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More than 1,000 crumbling foundations in CT have been replaced

In this July 1, 2019 photo, Wendy Padula touches the crumbling foundation of her home in Vernon, Conn. The foundation is deteriorating due to the presence of an iron sulfide known as pyrrhotite, often described as "a slow-moving disaster," which causes concrete to crack and break gradually as it becomes exposed to water and oxygen. After worrying for years about the foundations crumbling beneath their houses, hundreds of suburban homeowners in a large swath of eastern Connecticut are getting help from the state to salvage their properties that had been doomed by bad batches of concrete. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey)
Ted Shaffrey/
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AP
Wendy Padula touches the crumbling foundation of her home in Vernon, Conn.

An insurance company set up by Connecticut to deal with crumbling residential foundations in people’s homes said it has completed its 1,000th job.

The Connecticut Foundation Solutions Indemnity Company was started in 2019 after it was found that thousands of homes in the northeast part of the state had a mineral called pyrrhotite eating away at their property.

Michael Maglaras, the insurance company superintendent, said they need millions of dollars to end the crisis.

“I have a request into state government and to many of the legislators that we deal with for $160 million more,” Maglaras said. “What I’ve said is if we can get $160 million, that’s for four more years of bonding at $25 million a year plus an extension, another $60 million of the healthy homes funding. I’m going to put this crisis to rest. I’m predicting that’s exactly what it’s going to take.”

Maglaras said that with the funding, the problem could end soon.

“I’m predicting that at the top of this crisis, the outer edge of the number of families affected by this terrible crisis is probably between 3700 and 4000. Right now, we have 2396 active claimants, of which 1000 are completed. We’re beginning to see some light at the end of the tunnel as we begin to move I think towards the end of the crisis, and what I’m predicting is going to be 6 to 7 years,” Maglaras said.

Since 2019, the company has paid over $153 million for new foundations. An average foundation replacement costs around $150,000.

An award-winning freelance reporter/host for WSHU, Brian lives in southeastern Connecticut and covers stories for WSHU across the Eastern side of the state.