A few days ago I noticed that the drywall in the pantry was looking funny and that two mysterious holes had appeared. I assumed the kids had done something to it, but when I pushed against the drywall it disintegrated. Since we had cookbooks and other large items on the shelves above, I had never noticed that the shelving anchors were sunken in and discolored. As I pushed my finger a little harder a drainage pipe suddenly appeared.
It wasn't very long until I had cleared the area and sawed the drywall off. Any sort of leak could be a serious problem. As I had suspected, the builders had shot two shelving anchors right through the master bedroom sewer drainage pipe on the main level. There was about a foot of drywall that was black and full of mold - and that was sitting inches from some of the food we had been eating. I cut open all the way down to the floor so that I could see the full extent of the damage. Luckily, although there had been some water that had found its way down to the floor, the drywall had actually absorbed most of it. The pipe is literally sandwiched between two pieces of drywall, so that had acted like a giant sponge. Since I know exactly where this pipe is in the basement (paid off to take pictures before it was finished), I was able to check those walls and found no problems. Major renovation averted.
Because of the lack of space you'd have to move the entire wall out if you wanted to cut the pipe and install a new piece. That's probably the best way to fix it, but because of that, it's just a drain with no pressure, and the holes were fairly small and only dripping, I opted for plumbing epoxy. I wasn't too hopeful that plugging the holes with what looks like chewing gum would work, but it seems to be doing the trick. Once it cured it was as hard as a rock, like cement. I taped over it to help hold in place over time and with the new drywall that will be pressed against it I'm cautiously optimistic that it will do the trick. I'm going to watch it for a few weeks before covering it up though. Then again, it is in a closet so I could wait a very long time...
I guess if it does it again I'll probably catch it (I grab food out of there everyday) and need to cut the pipe and move the wall or at least have a bulge in it. That, or sell the house before it happens again (kidding). Over seven years all the weight on the shelf and vibrations of the washer and dryer directly above it must have loosened the nails just enough to cause it to start leaking.
