[DaIceman]

Originally Posted by Beeker2211

Did you also get a terrain expert to see if there are groundswell/heaving issues? It might be worth the few bucks if you go for repouring the foundation...

Not a bad idea - I'll run this by our structural engineer to see if he thinks it's worthwhile. I appreciate your comment, Beeker.

[ctguy87]

Originally Posted by WouldLoveTo

From the article "Walter Zaldwy built his home in 1988 in Willington. He says J.J. Mottes supplied the concrete for his foundation. He never questioned why his insurance company sent him a notice in 2008 stating his foundation would no longer be covered – until he started noticing the spider cracks on his walls growing within the last year. "Looking back, I’m wondering, how did they get this information to decide they weren’t covering basement foundations anymore?" Zaldwy said."


His policy was changed 10 years after he bought the house.

I missed that, but it was probably due to standard wording changes (clarifications to gray areas of coverage) which happen frequently. Not insulting this person, and I admit at times takes a lawyer to decipher policy language, but the general lay person misinterprets insurance contracts often.

[RunD1987]

Huh read up on it that is terrible. Guess most insurance companies don't cover compression and expansion regarding the foundation. Best of luck in everything only thing I can see being done is a second mortgage or a finance plan with the contractor.

[MrGompers]

I have seen the reports on the news and IMO some people certainly knew of the issue before the general public knew about it. What I thought was especially funny was the reporter from NBC asked UCONN if the concrete company was being used on any project on campus and they said NO. The reporter however found and filmed a truck from that company pouring concrete on the UCONN campus very recently. Someone didn't get the memo at UCONN I suppose.

In the end the only people who will get any satisfaction from this fiasco will be the lawyers. Unless the state of CT does something to fix these issues (and I don't see why they would) a class action lawsuit is probably the only answer and the only way people who are affected will get any satisfaction/remediation. As a result of that class action the concrete company will go out of business and their insurance company will only cover losses up to a point. I'm sure there's a liability limit on the [concrete company's policy] and they will exceed that. After all that is sorted out the class action lawyers will get 40% of the settlement.

FWIW, if I was one of the homeowners affected I would be filing my civil suit in court ASAP and not wait around for any class action lawyers to show up.

[DaIceman]

Just heard about this one: Failing Foundation Leaves Stafford Woman With Few Options | NBC Connecticut

The thing that really boggles my mind about the situation is that the concrete company (JJ Mottes in Stafford) is STILL using the same aggregate in its concrete mixes, which means that this could be a problem in northeastern CT for many years to come.

[fearlessly]

Originally Posted by DaIceman

Anybody buying a house in eastern Connecticut needs to be aware of this issue, and make sure that the house you're looking at has been inspected by a structural engineer who is aware of the problem and knows the signs to look for.

....Did you NOT have the foundation of your house inspected, or...?

[DaIceman]

Originally Posted by fearlessly

....Did you NOT have the foundation of your house inspected, or...?

Of course we did. However, it takes time for the problem to manifest, so back when we bought our home (2000) there were no visible cracks. There are now.

It's not just our house - there are 3 others on just my small street that are having the same problem. Be thankful it's not your house.

[Cambium]

Nice discussion guys. Interesting about the insurance companies knowing.


Also interesting how they started using "that cement" during the real estate Boom. Almost to say "lets hurry and build this so we can sell and move on to the next project". As if buyers didn't care, they just wanted to buy..and builders wanted to use cheap stuff to make more profits


Then again, was this a local thing? State thing? Or National thing? And lastly... will "you" even be in the home long enough to witness it crumbling?


Next, we should look into the "paper" our homes are made of.

[adamz]

I hadn't heard about this until you posted. I talked to a colleague who said that on a street near him in Willington, ten houses are affected.

It's horrible. I would be devastated if my house were one of the ones with the problem. I hope the state really steps up. I think whoever now owns Motte's should be liable- when you buy a business, you buy their assets and their liabilities. If they're still getting contracts from UConn, that money should go straight into a fund to help pay for this. I'd even be in favor of the State setting up a fund to help compensate affected homeowners.

[Sibay]

We own a condo at Laurel Hill in Stafford Springs. Last I heard they know that 3 of the self standing units are affected...people are in the beginning stages of having their units inspected.