterior of the building.  For the life of me I can't really see any real harm in this installation except:  The possible failure of the caulk joint where the wire enters the pipe and that is not allowed.  Perhaps if they were to purchase an approved "Wire-to-Vent-T" fitting all would be cool:).  I think running the wire along the side of the pipe and piercing one of the ledges of the pipe boot/flashing would have been a better choice----and easier to seal, if not self sealing.

In this next picture, looking down the pipe, we can see the caulked wire coming through the side of the pipe.

Charles Buell

www.buellinspections.com