1,000 Crumbling Foundations Replaced

ASHFORD, CT – The Connecticut Foundation Solutions Indemnity Company (CFSIC) – the captive insurance company set up to provide financial assistance to homeowners whose foundations have crumbled because of the mineral "pyrrhotite" within the concrete – has reached a milestone.

CFSIC announced Monday that it had replaced 1,000 foundations since its launch in January 2019.

CFSIC Superintendent Michael Maglaras said their most recent claimant was a homeowner in Manchester with a severely crumbling foundation, and that family's property brought the total to 1,000 completed foundations.

"We continue to make steady progress in eradicating the scourge of pyrrhotite infection, which has caused so much distress for families in Connecticut," Maglaras said, adding that he's even predicting an end to the crisis based on data collected since they began replacing foundations in 2019.

"The outer edge of the number of families affected by this terrible crisis is probably between 3,700 and 4,000. Right now, we have 2,396 active claimants, of which 1,000 are completed," Maglaras said. "So, you can see that we're beginning to see some light at the end of the tunnel and as we begin to move toward the end of the crisis and what I'm predicting is going to be six to seven years."

But Maglaras says they still need a lot of money to keep funding the foundation replacements, which require the home to be lifted to allow the concrete to be replaced.

To date, CFSIC has spent over $157 million on crumbling foundations and Maglaras says they are due $50 million more from the state of Connecticut as well as around $55 million from the healthy homes fund, which comes from the $12 surcharge added to all homeowner's insurance policies in the state in order to collectively fund the work of replacing the foundations the thousands of foundations.

"I have a request in to state government and to many of the legislators that we need $160 million – that's four more years of bonding at $25 million a year – plus an extension of another $60 million of healthy homes funding, and I'm going to put this crisis to rest," Maglaras said. "I'm predicting that's exactly what it's going to take."

Crumbling foundations were first identified in the state in 1996. The original case was a house built in 1985 in Tolland that started showing cracks in 1993.

But the cause of why the concrete was crumbling wasn't identified until 2008, when an Ohio petrographer (someone who studies rocks) was analyzing concrete core samples from a Tolland residence and identified the mineral "pyrrhotite" as the problem.

The contaminated concrete was traced to aggregate – which is crushed stone, sand, or gravel that is used in making concrete – that was extracted from a Willington quarry owned by Becker Construction Co.

Many of the foundations in question were poured by Stafford Springs-based J.J. Mottes Co., and both Becker and Mottes entered into an agreement with the state to stop selling materials or products containing aggregate from Becker's quarry.

CFSIC doesn't cover all the costs associated with a crumbling foundation claim and properties need to be inspected by their professionally qualified home inspectors who undergo annual training on how to correctly identify a property with possible pyrrhotite issues, and how soon it may need to be mitigated.

Maglaras says the cost of a new foundation isn't cheap but has come down in price over the past few years.

"The average cost of a foundation replacement is $146,220," he said. "That's down significantly, by the way, over the past three years. Our cap is $190,000 for a foundation replacement."

Maglaras said they have had good success working with their contractors.

"They're sharpening their pencils and they're delivering these foundations not only in record time but with a significant amount of cost savings," he said.

For low- to middle-income homeowners, a new $2 million GAP Foundation Financing Program was put in place this year using federal funds and was championed by Connecticut Congressman Joe Courtney, D-2nd District.

"There are still many homes at risk from pyrrhotite damage," Courtney said in a statement celebrating the milestone. "And it is critical that we redouble our efforts to stabilize the home and real estate markets in Connecticut that have been ravaged by this insidious, defective concrete. I look forward to working with colleagues in the Connecticut Congressional delegation to advance my Casualty Loss Deduction Restoration Act to help achieve that goal."

Crumbling concrete foundations are considered a "slow moving disaster," not only impacting the structure of a house but also hurting its resale and market value.

Maglaras says it's possible for a home to be in very good shape today but in three to four years, if it has pyrrhotite in the concrete, it will need to have its foundation replaced. He said getting an inspection from someone who is qualified to detect the problem is paramount to get ahead of the issue before it causes even more damage.

Maglaras says if anyone living in northeastern Connecticut suspects their property may have a crumbling foundation, they should get in touch with CFSIC at at CrumblingFoundations.org.