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  • COMMAIK
    • Contact Form
    • Imprint
    • Privacy Policy
  • The Villa
    • The top floor
    • The upper floor
    • The first floor
    • The cellar
    • The garden
  • Stories from the construction
    • irrigation
    • Photovoltaics
    • Pool and terrace
    • SmartHome
    • The planning
    • The demolition
    • The installation
    • Machinery
    • Restoration and working techniques
    • This and that
  • Videos
    • Build & Renovate
    • Irrigation
    • Carport
    • Gabions
    • Garden
    • Garden kitchen
    • Pool
    • Smart Home
    • Drying
    • Tutorials
  • TESTED & RATED
    • Heating solutions & energy
    • Outdoor & Garten
    • Pool & garden kitchen
    • Security & Smart Home
    • Tools & DIY
  • Commaik Music
  • Privacy Policy
  • Imprint
  • Contact Form
  • Winterizing the pool – putting pool technology into operation and adjusting water values

    A small backyard swimming pool with clear blue water is surrounded by patio stones. The covered outdoor seating area, topped with solar panels, offers a perfect spot for winterizing the pool. A palm plant sits in the foreground. www.commaik.de

    Winterizing the pool is at the top of my to-do list in spring. The winter safety devices must be dismantled and the pool technology must be installed. The water values are checked and readjusted. The filter systems are also reactivated. So nothing stands in the way of a great swimming season. In this article, you’ll find out which steps are important and how I prepared my pool optimally for sunny bathing days.

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    Partially built outdoor wall of white concrete blocks with exposed electrics, a level tool, and a hammer on top—ideal for a future garden kitchen. A canopy and stacked firewood appear in the background. www.commaik.de

    Build your own garden kitchen – plan and install the electrics

    19. March 2024
    A Lymow One Plus robotic lawnmower with tank-like tracks sits on green grass, slightly dirty from use, in an outdoor area. www.commaik.de

    Lymow One Plus in test: RTK robot mower for large areas & difficult terrain

    29. March 2026
    A man points to security camera equipment, featuring a Reolink Altas PT Ultra camera, solar panel, and hub, with a backyard pool and patio area in the background. The Reolink logo is displayed on the left. www.commaik.de

    Reolink Altas PT Ultra: The powerful 4K battery-powered surveillance camera in a test

    13. October 2024
  • Drainage – retrofitting a horizontal barrier yourself

    A gloved hand holds a white stick near a moldy wall. On the wooden floor, a silver packet labeled NOVUstick für nachträgliche Horizontalsperren contains 10 sticks for creating an effective horizontal barrier and improving drainage. www.commaik.de

    In addition to draining the outside of my villa, which was built in 1900, some of the basement walls also need to be sealed from the inside. The horizontal barrier in the 36 to 80 centimeter thick walls is no longer in tact. This time I dared to install a retrofit horizon blocker and used the NovuSticks for this. Here I describe my approach and my experiences.

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    A worn, empty concrete pit with rusty beams, exposed pipes, and draining buckets—one orange and one green—sits against stained, aged walls in a dimly lit basement-like area. www.commaik.de

    Draining and waterproofing basements: Effective measures against moisture and flooding

    24. November 2024
    A robot mower glides across a well-manicured grassy lawn bordered by white gravel, with a patio area and outdoor chairs visible in the background. www.commaik.de

    Robot lawn mower without boundary wire in test: The best models in comparison

    26. February 2025
    Two surveillance cameras are shown on the left and a network diagram for installing an IP camera is shown on the right. Below is written: Install Reolink surveillance cameras yourself. www.commaik.de

    Install surveillance cameras yourself – IP camera network explained simply

    16. January 2026
  • Robot lawn mower – Find and repair a broken control cable easily

    A patch of grass with a hole dug in the soil, exposing underground cables for a robot lawn mower. Nearby are an orange cable locator tool, wires, a white hose, and two blue wire connectors. www.commaik.de

    If the robotic lawnmower no longer wants to drive, it is often due to a defective or broken control cable. But how do you find the broken spot on the boundary wire? And how can you repair the damage quickly and easily yourself? I have made a video on precisely these questions and will now provide many more important tips and tricks with this entry.

