The cellar
Everything that happens at the bottom
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Dry out the cellar yourself – infrared heating is used
In order to make the basement rooms of our over 100-year-old city villa usable, I first have to dry them out. The house is partially built into the slope. On the east side the basement floor is at ground level and on the west side about 200 cm below ground level. I have already used various methods for draining. I am currently creating a new watertight horizontal barrier in the masonry using chemical agents such as injection liquid, injection sticks and injection cream. I have already drained the eastern part of the cellar. Now it is the turn of the western part of the building. This time I let my…
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New submersible pump defective – draining the cellar
Two months ago I built a sump pit with a sump pump in my cellar to collect the water seeping into it and further dry out my cellar. A submersible pump with an integrated float switch should then pump the water out via a hose. Unfortunately, things turned out quite differently. The new submersible pump in the pump sump was defective after just a few weeks. Read this article to find out why the pump was destroyed and how the draining process continued.
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Drying basement – pump sump | build septic tank yourself
I built a sump pump at the lowest point of my house to help drain my cellar in the long term. The water is collected there and pumped out automatically. In this article, I describe how I built the soakaway and what I had to pay particular attention to. I go into the advantages and disadvantages of this method of draining the cellar and of course also write about whether this method works. Drying out the basement of my 120 year old house has been going on for 12 months now. In the interior, I have previously used the injection method to dry out. The areas above the barrier layer…
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MSpa whirlpool for the sauna in the test
The MSpa hot tub had proved to be an excellent addition to my small spa area in the basement, especially after long and tiring days at work. I had created this area to relax and unwind after such days. Especially in winter, the combination of sauna and whirlpool was an excellent way to both relax and strengthen my immune system. Until now, I had had to do without a refreshing dip as our garden pool was unusable in winter.
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Renovate basement ceiling yourself – safely replace steel beams
Our art nouveau villa was built in 1900 and has a full basement. However, there is another, previously unrenovated cellar beneath the basement. This was used in the past as a vegetable cellar and air raid shelter. The climate is therefore cool and humid. Over the years, leaking pipes on the outside have led to major water damage in this area. For years, rainwater from a roof area of more than 100 square meters ran directly into the masonry. This, of course, had a considerable impact on the building fabric. The steel beams in the basement ceiling are badly rusted and the floor is blown up.
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Install granite washbasin with tap yourself
A few years ago, I converted part of the basement into an office with a kitchenette – but without its own sink. Since then, my wife has been running her insurance office there as insurance broker Florian. In the last few years and months, I have been more concerned with the entrance area around the estate agent’s office.
