More than 19,000 homes in eastern and north-central Connecticut could have, or end up with, crumbling concrete foundations, according to a Capitol Region Council of Governments study, but it is unlikely many of them will.
Using data from assessors in area towns, CRCOG Special Project Manager Pauline Yoder said Thursday the study found that as many as 19,121 homes in 24 towns could be plagued with deteriorating foundations that were poured between the 1980s and 2011.
Yoder stressed that the 19,000 figure represents the total number of homes built during that time in the area, consequently it’s doubtful all of them contain concrete from the J.J. Mottes Co. in Stafford with aggregate from Becker’s quarry in Willington — the two companies continually associated with the problem concrete.
Every town within a 30-minute driving distance from the quarry, and some farther away have been affected, Yoder said, adding that there continues to be concern about the potential impact to commercial buildings and infrastructure, including bridges.
In May, Mottes and Becker’s Construction agreed to stop selling aggregate from the quarry for use in residential foundations. This means that even though CRCOG’s study accounts for properties only through 2011, the companies were supplying concrete for residential foundations until last spring.
Yoder presented CRCOG’s findings during a presentation Thursday to more than 100 people at a packed Cheney Hall, including the Board of Directors and legislative delegation.
“This is an issue that we are very concerned about,” she said. “It impacts multiple towns. It impacts the whole region. We are expecting it to have reverberations for the long term.”
This includes a drop in property values that would impact municipal tax rates, a depressed real estate market that would affect most of the state, and additional economic impacts due to the financial struggles of the affected homeowners.
“Everybody is very concerned about this issue,” Manchester Town Manager Scott Shanley said.
“We are not happy that our citizens are feeling this pain,” Mayor Jay Moran said. “Like many of you my biggest investment is my home.”
Yoder said that less than 0.3 percent of pyrrhotite, the mineral that’s been blamed for the crumbling, can cause deterioration. But she noted that the presence of pyrrhotite alone does not necessarily lead to the failure of a foundation, which she said averages between $100,000 and $200,000 to repair.
Typically, any crumbling starts between 10 and 15 years after a foundation is poured.
The same problem of crumbling foundations surfaced in Canada in homes built between 1996 and 2008 — a much shorter timeframe than in Connecticut — and Yoder said there are at least 1,800 affected homes there.
The crisis led to Quebec, Canada, losing about 7 percent of its tax revenue — or about $13 million — when those homes were revalued, Yoder said.
She said people right now need to focus on getting insurance companies to join in a suggested state program for financial assistance.
“Beyond that, right now, there is no further action at the state level,” Shanley said, adding that he expects legislation to be recommended when the General Assembly convenes in January.
Last legislative session, lawmakers approved a bill allowing homeowners with affected foundations to seek a revaluation of their homes, which would lower their tax bills.
Through an ad-hoc working group on crumbling foundations, CRCOG continues to identify qualified vendors for inspections and testing, as well as compile a list of qualified structural engineers and vendors for repairs, Yoder said.
She added that the organization is attempting to develop a remediation pricing index that could provide a cost per square foot for repairs, and is supporting uniform guidelines for determining reductions in property tax assessments for affected homes.
Manchester Assessor John Rainaldi said he had not heard much about the problem a year ago, and “what we knew then and what we know now is light years apart, and we’re still light years away from where this is all going to end up.”
He walked through the process of getting homes revalued, which includes submitting to the town a written inspection from a licensed engineer followed by an inspection from town staff.
He said the hope is to set reductions in assessments based on the condition of each foundation, but added that the town has not yet determined what percentage of property taxes will be reduced.
Rainaldi said residents have until the end of the year to have their homes reassessed for this year, but Shanley noted that people can choose to go through the process at anytime.
Finding it difficult to coordinate efforts with neighboring towns, Shanley said, “we’re just plowing ahead and doing it.”
“This is where we can provide some relief now,” Rainaldi said, adding that 30 Manchester homeowners already have given reports, but he expects there could be as many as 400 affected homes in town.
Building Official Greg Smith said, however, that he expects “a very small percentage” to be deemed uninhabitable.
