Ken Maynard's Enfield home, built in 1984, is crumbling beneath him. At night he can hear the pops. The cracks are spreading and widening. He calls it a cancer to his foundation.
"This might be the last year for the chimney. Next year we might have to take the chimney down. The base is crumbling," said Maynard.
A couple years ago, Maynard says he noticed the cracks and hired a company who told him they could fix it for $35,000. Maynard says he paid the company but that it didn't stop the cracks.
The NBC Connecticut Troubleshooters broke the story about crumbling foundations last year and that led to a multi-agency state investigation. Since then, hundreds of homeowners across Hartford, Tolland, and Windham counties have discovered they have crumbling foundations.
Virtually all claims have been denied by insurance companies. Maynard says his claim was denied too and that to replace the foundation, it will cost $183,000.
The Enfield Town Council allowed those like Maynard to reassess their home and lower their tax liability. Maynard says his home, once worth $200,000, is now worth about $10,000.
On Monday night, councilors took another step to try and ease the financial burden by voting unanimously to waive building permit fees for those repairing or replacing foundations.
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South Windsor and Vernon have taken similar action.
"It's not the homeowner's fault. It's not the town's fault. But to be that partner with a homeowner and help in a very small way financially, to help them recover from this situation," said Mayor Scott Kaupin.
The mayor says the permit saves affected homeowners a few thousand dollars, but they're hoping to do more. Kaupin says they're looking to get the Planning & Zoning Commission involved. Current regulations allow temporary housing and storage on a homeowner's property if there's a house fire. He says he'd like to see that regulation extended to those repairing or replacing foundations.
In addition to that, the mayor says they need to press officials on the crumbling foundations.
"We have to lobby as well our state leaders, our federal leaders and be a voice of the residents that are affected," said Kaupin.
Maynard says he'd like to see more homeowners with crumbling foundations step forward and register with the state.
Homeowners looking for more information about crumbling foundations can check out previous stories by the NBC Connecticut Troubleshooters and visit the Department of Consumer Protection website.
