Crumbling Concrete Foundations From Pyrrhotite
Some homeowners in Massachusetts and Connecticut are finding that the concrete foundations of their homes are starting to crack and crumble significantly earlier than expected. In some cases, these effects have been caused by the mistaken inclusion of pyrrhotite in the concrete mix used when the home was originally built. Pyyrhotite was identified in a quarry in northeastern Connecticut, and that quarry had provided materials to a concrete batching plant in Stafford Springs, Connecticut, between 1983 and 2015.
What is Pyrrhotite?
Pyrrhotite is an iron sulfide mineral that breaks down when mixed with air and water. As it breaks down, it forms new minerals which swell and crack any surrounding rock. When prryhotite is included in a concrete mixture, the result is the cracking of any surrounding concrete.
A pyrrhotite impacted concrete wall
However, this damage can take up to twenty years to appear.
What Areas Are Affected?
Because of how concrete is made, and how quickly it hardens, concrete trucks can only travel so far from a plant location. As a result, the areas potentially affected by pyrrhotite are limited to a 20-mile radius around the batching plant located in Stafford Springs.
20-mile radius around Stafford Springs, CT.
The bad news is that this could still impact over 35,000 homes in Massachusetts and Connecticut.
Is My House Affected by Pyrrhotite?
The first thing you should do is determine whether it’s possible your house is affected. Concrete does crack for a number of reasons, including normal settling and excessive moisture content, so the existence of cracks does not mean pyrrhotite is present. Instead, ask yourself these three questions:
- Is the foundation located within the 20-mile radius of the batching plant? (See the picture above.)
- Was the foundation built between 1983 and 2015?
- Is there visible cracking beyond what would be expected? Does that cracking include any powdery substances and rust-like stains, and otherwise resemble the picture above?
If the answers to these three questions are “Yes”, then you’ll have to take additional steps to test for, and possible fix, the problem. These steps will be addressed in our next post.
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