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Discussion Forum

Wood window sill repairs.

Gabor2 | Posted in General Discussion on October 10, 2006 09:43am

Hello,

My question is in regards to wood double hung window sill repairs.

Our house is about 14 years old located in RI. It has all wood DH windows with 4″ trim around on the outside with wood clapboard siding. The sills extend a bit past the exterior of the house. Paint never seam to last long on them and I never seam to get around to paint them frequently enough. I started to scrape and prime them this year and found that a few have issues. Basically the sills themselves look OK but the 2″ or so extension that sticks out seams to have started to rot in some cases and just failing in others. It looks like this particular item was made up of finger-jointed wood. The joints are starting to fail, water getting in and rot starting. It looks like these ‘things’ (don’t know what to call them) are just nailed into the sills. Pulling one off a bit I can see that it has some kind of mating grove along the back where it fits into the sill.
My question is: can I get replacements for these ‘things’, pull them off and put new ones on before the sills starts rotting and I get damage behind into the siding? Don’t want to have to replace the windows. Fall is here and I’m trying to understand how this goes together so I can fix the ones that need it the most this year. BTW, the windows I have are called Coradco or something similar.

I hope I explained it in a way you can understand without me knowing all the terms.

Appreciate any help I can get.

/Gabor.

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Replies

  1. User avater
    PaulBinCT | Oct 10, 2006 10:09pm | #1

    You can certainly repair them without major effort if you are fairly handy... are you? It involves removing some interior trim, cutting and removing the sills and then fabricating the new sillpieces and reintalling everything.  Sound like something you want to tackle?

    PaulB

    1. Gabor2 | Oct 10, 2006 11:23pm | #2

      All is relative. I am 'fairly' handy. Trying not to have to remove the window.

      But I don't understand..... why remove the interior trim? The problem is on the outside. The portion of the sill that is in question seams to be be nailed into the main portion of the window/sill. Looks like it will come apart. It has what looks like a drip edge cut into the bottom of it.

      The way it attaches to the 'main' sill looks to be with nails. The 'main' sill has a groove in it where this thing attaches to. Don't know if I can explain it clearly.

      Thanx, Gabor

      1. DanH | Oct 10, 2006 11:46pm | #3

        If it's just attached with nails, take it off and replace it. A cabinet shop should be able to reproduce the profile, if you can't find suitable stock at a lumber yard.When you reattach, caulk the joint, if you're not able to tightly glue it.

        If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy. --James Madison

        1. BryanSayer | Oct 11, 2006 12:03am | #4

          and pick a better quality wood, like cypress or white oak or something that will stand up to the weather. And no finger joints on exterior wood.

      2. alwaysoverbudget | Oct 12, 2006 06:03am | #18

        if you look at hd they have a pvc replacement sill for this. it has a tounge and groove on the back edge,kinda pricey 22.00 for 8' i think. larryhand me the chainsaw, i need to trim the casing just a hair.

  2. WINSTALL | Oct 11, 2006 12:18am | #5

    Forget the wood. Go to a vinyl sill nose/ it paints well and will last longer thanyou and I will. Caulk it and paint. Do not need to pay someone 50+ hr to make something that is on the shelf at HD and Lowes.

    1. Gabor2 | Oct 11, 2006 04:29am | #6

      Thank you all for the responces.

      WINSTALL, I do like this idea provided this is something I can find and that will fit my window. And on the topic of fit, is this something 'universal' that will fit any type of wood window or is it something that does not have to fit as long as it covers the gap?

      I guess I will make an exploratory lunch trip to HD/Lowes tomorrow.

      Thanx again to all.

      /Gabor

      1. WINSTALL | Oct 11, 2006 01:56pm | #8

        Generally they will fit most dh units/ You may have to modify it some. I have done enough to know that it makes sense to go down this road. I would also reccomend SIKAFLEX caulk if you can find it in your area. It is a adhesive, flexible, and very good sealant. Good luck

        1. Gabor2 | Oct 11, 2006 09:34pm | #13

          Thanx for the info and help.

          /Gabor

  3. Renoun | Oct 11, 2006 06:33am | #7

    I have had good success in treating window sills with System Three Epoxy's Rot Fix . I saturate the sill with a penetrating epoxy and fill any voids with their Sculpt Wood epoxy putty.

  4. User avater
    PaulBinCT | Oct 11, 2006 03:26pm | #9

    Lavina,

    I'm having a problem picturing the "little groove" you're talking about.  As far as taking off the trim, I'd suggest you experiment with a good, stiff but thin putty knife slid along the glue line. Offhand I'd think you could remove the trim with minimal damage.  Can you send a picture to clarify things?

    PaulB

    1. sharpblade | Oct 11, 2006 03:36pm | #10

      The "little groove" is the rabbet on an anderson 400-like DH, used to register the extension jamb. Lavina isn't talking about removing a piece of trim, it is about removing the "not deep enough", nor "wide enough" ext jamb she already glued to the bottom, horizontal jamb, and replace it with a larger stool/apron combo.

      1. User avater
        PaulBinCT | Oct 11, 2006 03:46pm | #12

        Ahhhhhhhhhhhh...thank you. I shouldn't have taken her description too literally...

        Lavina, I'm thinking this may be tricky unless you are pretty adept.  Sure you can't live with it as is?

  5. TommH | Oct 11, 2006 03:42pm | #11

    Google "Advanced Trimwrights", they are in Taunton, near you. They make all kinds of trim and moulding out of pvc (Azek), including window sill "nosings", which I think is what you are talking about. They also sell an adhesive. Use ss screws to attach to get a good tight joint, counter sunk and patched with bondo or epoxy.

    1. Gabor2 | Oct 11, 2006 09:38pm | #14

      Hi,

      Thanx for the suggestion. I called them but they do not make the nosing, only entire sills. Of course they can do a custom job but I'm thinking that might be a bit expensive since I don't need to fix all my windows right away. Would be nice to replace the entire sill but then again that will turn into a much bigger job then I would like. Might as well replace the entire window.

      /Gabor

      1. TommH | Oct 12, 2006 01:44am | #15

        It's reaaly pretty easy to mill your own if you have a table saw. A few years ago I replaced two double hung windows over the kitchen sink with a double casement. The sill nosing was way to thin as compared with the rest of the old windows. I removed the factory applied sill and used 2x4 red cedar to make a beefy 1 1/2" nosing. Use the old nosing to detirmine the angle of the nosing (mine was 15 degrees) and how wide it is. Set the table saw blade to the proper angle and cut the front of the nosing to get the bevel on that side ,then set the fence to ,get the needed width. Then run the back of the nosing (where the groove is) thru the table saw to get the same bevel on that side. The cross section of the nosing will then be shaped like a parrelelogram(sp?). Then mill the groove with the table, again using the old one to get the proper depth, width, and angle. The new nosing should the fit just like the old one. Apply epoxy or other waterproof glue and carefully clamp in place. I waited until after the glue set up before adding the ss. scews so that I wouldn't accidentally move it out of position while screwing them in.

      2. TommH | Oct 12, 2006 02:13am | #16

        Try http://www.nelstek.com in Springfield,Ma.; click on pvc products. They have a sill nosing.

  6. User avater
    bobk | Oct 12, 2006 02:44am | #17

    are they norco or norko windows? they have a vinyl sill nosing replacment  you can buy it has a couple funny mating groves i have replaced a lot of the original finger jointed wood

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