Fix My Sewer For Good

Hi, you may remember me from such gofundmes as "Replace My Sewer", about a year and a half ago. That repair did not actually go as well as I had hoped, but I thought I had at least a couple years of relief. Then, this morning, my basement filled up with sewage yet again.

Long story short: The last repair was half a job. I now have to get the full job done, and it's going to cost a lot more.

Long story long: The plumbers gave me a $13,000 quote last time. I applied for a loan and got denied, so I put up a gofundme and (to my shock and unending gratitude) got fully funded. Then on the day they came out to actually do the work, I was informed they had misread the sewer plan and did not realize we had a T-junction with our neighbors. That made the intended fix - a partial lining of the worst parts of the pipe - impossible.

That solution was meant to be a low-cost option, since the proper fix - lining the entire pipe, including our neighbor's portion, all the way out to the street - would cost over $20k in addition to the initial repairs. Normally, the neighbors would carry part of that cost, but our neighbors are on a fixed income and absolutely cannot contribute anything.

So, I had them replace the completely demolished part of the line, and since I couldn't refund the difference (about $4k) I put it into paying off the credit lines I'd run up on repeated hydrojetting operations.

I had hoped - and I don't know, maybe the plumbers suggested this - that we'd bought ourselves a few years reprieve. We had a backflow valve and better cleanouts installed to make clogs easier to fix, and I hoped that would make a difference too. But here I am, with sewage in my basement and another $700 on my credit card. It looks like I'm out of options and just have to get this done right.

I was too scared to ask for the full amount last time. I don't know if it would have cost less if I had done it all at once, but it's moot now. I don't really see any solutions, since my credit hasn't improved any, and even if I was able to get a loan, by the time I could pay it off I'd have spent nearly ten grand on interest.

If you can contribute anything, it would be a great relief, and THIS time, it'll be fixed for good - as I understand it, this really is the nuclear option, so I don't think I would ever have trouble again.

Thank you for reading.