even bigger cracks on the houses in Béarn

New municipalities in Béarn have just obtained recognition of a natural disaster for damage caused by ground movements. Burrosse-Mendousse, Lasseube and Taron-Sadirac-Viellenave are added to the already long list of municipalities that must bear a chronic shrinkage of clay soils. With each episode of drought, serious disorders appear on the houses. Walls and floors are cracking.

In Burosse-Mendousse, half a dozen old houses are affected by this phenomenon as well as the 13th century castle and the church. For five years, Mayor Alain Lechon has been demanding recognition of a natural disaster. He is particularly worried about the village church.“The crack is crossing on both sides, it’s as if the whole nave tends to stand out from the rest of the church,” he explains. And the chosen one does not really know how to approach the problem: “We asked several experts but without in-depth geological study with specialists, we won’t get anywhere. Each time, we plug, we hide the misery but the problem is not solved.

Just behind the town hall, the house that Nathalie Chauvin bought two years ago is also cracking on all sides, at the level of the windows, the stairs and even the tiling of the living room.The most important on the stairs must do nine millimeters. When it’s sunny, you can see through it,” says Natalie. To prevent drafts this winter, she sealed the crack with pieces of cardboard and masking tape. The crack had been filled last year by his plasterer, but with this summer’s drought, it reopened with a vengeance.

Victims without solution

Sylvain Minbielle, 81, cannot believe the damage caused by the high heat this summer to the house where he was born. “It has phenomenal strength this contraction of the clay. On the side of the dining room, there are very important cracks and the door is blocked. It doesn’t open anymore.” Reinforcement work has however already been carried out on his house: consolidation of the foundations, buttresses and tie rods, nothing worked. “No matter how much we do, despite everything, it’s still moving,” despairs this inhabitant who suspects that today his house is no longer worth much.