Saturday, October 12, 2019

Sill Repair


All of the sills on my house were hacked off at the ends when the aluminum siding was installed. The first sill I replaced I used wood from Home Depot which was a bad idea since the wood didn't have time to cure. That part of the sill shrunk within 6 months. Luckily it was just that one window. It's best to go to a lumber yard and get the correct size wood that has already cured.

 The process here is to cut the ends flush with an oscillating tool or hand saw if you can manage. I'll then cut the wood to size and coat the wood with Gorilla Glue and the house/window with water. I use a spray bottle for this. Once in contact I send a nail or two up through the bottom. This process is sometimes easier if you use a screw that is already counter sunk. You can take the screw out after the glue has cured.

 After the glue has cured I use bondo to fill any gaps and nail holes and sand with 80 grit. Once that's done I paint the entire window in oil base paint. I then use bondo again to fill any holes. Easier to see when it's painted white. Sand again, and then cover in latex paint. Oil base paint (I like Zinsser) sands easily and will leave you a nice smooth surface before painting with latex.












2 comments:

Sharon Kwilter said...

Wow! Lots of work. The finished project looks good though.

American Foursquare Restoration said...

Thank-you! Yes. It's definitely pretty boring work fixing all of those sills. I just have two left at least.