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    Partially built outdoor wall of white concrete blocks with exposed electrics, a level tool, and a hammer on top—ideal for a future garden kitchen. A canopy and stacked firewood appear in the background. www.commaik.de

    Build your own garden kitchen – plan and install the electrics

    19. March 2024
    The dreame a1 pro, a modern robotic lawn mower with a sleek grey design, operates on a grassy lawn, with a building and potted plants visible in the background. www.commaik.de

    Dreame A1 Pro in test – Cordless robotic lawnmower without boundary wire & RTK

    24. May 2025
    A sprinkler sprays water over a dry, brown patch of lawn in a sunny backyard, illustrating the importance of garden irrigation. A blue shed and green trees provide a lush backdrop. www.commaik.de

    Planning automatic garden irrigation: step-by-step instructions for efficient lawn irrigation

    21. February 2025
  • LiFePo4 Powerstation – mobile storage for stand-alone PV systems

    Close-up of an ALLPOWERS powerstation with a digital display showing 74% battery, 499W output, and several connected cables and outlets on the front panel. www.commaik.de

    Powerstation for the garden house: the animal house in the garden with its large aviary requires electricity for the lighting and diesel heating. In order to reduce the electricity costs in the long term, I have built a PV island system which stores the electricity from the photovoltaic modules in special solar batteries. These batteries are now to be replaced by a mobile LiFePo4 battery.

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    A man stands next to a mounted parking heater system with large pipes, wires, and controls—perfect for any workshop. Large text above reads, Diesel Heizung für die Werkstatt (Diesel heater for the workshop). www.commaik.de

    Install 8kW diesel parking heater safely in the workshop & garage

    9. May 2025
    A hardy palm tree planted in a gravel bed stands in the foreground of a backyard with a blue swimming pool, blue shed, patio cover, and outdoor furniture in the background. www.commaik.de

    Hardy palms for the garden – these 5 species can withstand frost down to -15 °C

    30. March 2025
    A robot mower without boundary wire, with a grey and white casing, moves from a brick patio onto a green lawn bordered by stones and gravel. www.commaik.de

    ECOVACS GOAT A1600 RTK: The innovative robotic lawnmower without boundary wire in the test

    23. March 2025
  • Set up Reolink camera optimally

    A Reolink IP PoE security camera system with reolink DVR, a surveillance camera, a recording schedule chart, and blue text #2 on gray background with a red border. www.commaik.de

    The Reolink surveillance cameras offer many functions. But what settings do I need to make step by step to get the most out of my security camera? And what is the difference between the settings on the network video recorder (NVR) and the camera? I would like to describe the setup and configuration of my Reolink PoE IP camera in more detail in the following article. You can also watch the entire installation process at

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    Various X-Sense smoke detector products, their packaging, mounting stickers, and a fire extinguisher are arranged on a wooden table with tools hanging on a pegboard in the background. www.commaik.de

    Network wireless smoke detectors across several floors: How X-Sense Link+ protects your whole house!

    21. July 2025
    Two surveillance cameras are shown on the left and a network diagram for installing an IP camera is shown on the right. Below is written: Install Reolink surveillance cameras yourself. www.commaik.de

    Install surveillance cameras yourself – IP camera network explained simply

    16. January 2026
    Modern garden kitchen with a wooden roof, barbecue grill, counters, and bar area illuminated by soft yellow and purple LED lights, set against a twilight sky for an inviting light-filled outdoor retreat. www.commaik.de

    Designing a smart and efficient garden kitchen – installing lights, sockets and water connections

    5. April 2024
  • Balcony power station – Set up the Solarman app optimally

    Screenshot of a solar panel monitoring app displaying the Statistik section. The background highlights blue solar panels, with the main heading reading Balcony Power System and a note showing it was last updated 5 minutes ago. www.commaik.de

    With a balcony power plant it is possible to cover the basic consumption of electricity in the household. But how do you monitor power generation? How do I know if the system is actually profitable? Quite clearly: with a program for analyzing, evaluating and monitoring PV power generation.

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    Open trench in a paved area with exposed cables, pipes, and a water pipe in the garden, surrounded by loose soil, bricks, and paving stones—signs of ongoing underground utility or lawn irrigation work. www.commaik.de

    Laying the water pipe in the garden: tips for connecting the water supply to the garden irrigation system

    10. March 2025
    A worn, empty concrete pit with rusty beams, exposed pipes, and draining buckets—one orange and one green—sits against stained, aged walls in a dimly lit basement-like area. www.commaik.de

    Draining and waterproofing basements: Effective measures against moisture and flooding

    24. November 2024
    A man in a black jacket points to the inside of a black, box-shaped electronic device with wires, next to a similar device with the inscription "KROAK TB2" on a gray background. www.commaik.de

    Kroak TB2 diesel parking heater 8kW: Unboxing, test & possible applications

    22. January 2025
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Autor & Blogger

In this construction diary, we share our experience in the renovation and modernization of our Art Nouveau villa and hope to give a few suggestions and tips to some of you.

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