Posted on 06/07/2016 4:27:57 PM PDT by Theoria
Sandra Miller was at work in January when her daughter called from their home here on Oakridge Drive with alarming news. The house was making loud noises, as if someone had jumped off the counter and landed with a bang. For seconds afterward, the house shook.
A while later, it happened again, and again. Over the next several hours, terrifying bangs rattled the house. The next morning, Ms. Miller called Bill Neal, a structural engineer, who delivered the same stunning news to her that he has now told hundreds of homeowners: The concrete foundation was crumbling and, as a result, her house was gradually collapsing.
Across nearly 20 towns in northeastern Connecticut, a slow-motion disaster is unfolding, as local officials and homeowners wrestle with an extraordinary phenomenon. Hundreds, possibly thousands, of home foundations that have been poured since the 1980s are cracking, with fissures so large you can slip a hand inside.
“This is such an emotional roller coaster,” said Tim Heim, a homeowner who started the group Connecticut Coalition Against Crumbling Basements. “You can’t eat, you can’t sleep. When you’re told your home is now worthless and your biggest investment is now worthless, it’s devastating.”
The scope of the problem is so vast that state officials have begun an investigation, and they recently announced that the crumbling foundations had been traced to a quarry business and a related concrete maker, which have agreed to stop selling their products for residential use. The stone aggregate used in the concrete mixture has high levels of pyrrhotite, an iron sulfide mineral that can react with oxygen and water to cause swelling and cracking. Over the past 30 years, the quarry has provided concrete for as many as 20,000 houses.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Unions control CT.
Post and pier foundations work great.
In Conn., you have to dig down 3 ft to get below the frost line, so you typically see full depth basements.
“If you’re not eating “Wham”, you’re not eating ham!”
You just knew that was coming. LOL
I don’t really worry about it too much. Now and then I notice a crack in the brick right where about where the basement meets the upstairs, and wonder if we should put some mortar In the qtr inch by 1 inch space or not.
I figure I only have 15 years left, if my family medical history stays the same as the last 4 generations. So it will likely last long enough for me.
The footings were more than most of the other houses, since we did the plans etc. ourselves. The other houses haven’t really had major breakdowns, and some were built 10 years before we built ours.
There’s ways around many problems, if one knows and has money to do with.
Sad state of affairs. Ironic too since an old concrete guy I knew used to say that good concrete kept getting stronger for the first hundred years and started falling apart over the second hundred years.
Yeah. The ready-mix operator usually also runs the quarry, and they have no problem understanding proper aggregate base sieve analyses when they are selecting their quarry sites. They fully know how to mix and select their media.
Only exceptions are possibly a larger business operated by brethren who aren’t held accountable for learning their business. Instead they might swing deals with dredging operations for inexpensive sand.
I tend to prefer the small owned businesses which are kept clean and well organized, manifesting they are giving you an efficiently operated product at a competitive price.
Houses built on piers looking pretty good right about now.
Yes. Have you seen what they are doing in London with the multi-million dollar 3 floor basements? There's a 50ish minute youtube video about it.
It’s going on in NY as well. A five story townhouse with a 3 level basement. Where else can a billionaire have his gym, pool, rock climbing wall, garage, wine cellar, movie theatre, etc.?
It seems like they'd hit water in NY. London is so weird. Only the very rich can afford to live there per the special. I was recently that people are living in barges. But then there are a million muslims there. I just can't get the big picture.
In much of the midwest where my experience is, the sand is bought from a sand pit and the ready-mix company crushes limestone from a separate quarry operation that is often owned by others. The ready-mix plant should have bought this in their testing of mix designs.
Well, the engineer said It was because it was trying to go downhill and needed bracing. He was supposed to be an expert on the issue.
The various local contractors told the neighbors it was due to the soil being much drier than usual. Ins adjustors told the neighbors it was settlement.
Myself, I found out about all the neighbors kinda after the fact, and it all happened close to the same point in time - maybe the same day - no one could remember exact dates. However, there was a bit of seismic activity along the New Madrid Fault line, so I really think it was that. LOL
Seriously who knows for sure???? We built the house and moved in before the outside was finished. It is all brick - no painting maintenance required - hubby insisted.
He laid all the brick and oldest daughter carried the mortar and handed it up once he got to the upper areas. It took almost 3 years to finish. He did the front first. Did I mention he has great skills???
His daddy told me when we got married, that Hubby would always have a job, because he taught him all about bricks and mortar. He’s almost a legend here because of his skill at this as well as finishing concrete (flatwork).
Over the years, he has taught many a young man how to do such jobs. He worked his way through college. And during the summer, has done this work as a sideline to his main job. Continued the work after retirement.
Said when he retired, that he wanted to work. If he was not able to work, just put him six feet under. I said great - I’m sick of working-you can work as long as you want to. LOL
Seismic activity must be the problem then. It’s happened a little there at times all along. Anyway, it appears that there’s no serious structural problem.
If Israel comes under heavy attack in the near future, consider getting quake insurance. The greater New Madrid quakes have been magnificent rollers—not so jarring. If a good one ever comes and finds you outdoors, join in the fun with the neighbors and animals by putting hands in the air and screaming. ;-)
[Little humor there.]
We got quake Insurance as soon as we got our homeowners policy. No flood insurance, though as we live way up high on a hill, and no rivers near enough to worry about anyway.
Had I known we lived so close to a quake area, I would have had some extra stuff done when the house was built. When they were predicting one 1989 or 1990, the company I worked for had these books that explained how houses could be strengthened, but ours was already built, and what they talked about applied to houses in process.
Hubby knew about it when we moved here, but he didn’t tell me. I probably would not have moved here, if I had known. I love the Springfield area, and would have preferred to be there. Now, we have kids, grandkids, and great grandkids here and in St. Louis. Just nieces and nephews in Springfield, so we’ll just stay put.
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