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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
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  • A new HT drain is tied into the old clay pipe

    A close-up of a black plastic pipe connected to a rusted metal fitting, surrounded by wet, muddy soil and remnants of an old clay pipe—evidence of recent underground plumbing or pipe repair work. www.commaik.de

    Are the old clay pipes in the cellar becoming a problem? In the past few years, we have accomplished many things in the house. Initially, the work focused on repair and renovation, but later increasingly on the construction and expansion

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    A small red excavator is digging a pile of dirt in a backyard or construction area, with wooden sheds, a carport, and a fence in the background. The machine is operated by a person inside the cab. www.commaik.de

    Build carport yourself – prepare building site

    26. August 2020
    Close-up of a partially constructed wooden deck, ideal for a garden terrace renovation, with a drill, screws, hammer, and metal brackets on top of the decking boards; metal framing and groundwork visible underneath. www.commaik.de

    Renovating the garden terrace: switching from wood to WPC and aluminum profiles

    17. March 2024
    Sprinkler system components and hoses are laid out on a bin next to a green lawn and a hedge, ready for irrigation installation in the garden. www.commaik.de

    Build your own automatic hedge watering system

    11. June 2020
  • Cleaning the patio with the T-Racer

    A wooden terrace deck is being cleaned with a yellow pressure washer, revealing a much cleaner surface compared to the still-dirty area. The washer and hoses are visible on the terrace. www.commaik.de

    Can a WPC terrace be cleaned with a high-pressure cleaner? What do I need to bear in mind? I looked into this question and cleaned my WPC terrace with the Kärcher T-Racer.

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    Partially built garden kitchen with white gas concrete blocks forming the base, set on a concrete patio. A black grill stands against the back wall, while construction tools and materials are scattered around the area. www.commaik.de

    Build your own garden kitchen – Masonry walls with aerated concrete

    26. September 2021
    A sprinkler provides irrigation to a lush green lawn in front of a stone building with a barred window and garden tools hanging on the wall in the background. www.commaik.de

    Winterizing and frost-proofing the lawn irrigation system

    27. October 2019
    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 paving stone staircase is built into the slope leading to the parking lot

    A terraced outdoor area features brick stair steps leading to a paved landing, bordered by gabion walls filled with firewood. Stacks of construction materials and lush green plants are visible nearby. www.commaik.de

    The stairs for the slope in front of our house are finally being tackled. The path from the parking lots will be much shorter in the future with a staircase made of old town cobblestones, which I will build directly into the ground. But first I have to excavate the slope and lay concrete kerbs.

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    A modern, white carport is illuminated at night with bright electric lights. Behind it is a stone wall, and in the background a crescent moon hangs in the dark sky. Building materials and equipment can be seen in the surroundings. www.commaik.de

    Optimally illuminate carport with LED light – install camera and motion detector

    27. September 2020
    Close-up of a heavily rusted and corroded basement metal girder with jagged edges showing considerable decay. A blurred ladder and a bright background can be seen through a large hole in the metal. www.commaik.de

    Renovate basement ceiling yourself – safely replace steel beams

    25. October 2020
    Partially constructed wooden aviary with a small building at the back and an open wooden frame extending in front, set on a gravel and dirt foundation, surrounded by trees and a fence. www.commaik.de

    Build your own bird aviary – outdoor enclosure for rabbits, birds and guinea pigs

    2. September 2021
  • Build your own parking lot with gabions and lawn grids

    A paved driveway with a grid of black plastic or rubber honeycomb cells installed next to a brick walkway, likely used for parking lot ground reinforcement or drainage. A wire mesh retaining wall is visible in the background. www.commaik.de

    In order to park the cars safely and securely, the next step was to build a parking lot in the garden. But what is the best method for this, especially on clay soil? In search of answers, I created a new parking space immediately after the paving stone path to the side entrance was built. My goal was to offer the office’s customers a convenient parking lot on the property. Although the parking area in front of the house was already in use, it consisted only of compacted loamy earth, which was very unpleasant in wet weather.

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    A sturdy gabion basket filled with large rocks forms a retaining wall along a garden bed, with gravel on the ground beside it and plants growing nearby. www.commaik.de

    Slope stabilization with gabions – Building raised beds with gabions

    12. June 2020
    A metal wire gabion cage is positioned on muddy ground next to soil, with black cylindrical planting trays and other gabions nearby, likely at a construction or landscaping site. www.commaik.de

    Securing slopes with gabions – building corners and curves

    19. August 2020
    Several green plants grow in a gravel garden with purple flower spikes. Some are surrounded by black landscaping fabric and gray rocks arranged in wire mesh grids, forming a modern raised bed. A stone wall completes the background. www.commaik.de

    Secure raised bed on a slope with gabions and honeycomb fleece

    2. August 2020
  • Drainage of the house – installation of drainage and water pipes.

    Three drainage pipes—one black and two orange—are embedded in gravel and surrounded by soil in a trench, highlighting ongoing drainage or construction work. www.commaik.de

    Drainage from the house foundation with a drainage system became more and more important due to the heavy rain and continuous rain. Due to the slope of our property, the surface water always flowed to the house and seeped into the walls. A little later, the floors in the basement became wet and and in the lower basement the water was standing. I could not achieve much by drying the walls – before that, the cause of the dampness had to be eliminated. Drainage should remedy the situation.

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    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 – putting pool technology into operation and adjusting water values

    29. January 2024
    A close-up of a sprinkler spraying water over a lush, green lawn on a sunny day showcases the benefits of planning lawn irrigation, with a stone wall and some trees in the background. www.commaik.de

    Plan and install lawn irrigation yourself 2 – Calculating the water connection

    13. May 2020
    A long gabion retaining wall made of wire cages filled with rocks stands beside a dirt path, showcasing the strength and durability of gabion construction. Some building materials and houses are visible in the background. www.commaik.de

    Securing a slope with gabions – 1. initial situation and preparation

    20. April 2020
  • Cleaning WPC decking boards with high pressure

    A sunlit wooden deck with a hose and pressure washer on the floor, potted plants along the railing, and outdoor furniture with a white cloth in the background showcases durable WPC decking boards for a modern outdoor retreat. www.commaik.de

    Our WPC decking is now in its 3rd year and still looks great – and there are no haptic defects either. The floorboards are still splinter-free and undamaged. Only the green algae coating on the shady parts of the terrace was a nuisance during my tour in spring. Last spring, I had already sprayed the WPC decking with my Kärcher high-pressure cleaner and removed the dirt and algae deposits. It worked, but it left these ugly streaks on the wood.

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    Partially built garden kitchen with white gas concrete blocks forming the base, set on a concrete patio. A black grill stands against the back wall, while construction tools and materials are scattered around the area. www.commaik.de

    Build your own garden kitchen – Masonry walls with aerated concrete

    26. September 2021
    A close-up of a black plastic pipe connected to a rusted metal fitting, surrounded by wet, muddy soil and remnants of an old clay pipe—evidence of recent underground plumbing or pipe repair work. www.commaik.de

    A new HT drain is tied into the old clay pipe

    2. January 2018
    A close-up of gabion wire mesh panels forming a fence or retaining wall, with a black cable looped through the grid. Gravel and dirt are visible on the ground, and a white material lines the inside of the structure. www.commaik.de

    Securing a slope with gabions – fleece water conduits

    11. June 2020
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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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