VERNON, Conn. (AP) — After worrying for years about the foundations crumbling beneath their houses, hundreds of suburban homeowners in a large swath of central Connecticut are getting help to salvage property that had been doomed by a bad batch of concrete.
The homes are being lifted, propped up 9 feet (2.7 meters) in the air and held there as workers jackhammer away concrete that had deteriorated due to the presence of a naturally occurring but corrosive mineral.
The feats of engineering and construction are made possible by financial assistance from the state and a fee on homeowners’ insurance policies statewide
About 700 claims seeking financial help with repairs have been filed this year through the new state assistance program, but Connecticut officials have said the problem could ultimately affect tens of thousands of homes.
