I need to repair the sill on this bay window and am looking for some advice on the correct way to do it. It looks like the steps would be to
– Remove the storm windows so nothing breaks.
– remove the two vertical trim pieces on either side of the main window.
Once that is done, what else needs to be done to remove the front sill pieces? Will the window need to come out? Do I need to worry about supporting anything when I pull it apart? The two side sections of the sill look ok. Is there any reason to replace those?
thanks
Replies
Hi George
posted a response to your posting, and looking here to see better what's going on. I'm guessing the window was added at some time as the corbels are "resting " on the siding and probably not really adding any support (however, I could be "mistaken) You might be able to remove the corbels and slide in some new material to repair the damage, but that looks like a pretty big window and a lot of weight. As I said in the other post, I'd probably pull all the windows out, remove the corbels and then redo the base rebuilding into the sheathing (pulling at least one run of clapboard).
good luck
I hate to say it, but looking at the condition of the entire bay w/ pics provided it looks like whole bay needs to be removed and repaired or replaced with new. The roof above looks really wavy like something is going on and as you say the sill is rotten. I suspect once you remove the sill you may discover the individual windows that make up the window are rotten as well. If the individual windows are still good you can make your own new bay by removing the windows from the unit and then installing new plywood at top and bottom to create a new unit. By the time you price materials and your time investment you may decide buying all new unit is a better option. I would imagine the window is really cold in the winter (a lot of uninsulated area). It would be a good time to address that. If you do decide new you wouldn’t necessarily need to stay with the angled bay, but could do more of a boxed out window approach as well. Or can simply install new window in the wall with no bump out at all.
The roof is a preformed fiberglass shroud with a flange under the clapboards and the front lip screwed to the front of the window. There is no framing under it. Part of this project is to take that off, frame a real roof and shingle it.
The windows and the rest of the structure look good. The only problem that I can see is the sill rot. If it’s not clear in the photos, the front sill is not one piece. Two pieces of wood were joined and the rot is at that joint. I am concerned that there may be additional damage behind the vertical trim pieces where the windows meet. I’ll probably pull those this week just to see what’s there. I will need to take out the large window so that will remove a lot of weight. I won’t start the rebuild for a couple of weeks to allow the weather to warm up.
Jlyda, you’re right. The window sill gets very cold. After I finish the sill I will insulate the bottom of the bay. I created a different post to get ideas about that because these are two different projects with their own set of concerns.
https://www.finehomebuilding.com/forum/insulating-bottom-of-bay-window
I also agree that the whole thing looks like it needs replacing. There are some constructors that can do it for you, even including the window's replacement: https://www.buzzhomepros.com/services/windows/
The lack of paint above the window would lead me there as the first place to look for leaks.