Our Story: Just waiting for it to cave in

I bought my house in Stafford Springs in September 2013 from a seller I knew personally. I asked the realtor to be honest with me about any repairs the house might need. She kept telling me the only issue was the plumbing in the upstairs bathroom. I asked about the frame and foundation of the house, with no response. 

Our Story: Emotional and financial pain!

I am one of the hundreds of homeowners dealing with crumbling foundations. My husband and I built our home in Vernon in 1986. We recently tried to sell the house, but at the inspection we discovered the foundation was crumbling and our house is unsalable. My husband is quite sick and requires full-time care. I retired to be his primary care-giver. 

Our Story: All for nothing

We were proactive in trying to find out a year ago, when the news first hit, if slab foundations were affected and we were basically told no. We had considered moving to North Carolina for a couple years, and when my employer indicated to me earlier this year it would be best to move to North Carolina to have a better chance at avoiding a layoff, we decided to pursue it seriously.

Our Story: Shattered Dream

My husband and I bought our home four years ago, It was supposed to be our Dream Home. We knew it needed some work: windows, doors, siding, and updates on some things inside the house, but all in all we were very happy with it. Two winters ago a pipe burst in our bedroom wall. After dealing with insurance, we hired a contractor and began doing repairs in the spring. One day our contractor came to us and said, “Hey, did you see these cracks you have in your foundation?” 

Our Story: We need help now

We have this awful problem. We just received the engineering report and an estimate for repairs that came in at very close to $200,000. My wife suffers from terminal cancer and does not have a lot of time to wait around for politicians and insurance companies to assess their potential losses.

Our Story: We paid for patching that also failed

Our foundation was poured in 1984 and began showing signs of cracking after roughly ten years. The cracks worsened on the south side of our house, breaking horizontally. It then separated a quarter of an inch as it began to bow in (up to an inch). We paid $35,000 to a company to have it patched. The company experts who patched our foundation told us the cracking would stop at some point, and they said their patching would fix the problem. We paid them thousands of dollars for patching in 2013 and now the cracking has accelerated. We do not have much time left. I’m 61 years old and we wife is 59, and we are facing serious financial problems.

– Homeowners, Enfield

Our Story: We own a crumbling house

We built our home 1983. J.J. Mottes supplied the concrete for our basement. We went the extra mile in the construction of this home, with wider walls and gravel and drains all the way around the walls because we did not want damage to occur to the walls. A couple of years ago we noticed spiderweb cracking on all of the walls. I was upset because it had been fine for so many years. I wondered if it was as a result of the earthquake we had recently had. I thought that until the cracks began to separate. Then I saw the segment on NBC by George Colli. 

Our Story: My home is unsalable

In 2012 I considered selling my duplex since the outside work and upkeep cost involved in being a landlord had become physically and financially excessive. It was quite a shock when my realtor told me my home was unsalable due to the crumbling concrete in the foundation of the rental side. I immediately contacted my insurance company, which informed me they would only cover a collapsed foundation, not one in the process of collapsing. The irony is, since I reported the problem, I was no longer covered if the house did in fact collapse. In the mind of the insurance company, I was aware of the problem and did not correct it. My rental unit was vacant until I borrowed $40,000 to install two interior concrete walls. 

Our Story: Core sampling

On December 29, 2015, the State of Connecticut hired University of Connecticut professors to help conduct a company to come into our home and obtain core samples of our crumbling foundation. This was a five-hour process and they obtained 10 samples.

The professor took our foundation samples back
to a lab at the University of Connecticut and we are waiting on the results! We were glad to be a part of finding the solution of why our and all the other homeowners’ foundations are failing.

– Homeowner, Tolland

Our Story: The walls are bowing inward

We bought our house in July of 2005. We had the home inspected, and although there were some cracks, I was told that it was no big deal, and I should fill them in within a year or two. I filled in the cracks and painted the walls. Two years ago I noticed cracks on the outside of the foundation. I dug around the foundation and filled those in as well. Now I’ve noticed the cracks on the inside have gotten worse and there are rust stains. Some of the concrete has crumbled out and the walls are bowing inward. I am concerned with what is going to happen to us and our home. Please help us.

– Homeowner, Willington