Crumbling foundations · Massachusetts
Crumbling concrete foundations in Massachusetts
Pyrrhotite is cracking foundations across Massachusetts. Here is what causes it, how to spot it and why lifting the building and replacing the foundation is the only lasting fix, including how we did it for a 12 unit condo building in Dracut.
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By the numbers
A growing problem.
Key figures from public reporting and research.
50+ towns
Confirmed in Massachusetts
Advocates reported more than 50 Massachusetts towns with confirmed cases in May 2026, up from 43 in 2025.
15 to 20 years
Before damage shows
How long experts say pyrrhotite damage can take to appear, which is why so many owners find out late.
1,000 homes
Replaced in Connecticut
Foundations replaced through Connecticut's program as of October 2024, each one a full foundation replacement.
What is happening to Massachusetts foundations?
Across central Massachusetts, and now in communities near the New Hampshire border, concrete foundations are breaking apart from the inside. Walls that looked fine for years start to show spiderweb cracks, then bulge, then begin to crumble. The cause is a mineral called pyrrhotite hiding in the stone used to make the concrete.
This is not a settling problem or a drainage problem. It is a chemical reaction inside the concrete itself, and once it starts it does not stop. That is why the only lasting fix is to lift the building and replace the foundation completely.
What pyrrhotite does to concrete
Pyrrhotite is a naturally occurring iron sulfide mineral with a bronze, metallic look similar to pyrite. When it ends up in concrete aggregate and is exposed to moisture and oxygen, it oxidizes.
That reaction produces iron oxides, sulfate minerals and sulfuric acid. The acid reacts with the cement paste to form expansive minerals such as gypsum, ettringite and thaumasite. Geologists call this an internal sulfate attack. The new minerals take up more room than the concrete around them, so pressure builds inside the wall until it cracks, bulges and eventually fails.
Because the reaction is slow, the damage can take many years to show. Experts quoted in coverage of the Dracut project put it at 15 to 20 years, and other reporting notes it can take two to three decades.
How the problem started in Connecticut
The crisis first came to light in northeastern Connecticut. Stone from Becker's Quarry in Willington supplied the JJ Mottes Company starting in the early 1980s, and concrete from that company was used until 2015. Investigators have linked that aggregate to as many as 35,000 faulty foundations.
A 2020 report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office found at least 1,600 Connecticut homes with confirmed pyrrhotite as of December 2019 and estimated that 4,000 to 6,000 more could develop crumbling foundations. Connecticut created a captive insurer, the Connecticut Foundation Solutions Indemnity Company, in January 2019, funded in part by a $12 surcharge on homeowners insurance policies across the state. By October 2024 it had replaced 1,000 foundations.
Connecticut's experience matters because it shows what works. Its program pays for one repair: lifting the house and replacing the foundation.
Our project
We lifted it: 360 tons in Dracut.
Payne Construction was the lifting contractor on the Winding Brook condo building in Dracut that NBC Boston covered in May 2026. Our crew raised the roughly 360 ton, three story, 12 unit building on our own steel and hydraulic jacking systems so the crumbling foundation could be removed and rebuilt, then set the building back down on its new foundation.
✓ About 360 tons raised several feet by our crew
✓ Crumbling foundation removed and rebuilt underneath
✓ Building lowered onto its new foundation
Watch the Dracut lift
We filmed both ends of the job: raising the 360 ton building off its crumbling foundation, and lowering it back down onto the new one.
Crumbling concrete in Massachusetts today
The UMass Geological Survey says homes built from the late 1980s to 2015 may have used contaminated concrete, and a 2019 report estimated that roughly 2,000 homes in western and central Massachusetts may be affected. Towns closest to the original source, including Wales, Holland, Southbridge, Sturbridge, Brimfield, Palmer, Monson, Hampden, Wilbraham, Springfield, Longmeadow and East Longmeadow, are considered most at risk.
The map keeps growing. As of 2025, buildings in 43 Massachusetts cities and towns had confirmed pyrrhotite damage, and advocates said the problem extended toward communities on the Connecticut and New Hampshire borders. In May 2026, Massachusetts Residents Against Crumbling Foundations said more than 50 towns now have confirmed cases. Dracut, on the New Hampshire line, is one of them.
The state has started to respond. A 2023 law requires quarries to test for sulfur compounds such as pyrrhotite, with testing of all open quarries required as of November 2025, and the state partially reimburses homeowners for core testing. A relief fund modeled on Connecticut's has been proposed more than once but, as of the latest reporting, has not passed.
