Back in 2010, sulfates in the soil caused quite a stir in Maricopa. The problem began when Maricopa Meadows HOA board members started noticing abnormal damage to concrete footings, walls, […] This post How Maricopa addressed a tricky soil...
Back in 2010, sulfates in the soil caused quite a stir in Maricopa.
The problem began when Maricopa Meadows HOA board members started noticing abnormal damage to concrete footings, walls, and other structures.
In some parts of the desert, soils have higher levels of sulfates, and when those elements combine with water, they absorb into concrete foundations, driveways, and walkways, causing damage when they dry.
Maricopa’s former mayor, Christian Price, who in 2010, was the Maricopa Meadows HOA president, brought in a geotechnical engineer to look at the soil composition and after testing, found the damages resembled those of houses that were at least 20 years older.
The city even contracted its own specialist to take samples in different Maricopa locations to determine the severity of the problem.
In the end, more than 600 Maricopa homeowners filed a class action lawsuit, and for a few months that year, stories about sulfates dominated the local news, leaving many residents anxious regarding the quality of their homes.
Maricopa Meadows won its lawsuit, finding that builders used improper concrete. The affected foundations were poured with Type II concrete, a suitable mix for moderate levels of sulfates. Type V concrete was created for high-sulfate environments and should have been used instead.
But due to the fact that most of the builders were out of business and the insurance policies were out of date, the majority of the homeowners were unable to collect anything for damages.
So should residents be worried?
I have been involved in over 1,200 transactions in Maricopa, and while I have seen cosmetic damage to block fences and stem walls, to my knowledge there is not a single case where sulfate damage has caused a home to have structural issues that needed to be addressed.
Jim Sullivan, owner or Sullivan Inspection Group, has performed over 500 home inspections in Maricopa, and also agreed that it’s not something to be overly concerned about, stating “you are much more likely to see foundation problems in Maricopa occur from the expansive soil conditions than from sulfates.”
The city has since updated building codes to require soil testing to determine what type of concrete should be used in footings. So as the city expands and new subdivisions are developed on old farmland, sulfates will be one less thing for home buyers to worry about.
Dayv Morgan is a Maricopa Realtor and owner of HomeSmart Success.
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