More crumbling concrete found in Massachusetts, and this time, it’s been discovered in a massive condo community not far from Boston. Those who live there say it’s a warning sign for everyone in the state, and Beacon Hill must finally take action to help struggling homeowners financially.The size of some cracks is frightening as they spider across the basement walls of the Winding Brook condo complex in Dracut. This massive 260-unit community is home to hundreds of people. They just learned last week the concrete used to build their foundations is contaminated with pyrrhotite, a naturally occurring mineral that causes concrete to prematurely fail, usually after just 20 or 30 years.”We just found out yesterday that it is 100 percent positive for ,” said Winding Brook Condo Association president Scott DeRosa, who added that the home inspector the community hired told him one of their foundations is among the worst he’s ever seen. “One of the worst, if not the worst,” DeRosa relayed.Pyrrhotite is found underneath large swaths of New England but can have disastrous effects if it’s accidentally included in concrete mix, which is called aggregate. The only fix for a prematurely crumbling foundation is to jack up a home, tear out the basement and rebuild it, as numerous homeowners across Central Mass. have already learned. That can cost $200,000 per home, and is something homeowners have to pay out of their own pockets, draining retirement funds and life savings.”Insurance won’t cover it. You can’t get a loan for it, because it’s devalued the actual property so much,” DeRosa said. “I was told that the closest one to here was 35 miles away in Winchendon. So they never expected here.”At Winding Brook, some buildings are in terrible shape while others don’t yet show any outward damage, but DeRosa expects eventually, every foundation will have to be repoured. Ron Turcotte, who lives in this community, is worried about his home’s value crumbling. Repairing every building could cost $160,000 per condo. That’s half the value of each unit, which typically sells for a little over $300,000. The problem first came to light because cracks in the most-damaged building meant condos could not pass an inspection required in a sale.”I never even heard of until it came up in this condo association,” said Turcotte. “No one’s going to want to buy it, the property value will drop significantly.”That’s why impacted homeowners in Central Mass. have spent years laying the foundation for the state to get involved. State Senator Peter Durant represents several Worcester County towns where homes have crumbled and is pushing for a state fund to help homeowners pay for repairs. The establishment of a fund passed the Senate but still needs the backing of House lawmakers and Governor Maura Healey. Durant believes the model provided by Connecticut — which established a fund through a small surcharge on every homeowner’s insurance policy in the state — is the way to go. Impacted homeowners in Connecticut can receive up to $190,000 toward repairs.”In Connecticut, it’s a dollar a month on homeowner’s policies, which is really short money,” Sen. Durant said. “This is coming to your neighborhood. We don’t know how widespread this is, but we’re going to find out over the next 20 to 30 years.”Supporters hope the enormity of the problem surfacing in Dracut will be enough to crack open the door to finally getting financial action on Beacon Hill.”We need people to understand what they’re up against and understand just how big of a problem this can become,” Sen. Durant said. Just this month, Massachusetts started requiring quarries to test their product for pyrrhotite. Advocates say it’s a good first step, but doesn’t help homeowners who have had no choice but to drain their savings or risk losing their home. The bill establishing a state fund is now in a House-Senate conference committee, with a deadline of July 31 to report it out.
More crumbling concrete found in Massachusetts, and this time, it’s been discovered in a massive condo community not far from Boston.
Those who live there say it’s a warning sign for everyone in the state, and Beacon Hill must finally take action to help struggling homeowners financially.
The size of some cracks is frightening as they spider across the basement walls of the Winding Brook condo complex in Dracut. This massive 260-unit community is home to hundreds of people. They just learned last week the concrete used to build their foundations is contaminated with pyrrhotite, a naturally occurring mineral that causes concrete to prematurely fail, usually after just 20 or 30 years.
“We just found out yesterday that it is 100 percent positive for [pyrrhotite],” said Winding Brook Condo Association president Scott DeRosa, who added that the home inspector the community hired told him one of their foundations is among the worst he’s ever seen.
“One of the worst, if not the worst,” DeRosa relayed.
Pyrrhotite is found underneath large swaths of New England but can have disastrous effects if it’s accidentally included in concrete mix, which is called aggregate. The only fix for a prematurely crumbling foundation is to jack up a home, tear out the basement and rebuild it, as numerous homeowners across Central Mass. have already learned. That can cost $200,000 per home, and is something homeowners have to pay out of their own pockets, draining retirement funds and life savings.
“Insurance won’t cover it. You can’t get a loan for it, because it’s devalued the actual property so much,” DeRosa said. “I was told that the closest one to here was 35 miles away in Winchendon. So they never expected [to find pyrrhotite] here.”
At Winding Brook, some buildings are in terrible shape while others don’t yet show any outward damage, but DeRosa expects eventually, every foundation will have to be repoured.
Ron Turcotte, who lives in this community, is worried about his home’s value crumbling. Repairing every building could cost $160,000 per condo. That’s half the value of each unit, which typically sells for a little over $300,000. The problem first came to light because cracks in the most-damaged building meant condos could not pass an inspection required in a sale.
“I never even heard of [the crumbling concrete issue] until it came up in this condo association,” said Turcotte. “No one’s going to want to buy it, the property value will drop significantly.”
That’s why impacted homeowners in Central Mass. have spent years laying the foundation for the state to get involved.
State Senator Peter Durant represents several Worcester County towns where homes have crumbled and is pushing for a state fund to help homeowners pay for repairs. The establishment of a fund passed the Senate but still needs the backing of House lawmakers and Governor Maura Healey. Durant believes the model provided by Connecticut — which established a fund through a small surcharge on every homeowner’s insurance policy in the state — is the way to go. Impacted homeowners in Connecticut can receive up to $190,000 toward repairs.
“In Connecticut, it’s a dollar a month on homeowner’s policies, which is really short money,” Sen. Durant said. “This is coming to your neighborhood. We don’t know how widespread this is, but we’re going to find out over the next 20 to 30 years.”
Supporters hope the enormity of the problem surfacing in Dracut will be enough to crack open the door to finally getting financial action on Beacon Hill.
“We need people to understand what they’re up against and understand just how big of a problem this can become,” Sen. Durant said.
Just this month, Massachusetts started requiring quarries to test their product for pyrrhotite. Advocates say it’s a good first step, but doesn’t help homeowners who have had no choice but to drain their savings or risk losing their home. The bill establishing a state fund is now in a House-Senate conference committee, with a deadline of July 31 to report it out.
