Replace My Sewer

UPDATE: Work is proceeding, and I've been informed the price will probably be lower than the quote. At this point I do not need any more donations, I'm just leaving this open in case the price goes back up again due to any new discoveries.

Hi. I'm Gravis, or Cathode Ray Dude if you know me from YouTube. My sewer is currently blocked by a massive root, which I've had removed three times in the last three years, but is now too big and too close to my house to remove safely. The plumbers are no longer willing to attempt to remove it, because the process to do so (jetting) would likely flood my basement and destroy my house. Instead, every couple days now, sewage backs up out of my drains and I have to rush to vacuum it up, sanitize, and then hope real hard that the next time I flush the toilet, I'm not flushing into my own house.

 

The permanent solution is to have the damaged section of drain pipe replaced, then the remainder lined. This is a phenomenally expensive process, to the tune of $15,000 for the entire line. I recently got a quote for "only" $13,000, if they only line part of the pipe and then install a two-way cleanout, so that if this recurs they can safely jet the line from the outside of the house without risking flooding.

 

If I said I don't have the money for this, it would be misleading - I've been told I can take out a loan and pay it off over the next year and a half, and I have both a day job and a substantial Patreon income. However, I am supporting four people, making payments and insurance on a car, paying rent on a studio I am committed to for at least a year, and trying to fund my YouTube channel so that I can grow it into a career to replace my dead-end job.

 

With sufficient discipline, I could make all this work. Frankly, I do not have sufficient discipline. If I take out this loan, I will crack under the financial pressure. That assumes I get approved in the first place, which is not guaranteed since I have significant debt already.

 

I know that I am already receiving a lot of money from a lot of generous people who just want me to succeed, for which I am infinitely grateful. I spent the last two years trying to finagle a way around needing to do this, specifically so I wouldn't have to ask for more money, but now I have no options, and I know I don't have the together-ness to assume more debt.

I'm at my breaking point, and if you could help me out, I'm hoping that in the next year I will put together enough savings, for the first time in my life, to not need to make this kind of request again.

 

Thank you for your time!