Loire-Atlantique: this wood-eating mushroom in their house ruined their lives for two years

” There Meadow of the House. » That’s what we call this xylophagous fungus voracious, which develops in the dark thanks to humidity. “Before, people burned their houses when they discovered rot. ” Fortunately, Mélodie Fournier And Didier Blanchard didn’t need to go that far. But it took them more than a year and a half to return to a more peaceful daily life…

For a few days, the couple from Pellerin (Loire-Atlantique), south of Nantes, had to leave their house with a breathtaking view of the Loire for a rental for a few months.

And that’s good news! This means that the works repairs can begin and above all that the insurance covers them. A victory after several months of battle…

Diagnosis: weeping dry rot

It all started in early August 2022. The freshly redone living room floor seemed to be sagging near the window. Intrigued, Mélodie Fournier lifts a blade and discovers a mushroom… Immediately, she thinks of dry rot.

His fears are quickly confirmed. Because the couple did not wait long to send a sample of this invader to a laboratory in Guérande specializing in mushrooms, Abarco. “Weeping dry rot…”

Very quickly, the laboratory advised the Pellerinais to call on a expert. That they contact quickly and that they pay from their personal funds, just like the analyses: 2500€ all the same.

After contacting their insurance, which confirms “what was written in bold red on our contract: we do not insure against dry rot! »

“Insurance does not compensate for damage caused by this fungus, which is very present in the West of France,” emphasize Mélodie and Didier.

The insurer believes that the proliferation of the fungus results from lack of maintenance. » Not at all the case of the Pellerin couple, who have just redone their openings, their balcony and their facade renovation… So many craftsmen who will be officially summoned by the expert for “a contradictory meeting. Without having first seen the house infested with dry rot, the three craftsmen and their expert came to the site in October 2022.”

The search for the cause

Very quickly, suspicions of poor workmanship put the carpenter and his openings aside. The two other insurers tried to save their skins “by saying that the rot had been present in the house for a long time, that it had nothing to do with the recent work we had had done,” the couple remembers. Fortunately, we had taken photos of our previous renovations, photos of the beams before the placo which prove that the rot was not there before. »

But you have to have the shoulders. You have to know your house and its construction sites well… They really tried to do it backwards for us.

The second adversarial meeting will take place in March 2023. “There, we started from the principle that there was poor workmanship. We then understand that there is a good chance that we will be compensated by the insurer of the craftsman who did the renovation badly… But we know neither when nor how much. Everything is oral, we do not have a report of the discussions during these meetings. »

€75,000 of work

Then comes the time in June 2023 for “the official complaint that must be made to the three craftsmen’s experts. We must make an estimate for all the work and trades that would be involved in remaking our house identically. And there, you must not forget anything! »

Six months of waiting. “In November 2023, we received a terse letter telling us that we were going to be reimbursed. » Amount of work: €75,000. “The insurance economist reviews all quotes. He calculates everything per square meter. »

Before the assurance of being reimbursed, the owners were allowed to treat the dry rot, but not to do any other work. A radical treatment: “You don’t know how far they’re going to break the house: they burn the filaments of the fungus, pierce the beams and inject the product. They had to break the lintels. In total, it cost us €25,000 out of pocket. Fortunately our parents could help us… Otherwise, what would we have done? »

A return home planned for August 2024

If for the Pellerinais, the story turns out well, even if it is not over, this is not always the case: “Some homes had to be completely destroyed, because they were unsaveable…” Didier and Mélodie should be able to live in theirs again in August 2024. Two years after discovering this mushroom.

There is noprefectural decree dry rot in Loire-Atlantique. Contrary to termiteswhich benefit from mapping and a decree, which states 152 municipalities of the department contaminated or likely to be contaminated by one or more termite outbreaks.

And yet, this mushroom deserves a risk card.

Owners, like Mélodie and Didier, or tenants are obliged to report the presence of dry rot to their town hall, as required by law. Alur law. But the prefect only demarcates areas where there is a risk of dry rot by prefectural decree if several outbreaks have been identified.

So before buying a property, the dry rot diagnosis is not obligatory, you will have to keep your eyes open and look for traces of humidity, look under the bathtubs, under the sinks and sinks, ask for the history of water damage …

Follow all the news from your favorite cities and media by subscribing to Mon -.