The first step in what may result in an eventual remediation of a crumbling foundation is a written visual examination report on that residential foundation.
CFSIC will only accept a written report and its conclusions from:
- a CFSIC-certified Connecticut-licensed home inspector who has attended annual CFSIC-sponsored coursework and successfully passed an examination;
- a CFSIC-certified Connecticut-licensed professional engineer who has attended annual CFSIC-sponsored coursework and successfully passed an examination.
CFSIC is not required to accept, but may accept, a written evaluation report of a crumbling foundation from a CT-licensed professional engineer who is not certified by CFSIC. Those professionals’ reports will be audited from time to time, and if the Superintendent believes that any report rendered by such professional engineer who is not certified fails to meet CFSIC’s minimum standards, or any other standards deemed essential in the sole discretion of the Superintendent, a report may be disqualified as being a valid report for CFSIC claim payment purposes, and, further, the Superintendent may require that that engineer’s reports be excluded, in future, for consideration in the CFSIC program.
CFSIC-certified professionals are subject to a code of conduct (PDF).
CFSIC-certified professionals must be re-certified each year without exception, and certified professionals must successfully complete a written examination in order to obtain or continue their certification.
CFSIC-certified professionals must not engage in:
- Speaking publicly about the operations, Underwriting and Claim Management guidelines, or policies and procedures of CFSIC, except as these relate to the assignment of a CFSIC Severity Class Code or the absence of that code.
- Social media commentary except as respects the Severity Class Coding process and what it is designed to achieve.
The only persons designated to speak publicly about CFSIC’s operations and its guidelines are the Superintendent and Deputy Superintendent of CFSIC.
A CFSIC-certified professional can only come to one of four conclusions regarding the designation (CFSIC Severity Class Code) of a crumbling foundation, inclusive of being unable to actually assign a Severity Class Code.
These designations are:
- Severity Class 3: Based on the visual examination report, a Connecticut-licensed professional engineer or a CFSIC-certified home inspector concludes that visible cracking patterns commonly associated with pyrrhotite-bearing aggregate are present, inclusive of typical crack widths of greater than 1.0mm, and with the entire crack pattern extending over more than 20% of any contiguous wall plane. (For a claim to be considered a Class 3, there is no requirement by the CFSIC program that a core sample of the foundation be taken and that a laboratory report find that pyrrhotite exists in the sample.)
- Severity Class 2: Based on the visual examination report, a Connecticut-licensed professional engineer or a CFSIC-certified home inspector concludes that visible cracking patterns commonly associated with pyrrhotite-bearing aggregate are present, inclusive of typical crack widths of 1.0mm or less, and with the entire crack pattern extending over less than 20% of any contiguous wall plane. (For a claim to be considered a Class 2, there is no requirement by the CFSIC program that a core sample of the foundation be taken and that a laboratory report find that pyrrhotite exists in the sample.)
- Severity Class 1: Based on the visual examination report, a Connecticut-licensed professional engineer or a CFSIC-certified home inspector concludes that no visual indications associated with deleterious pyrrhotite-bearing aggregate are present in 50% or more of the measurable interior wall space of the foundation being examined. (The professional engineer or CFSIC-certified home inspector so noting this can conclude that the foundation in question can be legitimately classified as a Severity Class 1 and may so indicate in his or her written examination report that this is the case, even in the absence of a core test. However, for a Severity Class 1 foundation claim so identified by an engineer or CFSIC-certified home inspector to be eligible to be considered by CFSIC for claim purposes, the further step of obtaining a core sample of the foundation must be taken, and that laboratory report must conclude that pyrrhotite exists in the sample in order for a claimant to make a claim for a foundation severity coded Class 1.)
- “CFSIC Severity Class Code could not be assigned”: Based on the visual examination report, a Connecticut-licensed professional engineer or a CFSIC-certified home inspector concludes that a CFSIC Severity Class Code of 1, 2 or 3 cannot be assigned because insufficient measurable wall space of the foundation is visible for examination purposes.