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How to repair rotting window sills

tollgeek03 | Posted in General Discussion on June 4, 2004 11:55am

My house (8 yrs old) has wood windows. The windows on the north and west side have some rotting where the brick molding meets the sills.  Even thoug I’ve painted the window trim every 3 years, it appears that where the screen meets the sill, it retains water (and other debris) which causes the rotting.  I’ve installed my screens upside down where the plungers are on the bottom and that appears to correct the problem – there is a 1/8 in. gap allowing most debris to wash away.

Now for my problem, what is the best way to fix the damage?  In the past, I’ve “gouged” out the affected area, ensured that it was dry, filled it with a exterior wood filler then sanded it flush to match the surrounding area, caulked and painted.

I seem to have read somewhere that there is another chemical that can be applied to the rotted wood which hardens it so I will not have to remove so much wood.  Has anybody tried that, or reference the chemical?

thanks,

Tom.

 

PS – I cannot afford the replace the windows.

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  1. YesMaam27577 | Jun 05, 2004 01:39am | #1

    Minwax has some sort of "wood hardener", and I have used it in the past. But not for exterior millwork.

    The wood hardener is useful if there is some stain-grade thingy that has some punkiness or rot.

    But for painted items like window trim, I would either replace the wood piece entirely, or I would use a bondo product. That stuff can be shaped to match anything, and it is absolutely impervious to water and bugs.

    Unless you're the lead dog, the view just never changes.

  2. User avater
    AaronRosenthal | Jun 05, 2004 04:34am | #2

    Now, some would say Bondo works, but the house is new and you want to solve the problem properly, right?

    MY choice would be to get one of the epoxy systems going.

    Dig out the rotted wood and soak the area with (I have 2 part) solidifier. Then fill in the depression with an epoxy or marine wood substitute, sand and paint.

    But that's me. We only get about 160" of rain a year.

    Quality repairs for your home.

    Aaron the Handyman
    Vancouver, Canada

  3. User avater
    Mongo | Jun 05, 2004 04:54am | #3

    A little info:

    http://www.taunton.com/finehomebuilding/pages/h00133.asp

    http://www.rotdoctor.com/

    http://www.hammerzone.com/archives/decks/oldporch/framing/rot_repair.htm

  4. FastEddie1 | Jun 05, 2004 07:04am | #4

    You may be thinking about Abatron.

    Whenever you are asked if you can do a job, tell'em "Certainly, I can!"  Then get busy and find out how to do it.  T. Roosevelt

  5. timkline | Jun 05, 2004 02:22pm | #5

    I think Ed is right, you are talking about Abatron:

    http://www.abatron.com/

    I have done a lot of this type of work and have used Abatron's products and read all of their claims.  I have used LiquidWood and WoodEpox.  They are both great products although I would not say they are simple to work with.  You don't want it on your hands, clothes, or anything you value.

    The LiquidWood is a liquid 2 part epoxy used to consolidate punky wood to help provide a solid bonding surface for the WoodEpox which is a 2 part epoxy filler putty.

    The LiquidWood is great, it just takes overnight drying.  The WoodEpox is a lightweight putty that again needs to dry overnight.  Or you can force dry it with a heat gun.  This is where it can get wacky.  Sometimes when you heat this stuff it bubbles up and expands a lot. Unpredictably so.

    Abatron claims that their WoodEpox is far superior to Bondo because it doesn't shrink.  I have used both products outside on the same project and 10 years later I can't tell which one is which. 

    LiquidWood and WoodEpox are really expensive.  Really expensive.  And slow to work with.

    What I have been doing is using LiquidWood on really punky stuff, letting it dry overnight, and then filling with Bondo.  I can control hardening times very easily.  If I need to do a large fill, I use the filler with the fiberglass hair for strength.

    I started using Bondo many years before I started buying Abatron's stuff and I have yet to see one of the original repairs fail. 

    carpenter in transition

    1. User avater
      slimjim | Jun 06, 2004 01:19am | #7

      I have been using alot of bondo these last couple years and thought it was great.

      Until I saw several repairs we did fail miserably. We had done a ton of rot repair on several old houses, and then primed the repair to protect it until the painters could finish coat.  Customers were lazy/forgetful about putting finish coats on, and water seeped in just enough to pop the bondo out....some in as little as a couple weeks.

      Now, on my own house, I primed and painted the bondoed areas right away and havent had any problems, yet. I tell people that the repaired area with bondo is just as weak or weaker than the surrounding wood, and has to be painted and caulked asap..

  6. tollgeek03 | Jun 05, 2004 05:47pm | #6

    Guys,

    Thanks for your recommendations and links.  It looks like Abatron is the trick - I've placed an order with them.  Its pricey but if it works, it will be worth every penny.

    Thanks,

    Tom.

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