need to fix our VERY LEAKING bathroom-- NO FUNDS--ideas???

amother

Mon, Apr 08 2013, 9:31 am

we have been pushing off fixing a leak from our bathroom into our kitchen because of lack of funds but now it's become a huge deal... it leaks everytime someone bathes and often just from toilet flushing. the damage in our kitchen is getting worse. our bathroom is at least 75 years old- we have been told now that we need to redo it. WOW. we don't have the money for this at all and we can't borrow from relatives. we don't have great credit so we'd never get a bank loan. I know that there are gemach loans but first of all, I don't think they'd be able to give us as much as we'd need and also I would like to pay it back slowly and not in one lump some in a short time from now ( as that would be impossible) does anyone know of a loan I can look into that can help us out? we are pretty desperate right now....

Liba

Mon, Apr 08 2013, 9:43 am

Do you have another bathroom or is this your only bathroom? It sounds like time to turn off the valves to the bathroom and keep the damage from getting worse. If you have a second bathroom it may not be convenient but it should be possible to live that way until you can save up the funds to fix the problem. If you don't have a second bathroom you need to figure out how to fix the issue, at least temporarily. The damage to the kitchen and chv"sh structural damage to the rest of the house aren't worth risking IMO.

ruth

Wed, Apr 17 2013, 11:32 pm

it is not clear to me what is the exact problem. You say you were told the bathroom has to be redone.

Get 2 other opinions!

Do a little research on what you were told is the problem so you are an informed consumer. I had a problem in my bathroom and was told two different stories by two handyman. I made my decision to go with the one that made sense to me. One guy's expertise was tile work, so he insisted my shower had to be retiled. The other guy said that the pipes only needed insulation, then to repatch and paint the wall. I did some online research...guess which one I went with?

Another time I had pipes leaking in my attic because the pipes were old and corroded. I found a man who was able and willing to cut the bad area and soldered new copper piping for that area only. He then redid the drywall on the damaged ceiling. I still haven't had the ceiling completely repainted (so there is an unsightly patch in my ceiling) but at least I solved the leak problem -- for less then $400. Have the handyman show you or your husband where the problem is.

also, if indeed it is a major remodeling job, sometimes you can find a contractor who might be willing to finance the project himself so that you are paying him in installments. Ask around. Maybe with the gemach loan you can put an initial deposit and then finance the rest?

Take a deep breath now, exhale and ask for some names of other handymen.