Your theory sounds plausible, but what repair would take a highly competant company like WalMart six months to complete? I think if one of their stores was damaged in a hurricane, they could get it bulbozed and rebuild the whole thing in a month.
The pipes are now buried under concrete and fill. There is finished structure all around them. It’s not new construction where it’s easy to set pipe and make changes or replacements.
If your house main needs replacement it is a major, major job that requires a backhoe to dig a trench from your house to the sewer lateral. To expose it, and either replace the whole line or at least make the repair to the existing line. Replacing a main costs 8-10 grand.
Inside the house repairs are dirty, intensive and expensive.
I would think this kind of repair required tearing up the concrete floor. With six stores closing at one time it sounds to me like they hired the same plumbing contractor that didn’t use the right pipes. OR, being a fan of importing Chinese junk they used pipes from China that are contaminated with some terrible chemical they are keeping under wraps to avoid lawsuits. They’ll have to clear all the shelving, cut the floor up, make the plumbing repairs, replace the floor, then restock all the shelves. I could see that taking 6 months.
They built our Walmart in less than 6 months from excavation to building to open for business.
The latest Walmart Neighborhood Market (smaller size, groceries and pharmacy only, no other stuff), went from bulldozer to open in less than 4 months.
“I think if one of their stores was damaged in a hurricane, they could get it bulbozed and rebuild the whole thing in a month.”
I’ve watched several Walmarts be built in the area, and it takes several months to construct, stock, train, and open,