La Mérule_not covered by diagnostique.

[pachapapa]

TF1 in particular has recently reported on the increasing incidence of property infested with la mérule. The problem has always been associated with the purchase of property in Bretagne but is also "endemic" in Normandie and Pays de Nord/Calais. It is of interest that the onset of the problem can be exacerbated by the "cloisonnement" of interiors. Indeed as can be appreciated from the reports on TF1 et al, the gravity of the infestation frequently can only be fully appreciated after reopening the concealed wall space. Below links to the TF1 report.

http://videos.tf1.fr/jt-20h/alerte-a-la-merule-5790704.html    http://videos.tf1.fr/jt-we/la-merule-lepre-silencieuse-des-vieux-batiments-5652054.html  http://www.ushuaia.com/ushuaia-terre/videos-photos/videos/habitat/0,,5790771,00-alerte-a-la-merule-.html

Link below to a 48 page PDF file put together by the ANAH under the auspices of the Ministry of the Environment.  Well put together with plenty of illustrations.

http://www.anah.fr/uploads/media/48P_MERULES.pdf

 

[Gemonimo]

I watched the TFI report Pachapapa and found it really interesting. A warning sign is the smell of damp but from my memory, a residence secondaire shut up all year always seem to smell damp.  A worrying problem.

[Judith]

What is Mérule, please, it's not in either of my dictionaries, nor could I find it online ...

[Will]

It's a mushroom-like fungus that grows on walls of houses. See http://www.merules.com/

It's not uncommon here in the north, there are several companies that specialise in treating it.

[ventodue]

Aka, dry rot Serpula lacrymans, Judith.  It grows on wet wood and can be serious, not least because of its ability to grow across brickwork, stonework etc to reach a new food source.  But keep your building dry, light and airy and you won't have a problem with it.

Wonderfully hysterical web-site here, tho'  http://www.consoglobe.com/ac-habitat-ecologique_3386_merule-fleau-maisons.html

It's the end of civilization as we know it, you know ...

A+

Craig

[Judith]

[quote user="ventodue"]

But keep your building dry, light and airy and you won't have a problem with it.

[/quote]

If only ... without damp courses and no "proper" heating ....  but I think down here in the south we may be less troubled than in the north.

I wonder if merule is a local word for it, thus not in dictionary, or a technical word, hence not in dictionary, or just, maybe I need a new dictionary!!!!

Thanks everyone.

[pachapapa]

Looked in my Le Robert/Collins Senior and not a "dicky-bird". The french Le Robert also nothing so dictionaries are a problem.

Search on french Google gives plenty of information and also indicates that the expression is in the public domain.

http://www.google.fr/webhp?hl=fr#hl=fr&source=hp&q=merule&meta=&aq=0&aqi=g10&aql=&oq=m%C3%A9rule&gs_rfai=&fp=45a6663232acd959

[ventodue]

[quote user="Judith"] If only ... without damp courses and no "proper" heating ....  [/quote]

Ah yes, fair point.  The absence of one or either would tend to make matters more ... challenging [:(] [;-)]

A+

Craig

[Hereford]

Patchapapa:    We always find Larousse useful if a word is not in the dictionary, and our Larousse does indeed have Merule - albeit the explanation is in French !   It does indeed describe it as Dry Rot.

Mind you our "Le Petit Larousse compact" weighs more than five pounds ....!  Sorry no accents, can't see how to insert a symbol and alt codes do not work on my laptop.

[Will]

If your laptop has an 'AltGr' key (normally to the right of the space bar) then if you press it and e together you get an acute accent - é.

For other accents on my laptop I use Lexibar - there are similar free programs available like Avisoft, but I like Lexibar's simplicity.

[pachapapa]

[quote user="Hereford"]Patchapapa:    We always find Larousse useful if a word is not in the dictionary, and our Larousse does indeed have Merule - albeit the explanation is in French !   It does indeed describe it as Dry Rot.