Why insurance usually will not pay
Most homeowners insurance policies exclude damage that develops slowly over time, and pyrrhotite damage takes years to appear. Insurers have mostly denied these claims, and FEMA found the damage does not qualify as a natural catastrophe, so federal disaster programs do not cover it either. In Massachusetts, owners have largely been left to handle it on their own while a state relief program is debated.
Warning signs to look for
✓ Map like or spiderweb cracking across the face of the foundation wall
✓ Horizontal and vertical cracks that keep getting wider
✓ Foundation walls that bulge or bow
✓ Uneven floors and doors or windows that start to stick
✓ Cracks hidden behind drywall in a finished basement
If your home was built in the late 1980s or later and you see map cracking in the foundation, have it tested. Testing is done by taking core samples from the basement walls and having a lab examine them for pyrrhotite.
How it works
How we replace a crumbling foundation
The process we used in Dracut works for single family homes and multifamily buildings alike.
01
Confirm & plan
Core test results, a structural assessment and a lifting plan sized to the building.
02
Lift
Steel beams go under the structure and our hydraulic jacks raise it evenly onto cribbing.
03
Remove
The failing concrete is broken out and hauled away.
04
Rebuild & set down
New footings and walls are poured, then the building is lowered onto the new foundation.
Why lifting is the only real fix
There is no coating, injection or patch that stops pyrrhotite from reacting once it is inside the concrete. The UMass Geological Survey describes lifting the house and replacing the foundation as the only safe and effective fix, and the foundation expert interviewed at the Dracut site said the same thing: the only known remedy is replacing the foundation.
Patching cracks only hides the problem while the wall keeps expanding. Every year the reaction continues, the wall gets weaker and the eventual replacement gets harder.
Why waiting makes it harder
Pyrrhotite damage does not level off. Every year the reaction continues, cracks widen, walls bulge further and more stress moves into the framing, floors and finishes above. A foundation caught early is a cleaner project than one that has been left to fail.
If you suspect a problem, the first step is not a repair at all. It is a core test and an honest assessment, so you know what you are dealing with and can plan the lift on your schedule instead of the foundation's.
Condos and multifamily buildings
Condo associations face the hardest version of this problem: one foundation, many owners and a shared reserve fund. The Dracut project shows it can be done. Residents were relocated, the building was lifted as one structure and the foundation was rebuilt underneath it.
If you manage or sit on the board of a building with map cracking in its foundation, start with testing and a structural assessment, then plan the lift and the funding together. We are glad to walk your board through what the work involves.
Sources: NBC Boston (May 2026), UMass Geological Survey, U.S. GAO report GAO-20-649 (2020), WBUR (April 2025), Undark (December 2024), InsuranceNewsNet (October 2024), MassLandlords (2025).
House lifting experts you can call
Crumbling concrete is a lifting problem first. The foundation cannot be replaced until the building is safely off of it, and that is the work Payne Construction specializes in.
✓ We lift homes and buildings with our own hydraulic jacking systems and our own crew, no subcontractors
✓ We lifted the 360 ton, 12 unit Winding Brook condo building in Dracut
✓ We handle the excavation and the new foundation too, so one team runs the whole job
✓ Leadership in the New England Association of Structural Movers
✓ Licensed, fully insured and a US Customs Bonded Carrier
Whether it is a single family home or a condo building, if pyrrhotite is in your foundation, Payne Construction is the house lifting team to call.
FAQ
Crumbling concrete questions
Can crumbling concrete be repaired without replacing the foundation?
No lasting repair is known. The reaction inside the concrete keeps going, so the accepted fix is lifting the building and replacing the foundation.
How do I know if my foundation has pyrrhotite?
Through a lab test of core samples taken from your basement walls. Massachusetts partially reimburses homeowners for core testing when the program guidelines are followed.
Will homeowners insurance cover crumbling concrete?
In most cases, no. Policies typically exclude damage that develops gradually, and insurers have mostly denied these claims.
Can you lift a condo or apartment building?
Yes. We lifted a three story, 12 unit condo building in Dracut so its crumbling foundation could be replaced.
Keep reading
Related pages.
More on lifting and foundation replacement.
01
House lifting in Massachusetts
Flood risk, crumbling concrete and when to raise a home.
Learn more →
02
Our house lifting work
How we raise homes and buildings across the region.
Learn more →
03
Foundation replacement
New foundations under lifted homes.
Learn more →
04
Structural work
Framing repairs that often go with a lift.
Learn more →
05
Serving Newburyport
Our work on the Massachusetts North Shore.
Learn more →
06
Talk to our team
Get a free assessment of your foundation.
Learn more →
Let's talk
Seeing map cracks in your foundation?
Tell us about the building. We will review your test results or help you get tested, then walk you through what a lift and new foundation would involve.
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