• Privacy
  • Imprint
  • Contact Form
  • COMMAIK
    • Contact Form
    • Imprint
    • Privacy
  • 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
  • COMMAIK
    • Contact Form
    • Imprint
    • Privacy
  • 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
  • Imprint
  • Contact Form
  • Draining the basement with a new horizontal barrier – conclusion after 9 months

    A man with gray hair and a thoughtful expression stands in front of a textured beige wall with faded markings, while a large white arrow points to a spot where a horizontal barrier was installed for drying purposes. www.commaik.de

    It is now nine months since our old damp cellar was drained with a retrofitted horizontal barrier – time to take stock. In a building over 100 years old like ours, which was built without the foundation waterproofing that is common today, moisture in the basement is a real challenge. As the rising damp in our cellar became increasingly visible, I installed a new horizontal barrier with injection cream in the thick cellar walls to create a barrier against the ground moisture. In this article, I show in detail what effect the moisture barrier has had, where problems still exist and what other measures seem sensible to keep the cellar…

    Weiterlesen

    Ähnliche Beiträge

    A cozy wooden cabin interior with a red Hageer wood stove burning brightly and a parking heater nearby, next to an indoor fire pit. Snowy trees are visible outside through large windows and a wooden fence. www.commaik.de

    5 diesel parking heaters compared: which one is right for you?

    19. February 2025
    An outdoor Rain Bird irrigation control box with wiring is surrounded by gravel, drip tube, and plants, indicating the installation or maintenance of a garden watering system. www.commaik.de

    DIY ornamental bed with automatic Rain Bird drip tube irrigation

    2. February 2024
    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
  • 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.

    Weiterlesen

    Ähnliche Beiträge

    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
    A modern backyard with a rectangular pool, surrounded by gray tiles. There’s a covered terrace with bar stools, a small palm tree, and a blue shed in the background. www.commaik.de

    Build your own pool terrace with stone slabs on a slope

    8. June 2025
    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
  • Draining the cellar – 1 year later

    In a damp cellar, plastic containers are inserted into holes at the base of a brick wall to dry out the room. A red dehumidifier and various appliances can be seen in the background. www.commaik.de

    I have been working on draining the cellar for a good 2 years. In addition to repairs to the pipe system, ventilation concepts, dehumidifiers, dryers and a pump shaft in the cellar, I also installed a subsequent horizontal barrier with a masonry injection. It is now time for a review and a summary of the individual measures.

    Weiterlesen

    Ähnliche Beiträge

    A construction site featuring gabions—wire mesh walls filled with rocks—a wooden plank supported by concrete blocks, an orange bucket, bricks, and a wheelbarrow with building materials nearby. www.commaik.de

    Securing slopes with gabions – installing stones correctly

    19. August 2020
    Rebar grid and plumbing pipes set in a concrete foundation slab form, ready for pouring at a construction site, with a garden kitchen planned and grass lawn in the background. www.commaik.de

    Build your own concrete foundation for garden kitchen and garden shed

    5. August 2021
    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 of the house – installation of drainage and water pipes.

    13. September 2014
  • Dry out the cellar yourself – infrared heating is used

    Plastic bottles attached to a pipe run along a brick wall in a basement or garage, probably part of a drainage system. Nearby is an easel or a whiteboard on blocks with several cables hanging above it. The floor is made of concrete. www.commaik.de

    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…

    Weiterlesen

    Ähnliche Beiträge

    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

    Drainage – retrofitting a horizontal barrier yourself

    24. January 2024
    In a damp cellar, plastic containers are inserted into holes at the base of a brick wall to dry out the room. A red dehumidifier and various appliances can be seen in the background. www.commaik.de

    Draining the cellar – 1 year later

    31. December 2021
    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

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.

commaik.de © 2026
  • Contact Form
  • Privacy
  • Imprint
  • Change privacy settings
  • Cookie policy
  • English
  • Deutsch (German)