I have a washer on the 1st floor that drains into a pipe in the wall down to basement. I have water in the basement under the washer coming from above
The floorboard down the straight-away(?), 3-4 foot pipe washer drains into before the trap. No water in kitchen. Because there is a girder an inch or two below trap it looks like a hole will have to be cut in either floor or wall to replace this pipe. I'm leaning towards a plumber but wanted to make sure that a straight away could rust in the middle, both ends seem perfectly solid.

Is what you call a " straightaway" the vertical stand pipe the hose hooks over that connects to the trap? You talk of rust. Is your drainage galvanized or cast iron? Have you located the leak and where, exactly, is it? You are certain the leak comes from inside the wall and not from the washer tub itself aren't you? The discharge from the washer pump isn't backing up and overflowing out the top of the stand pipe is it? Before I can help I need more information. Get back to me soonest. Cheers, Tom

To answer the question: the answer is *yes*.
A pipe can rust locally at any place, usually where impurities are present in the metal. Often where it touches the wall.

Better get Tom the info he asked for. Chances are your pipe is copper or plastic that wouldn't rust. Even if it is iron, they seldom rust through just in the middle of the pipe somewhere unless damaged. With a flashlight and maybe a mirror, you can look down the pipe and may be able to see a hole if any in the middle. If you can't see any water in the bottom, the trap is leaking. Check it carefully if you have access to it. You really want to be sure you have found the leak before you start cutting.

Tom,

Yes it is the vertical stand pipe( I think it's galvanized, thick like cast-iron but shiny/coated. The leak is not overflowing top of stand-pipe, not coming from threads connecting to trap(water is running along outside of visible part of stand pipe towards the trap), there is no water on floor near or under machine. The leak originates somewhere below the six inches of pipe visible upstairs and above the six inches (leading to the trap) visible in basement. The only other thing I can add is that perhaps the drains in the basement are not running as freely as they might(halfway through spin cycle about an inch of water backs up into utility sinks in basement for a minute or so; but no water backs up upstairs in machine or out of stand pipe. Thanks again, Mark

You have two options. Repair or replace. Either way you're going to have to open up and expose the standpipe. If you choose to repair here are a few links that might help, http://www.plumbingstore.com/repairkit.html
http://www.indumar.com/repairsystem.htm
The water backing up in your laundry tray when the washer discharges would tend to indicate that you have a partial clog downstream from the sink.
Good luck, Tom

Tom (Speedball),

Thanks for your help. I was wrong my brother-in-law was over on Thanksgiving and helped me re-check my diagnosis. Turns out it was leaking from top of stand-pipe after all. I took your advise from other threads and problem solved for now. Hope your around when I have to do ten loads of wash in a row and realize drains aren't completely clear. I appreciate your time.