Let me start by saying our bathroom’s wallpaper wasn’t the only problem we uncovered recently. Over the past few weeks we faced a plumbing issue that finally wrapped up just a few days ago. We try to share the good, the bad, and the ugly—this one fits squarely under “the bad” and “the ugly,” with a fair dose of “the gross.” For everyone’s sake, I’ll spare you the photos.

When we bought this house we noticed a small, dried water stain on the living room ceiling directly below the bathroom. It was tiny—only about three inches across—and the home inspector and we agreed it was probably an old toilet overflow that had long since dried. We weren’t alarmed and planned to cover it with primer and ceiling paint, so we didn’t bother taking pictures. The stain seemed solved, or at least buried in the past.

Then, in the fall, the toilet started acting up. It would occasionally clog, and when we plunged it the water sometimes backed up into the shower. If you’re eating, now would be a good time to set that down. The backups were disgusting, and because one of us was already queasy during pregnancy, I handled most of the plunging. Over the next few months, plunging and a little snaking usually fixed things. Sometimes the shower would back up even when the toilet hadn’t been used—after a shower or after shaving at the sink—so we suspected a deeper issue. The incidents were sporadic enough that we decided to wait until we remodeled the room rather than calling a plumber immediately.

Then we had a backup that plunging couldn’t clear.

After a long bout of plunging I noticed fresh water staining the living room ceiling beneath the bathroom. I later learned that the pressure from plunging had compromised the toilet’s wax ring and allowed water to leak into the ceiling. That convinced us to call a pro. The plumber removed the toilet, ran a 150-foot snake down the line, and pulled out what he called “years’ worth of paper build-up” deep in the pipes. We breathed a sigh of relief and assumed the problem was fixed.

It wasn’t. Less than a week later the shower backed up again while I was filling a steamer during a wallpaper-removal session—talk about timing. We were frustrated that the first plumber hadn’t solved the issue, and embarrassed about the state of the bathroom when the plumbers returned.

The second plumber had a solid theory but needed to cut into the ceiling to confirm it. His hunch proved correct: the bathroom plumbing had been configured incorrectly when the house was built more than 30 years ago. The main drain pipe was sloped the wrong way—actually sloping uphill—so instead of using gravity to move wastewater out, the pipe trapped water and sewage. Over time those liquids pooled and eventually backed up into the lowest fixture in the bathroom: the shower.

The fix required cutting a larger hole in the ceiling and replacing the plumbing so the drain had the proper pitch. It was more involved than a DIY job: one of the load-bearing joists needed to be removed and replaced so the new pipes could be installed at the correct angle. We were glad to hand this work to professionals.

The crew finished the plumbing in a day. It cost about $650, which stinged, but it resolved a decades-long hidden problem. With the pipes fixed and the toilet reinstalled, we moved on to the cosmetic repairs. Removing the toilet also revealed a small swatch of wallpaper behind the bowl that we were finally able to strip—an oddly satisfying bonus.

That left the gaping hole in the living room ceiling. We debated repairing the drywall ourselves—mudding, taping, sanding, and repeating until it looked right—but smooth ceilings are unforgiving. Any small imperfection would bother us for years, so we hired a recommended drywall pro. He patched the ceiling flawlessly in a few hours for about $100, and left us ready to prime and paint. (He also paid Sherry a compliment that made our day.)

Quick update: some readers asked whether a home warranty would’ve covered this. Our warranty had expired before this problem surfaced, and even if it hadn’t, this was likely an “existing condition.” The plumbing wasn’t newly broken; it had been installed incorrectly decades ago, which typically isn’t covered.

Unplanned homeowner curveballs never feel good—especially when the money could have gone toward visible updates—but it’s a relief to have everything back in working order. Ironically, another home-maintenance tale is unfolding for us right now; we’ll share it once it’s fully resolved. Until then, we’d love to hear your plumbing or home-systems horror stories. Misery loves company, and sharing tips helps us all.

Note: We called this “Volume Two” because we learned a similar lesson a few years ago at our previous house. That issue was something we managed to fix ourselves, so at least one of these stories cost us nothing in labor.