Mind you our "Le Petit Larousse compact" weighs more than five pounds ....!  Sorry no accents, can't see how to insert a symbol and alt codes do not work on my laptop.
[/quote]

I have a raft of dicos bought at carboots over the years but rarely use any of them. I just flip between languages without translating. However the apparent lack of correspondence in the thread is probably due to the fact that the french refer to the agent rather than the result; so the correspondence between pourriture cubique and dry rot is not self evident. By the way the use of pourriture sèche is likely only to provoke puzzled frowns. An additional source of confusion is the anglo-saxon predilection to refer to everything other than a button mushroom as being toadstools or funguses; for the french they are all champignons. The french identification of the problem by referring to the agent is in my opinion more logical because pourriture cubique can be caused by several different champignons BUT la/le mérule is the most important culprit due to the fact that it flourishes at lower levels of humidity in both wood and ambient conditions. So in effect la mérule will have successfully destroyed the house before the other champignons get a look in.

[Judith]

[quote user="Hereford"]Patchapapa:    We always find Larousse useful if a word is not in the dictionary, and our Larousse does indeed have Merule - albeit the explanation is in French !   It does indeed describe it as Dry Rot.

[/quote]

You are quite right - it is - in Larousse - now why do I always forget I have a copy (albeit dated 2004) but for something like this it is quite ok datewise.  Maybe it's because I was "fixed" on a translation, rather than an "explanation".  With luck, this will stop me asking silly questions, as I really should have known better .....

[Salty Sam]

[quote user="pachapapa"]

 By the way the use of pourriture sèche is likely only to provoke puzzled frowns.[/quote]

Quite possibly!

I've searched out a devis from the 90's which quotes for works associated with the eradication of "sécher pourrir", i.e. dry rot. Interestingly throughout the detailed devis, there is no reference to "la mérule".

[pachapapa]

[quote user="Salty Sam"][quote user="pachapapa"]

 By the way the use of pourriture sèche is likely only to provoke puzzled frowns.[/quote]

Quite possibly!

I've searched out a devis from the 90's which quotes for works associated with the eradication of "sécher pourrir", i.e. dry rot. Interestingly throughout the detailed devis, there is no reference to "la mérule".

[/quote]

sécher pourrir, interesting! I have a really pronounced puzzled frown.[:D] Any chance of you scanning and uploading part of your devis so that the rare use of two juxtaposed infinitives can be appreciated in full context.

[IMG]http://www.museevirtuel.ca/Exhibitions/Mushroom/Images/Fungus/Other/Large/CubicBk_md.jpg[/IMG]

[Salty Sam]

[quote user="pachapapa"]

Any chance of you scanning and uploading part of your devis so that the rare use of two juxtaposed infinitives can be appreciated in full context.[/quote]

In a word - No, as I don't have a scanner readily available!

If the French company who eventually dealt with the problem chose to use two juxtaposed infinitives in the devis then I am not really interested, the final result of their work was of an excellent standard and that is what mattered at the time, not their correct use of  French grammar.

 

 

 

 

 

[Peter]

During the early 1970 the price of oil rocketed.  In order to try and

save energy the requirement to ventilate roofs and other voids was

removed from the UK building regulations.  As a result those houses had

real problems as various types of rot took hold.  The one good thing to

come out of the calamity was that students, like me, coming up through

the system were able to learn from it.

When I first started

surveying houses in France 7 or so years ago I was staggered how little

ventilation was being built in to new or renovated houses.  Things have

improved slightly but still there is not enough.

One of the

problems with our society is vested interests are able to shout very

loud and drown out reasoned debate. This terrifying spectacle of ‘silent

leprosy’ creping through our houses is laughable. How it made it onto

prime time TV is astonishing.  

Think about it there is rotting

wood all about us in the forests and woodland, and we bring it into the

house with the firewood.  Generally the rot stays outside unless there

are the ideal conditions inside for it to grow.   Dry out the timber and

keep it dry and the rot will stop –it is as simple as that.

Over

the next few years in France expect to see many thousands of litres of

dangerous chemical poured into our houses.  It will cost loads, damage

human health, will kill bats and other useful creatures like spiders and

in the end do no good.

These problems can be easily dealt with a

bit of understanding and good design.  In France the control of the

building process has to become more rigorous and proper regulation will

have to be more widely enforced.

See this link for a bit of

sense (from a Sunday Telegraph columnist)     http://www.askjeff.co.uk/dry_rot.html

[Chancer]

[quote user="Peter"] In France the control of the building process has to become more rigorous and proper regulation will have to be more widely enforced.
[/quote]

Surely you can only make something more rigorous and more widely enforced if it exists in the first place?