How To Repair Old Wood Window Sill

Q: I of our windowsills appears to exist rotting. Can it exist replaced without ownership a new window?

—Bill Bailey, Baldwin, Mo.

David Raymond, Raymond Design Builders, replies: Sticking out into the weather year later on year, woods windowsills take quite a beating. They can last for decades if you lot just go along them clean and protect them with a coat of paint. But when water gets trapped in or against them, as happens with improperly flashed windows, rot can take hold.

A simple epoxy repair will practise the trick if the rot is confined to a modest area, but if more than x percent of the sill is rotten, the onetime sill should be cutting off and replaced. For this project, I used a solid piece of Kleer cellular PVC sill that matches the profile and thickness of the other sills on the firm. Information technology costs less than a piece of clear, milled red cedar and is paintable, just no matter how many times it gets wet, it can't rot.

Step-by-step tutorial renders beneath OTHER VIDEOS player. Go along scrolling!

Pace 1

Remove the Side Casings

Photograph by Ryan Benyi

The casing comes off to clear the fashion for removing the old sill. If the casings are rotting, as here, supervene upon them, too. Slice through the caulk bead between the siding and the casing, then carefully pry off each slice. Salve the trim to use as templates for the new ones. Make sure the flashing behind the casing is intact and properly installed behind the siding.

Step ii

Saw Off the Onetime Sill

Photo by Ryan Benyi

Brand a plumb cut affluent with the sheathing along the length of the rotten sill. A circular saw with a askew blade can handle nearly of the cutting, but for the sill ends where a circ saw can't reach, switch to a multitool, like this Fein Multimaster equipped with an oscillating saw bract. Smooth the cut with a few strokes of a paw plane.

Pace 3

Apply the Adhesive

Photo by Ryan Benyi

Repair any rotten spots on the erstwhile sill with epoxy. Trim the back edge of the new sill every bit needed then that its lower border fits tightly against the siding and its back border fits against the one-time wood. Drill pilot holes every sixteen inches or so through the new sill'southward front end and dorsum edges. Run a bead of waterproof, marine-grade adhesive along the onetime sill.

Pace 4

Attach the New Sill

Photo by Ryan Benyi

Press the new sill into the adhesive, and immediately clench it in identify by driving three½-inch deck screws through the plastic and into the forest. End when the heads are virtually ¼ inch below the sill surface. Immediately wipe upwardly any agglutinative that squeezes out. Fill any gaps betwixt the old and new sill with adhesive.

Step 5

Hide the Screwheads

Photo by Ryan Benyi

Comprehend each screwhead with a dollop of a white, two-office acrylic adhesive, such as Bond&Fill FastCure. (This also works as an agglutinative in Footstep iii.) Overfill the recess slightly. When the agglutinative hardens completely, in about 30 minutes, sand it flush.

Pace half-dozen

Install the Side Casing

Photograph by Ryan Benyi

Squeeze a bead of caulk beside the ends of the siding, and nail the new casing in place. Here, I used cellular PVC trim boards and 8d stainless-steel ring-shank nails. Prepare the nailheads slightly below the surface, and cover each one with a dab of the two-part adhesive. After the dabs harden, sand them flush.

Source: https://www.thisoldhouse.com/windows/21016539/how-to-repair-a-rotted-windowsill

Posted by: carlsongerfulty.blogspot.com

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