Homeowners in central Massachusetts say thousands of homes in the state are potentially “ticking time bombs”, built with contaminated concrete that will crumble. The problem does not arise until years – even decades – after construction. But when it does, home insurance won’t pay the repair bill, which is in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Now the state is pressured into stepping in. “It started flaking,” she said. “It’s absolutely a ticking time bomb in my house and in central Massachusetts.” Just 20 years after her house in Rutland was built, the concrete is now crumbling and engineers have said it will crumble within a few years. It’s already crushing her financially: she can’t sell and the cost to lift the house and redo the whole basement is $200,000. “It’s all fairness. Everything,” she said. “That’s all you worked for.” The problem is pyrrhotite, a naturally occurring mineral found beneath parts of central and western Massachusetts. Put a quarry on a vein of pyrrhotite and it can enter the concrete mix. By reacting with water and air, pyrrhotite then expands over time, causing corrosion and spalling of concrete. walls. The Rianis discovered the cracks in 2020 after water began seeping into their finished basement and they removed the drywall. “I was worried the wall would warp,” said Rick Riani. wall, there was an inch gap at the top and bottom and it touched in the middle. So he had already started to bow. “Rick Riani worked in construction and said he had never seen anything like it.” I couldn’t believe it. I had a stomach ache,” he said. “At night I’m a light sleeper, I heard popping and popping and everything was hard,” Karen Riani said. “They were hard. Because your life is collapsing on you.” Feeling unsafe in their own home, the Rianis decided to replace the foundation anyway, hiring a company to lift their home, rip out the old one, and pour all the new concrete. The $280,000 cost drained their savings and their retirement. “It’s 80% of the purchase price of our house that we bought in 2013,” said Karen Riani. “It’s an absolute nightmare,” said Massachusetts State Senator Anne Gobi, who represents a large swath of central Massachusetts. from New Hampshire to Connecticut. Thousands of homes in his district could be affected. At first, officials thought Massachusetts’ bad concrete came from a single quarry in Connecticut because homes in that state began to crumble first. But as the number of houses affected in Massachusetts has grown, it now appears that the concrete must have been produced locally, by at least one quarry in the state. But unlike some other states, Massachusetts does not test concrete in careers. a bill that would do that and force insurance companies to pay into a state fund to help homeowners repair their homes. In 2018, Connecticut lawmakers approved a similar measure that will pay homeowners up to $190,000 to cover most foundation replacement work. It is paid for by a $12 surcharge on every state home insurance policy. As the bill is drafted, the Massachusetts program would be funded from a percentage of the profits of state insurance companies. The bill is currently before the Senate Ways and Means Committee, which could change the funding mechanism. Gobi said its adoption as soon as possible is essential. Your home is “everything. And losing that and having no recourse is just a sin,” she says. Gary Bellows once spent thousands of dollars trying to fix cracks in his basement before he learned his concrete contained pyrrhotite. Now, like the others, he feels he has no choice but to undergo a $200,000 foundation replacement without help. “We certainly haven’t saved up for that, obviously. Nobody does that for that kind of repair,” he said. “(The) house is worth nothing unless they can make the repairs.”
Homeowners in central Massachusetts say potentially thousands of homes in the state are “ticking time bombs”, built with contaminated concrete that will crumble.
The problem does not appear until years or even decades after construction. But when it does, home insurance won’t pay the repair bill, which runs into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Now there is pressure for the state to intervene.
Watching JoAnn Demore’s foundation is unsettling. The inside of her basement walls are covered in a growing network of cracks that she says are getting bigger and bigger.
“It started flaking,” she said. “It’s absolutely a ticking time bomb in my house and in central Massachusetts.”
Just 20 years after his home in Rutland was built, the concrete is crumbling and engineers have told him it will collapse within a few years. It’s already crushing her financially: she can’t sell and the cost to lift the house and redo the whole basement is $200,000.
“It’s all fairness. Everything,” she said. “That’s all you worked for.”
The problem is pyrrhotite, a naturally occurring mineral found beneath parts of central and western Massachusetts. Put a quarry on a vein of pyrrhotite and it can enter the concrete mix. Reacting with water and air, pyrrhotite then expands over time, causing concrete to corrode and crumble.
That’s exactly what happened to Rick and Karen Riani’s basement in Holden. The pyrrhotite in their 20-year-old foundation resulted in huge cracks that stretched the length of two walls. The Rianis discovered the cracks in 2020 after water began seeping into their finished basement and they removed the drywall.
“I was afraid the wall would collapse,” said Rick Riani. “If you took a straight edge and put it against the wall, there was an inch gap at the top and bottom and it was touching in the middle. So it had already started to tilt.”
Rick Riani worked in construction and said he had never seen anything like it.
“I couldn’t believe it. I had a stomach ache,” he said. “At night I’m a light sleeper, I could hear popping and popping and stuff.”
What could be more sickening: they say the insurance won’t cover it.
“God, those days were tough,” Karen Riani said. “They were tough. Because your life is falling apart on you.”
Feeling unsafe in their own home, the Rianis went ahead with a foundation replacement anyway, hiring a company to lift their home, rip out the old one, and pour all the new concrete. The cost of $280,000 depleted their savings and their retirement.
“It’s 80% of the purchase price of our house that we bought in 2013,” said Karen Riani.
“It’s an absolute nightmare,” said Massachusetts State Senator Anne Gobi, who represents a wide swath of central Massachusetts from New Hampshire to Connecticut. Thousands of homes in his neighborhood could be affected.
At first, officials thought Massachusetts’ bad concrete came from a single quarry in Connecticut, because homes in that state began to crumble first. But as the number of houses affected in Massachusetts has increased, it now appears that the concrete must have been produced locally, by at least one quarry in the state.
But unlike some other states, Massachusetts does not test concrete in quarries. So Gobi sponsored a bill that would do that and require insurance companies to contribute to a state fund to help homeowners repair their homes.
In 2018, Connecticut lawmakers approved a similar measure that will pay homeowners up to $190,000 to cover most foundation replacement work. It is paid for by a $12 surcharge on every state home insurance policy.
As the bill is drafted, the Massachusetts program would be funded from a percentage of the profits of state insurance companies. The bill is currently before the Senate Ways and Means Committee, which may change the funding mechanism.
Gobi said passing as soon as possible is key.
Your home is “everything. And losing that and having no recourse is just a sin,” she said.
Gary Bellows once spent thousands of dollars trying to fix cracks in his basement before he learned his concrete contained pyrrhotite. Now, like the others, he feels he has no choice but to undergo a $200,000 foundation replacement without help.
“We certainly haven’t saved up for that, obviously. Nobody does that for that kind of repair,” he said. “(The) house is worth nothing unless they can make the repairs.”
