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dry rot in window sills
Posted: Sat Jun 22, 2019 6:03 pm
by Ernie
Have to paint the outside of the house this year and I have started on the fiddly stuff like scraping and found 1/2 of the sills have some dry rot. Fortunately it is a single story house and I made a trip to buy wood hardener, putty, epoxy, and some cedar planking. So..... tomorrow morning before the rains start again I will see how deep it goes on the kitchen windows and start the adventure. Already pulled a tick out of my hair, maybe I should get a collar. The good news is I get to use my table saws and planer again. It has been too long.
Re: dry rot in window sills
Posted: Sat Jun 22, 2019 6:49 pm
by markiver54
Good luck Ernie, just make sure it's dry rot and not termites!
Re: dry rot in window sills
Posted: Sat Jun 22, 2019 7:41 pm
by JEBar
good luck indeed .... do hope the damaged area is minimal
Re: dry rot in window sills
Posted: Sat Jun 22, 2019 7:45 pm
by Cofisher
Sometimes, a replacement is easier than a repair. The new synthetic silks are much easier to deal with. Good luck.
Re: dry rot in window sills
Posted: Sat Jun 22, 2019 10:02 pm
by Ernie
markiver54 wrote: ↑Sat Jun 22, 2019 6:49 pm
Good luck Ernie, just make sure it's dry rot and not termites!
It is definitely dry rot.
Re: dry rot in window sills
Posted: Sat Jun 22, 2019 10:22 pm
by markiver54
Ernie wrote: ↑Sat Jun 22, 2019 10:02 pm
markiver54 wrote: ↑Sat Jun 22, 2019 6:49 pm
Good luck Ernie, just make sure it's dry rot and not termites!
It is definitely dry rot.
That's good...other repairs are relatively easy. Just comes a time when repairs are necessary..
Re: dry rot in window sills
Posted: Sun Jun 23, 2019 1:09 am
by Travlin
Get some Git Rot at a marine supply if there is most of the sill left. You just drill several small holes and pour it in. When it hardens you can shape it or sand it and then paint. I was in the carpentry trade for fifty years and I don't know why folks call it dry rot. If if has not gotten wet it would not have rotted.
Re: dry rot in window sills
Posted: Sun Jun 23, 2019 10:21 am
by Jimi
I’ve seen houses in the plains areas that get very little rain, and sills deteriorate kinda like wet rot. I think because of high heat thru the years that the wood looses all the oils, causing the wood to be almost petrified. I ruined a chain saw blade on a tree that had been dead a few years.
Re: dry rot in window sills
Posted: Sun Jun 23, 2019 10:41 am
by markiver54
Travlin wrote: ↑Sun Jun 23, 2019 1:09 am
Get some Git Rot at a marine supply if there is most of the sill left. You just drill several small holes and pour it in. When it hardens you can shape it or sand it and then paint. I was in the carpentry trade for fifty years and I don't know why folks call it dry rot. If if has not gotten wet it would not have rotted.
Off subject, however, makes me think of a pet peeve of my own. That's when people call a "Water Heater " a "Hot Water Heater "!
If the water is already hot, it doesn't need to be heated!
Re: dry rot in window sills
Posted: Sun Jun 23, 2019 11:05 am
by Ernie
Working on kitchen windows. Cut out rot, worried it down to firmer wood, coated with wood hardener and now another trip to the lumberyard. Going to fill with epoxy putty, sand and attach a new piece of sill. Had to order siding to fill in broken shingles that will take a week to get but it may take me that long to finish this section and be ready to move on to the next set. Hoping to learn along the way so it speeds up some. Only five more to go.Watched many videos last night and they make it look sooooo easy.
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Re: dry rot in window sills
Posted: Sun Jun 23, 2019 11:09 am
by Ernie
Unrelated but saw this on the neighbors kid's car. Not going to ask him for help.
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Re: dry rot in window sills
Posted: Sun Jun 23, 2019 5:54 pm
by Ernie
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Put the final skim coat of epoxy putty on and called it a day. Will give it a last sand and cut out the sill replacement to glue and screw into place next time it is not raining. Scrape, sand and prime the remainder of the window before moving on to the next one. Pretty impressed with the epoxy but think I will try another brand to save some cost. The JB wood hardener worked well and I may get the Jamestown epoxy wood conditioner to further seal the rest of the wood before priming. Used Jamestown products on both boats and like their products.
Re: dry rot in window sills
Posted: Mon Jun 24, 2019 12:36 am
by Travlin
Don't forget to cut a drip groove on the underside of the sill about one inch in from the bottom edge.
Re: dry rot in window sills
Posted: Mon Jun 24, 2019 3:34 pm
by Ernie
Travlin wrote: ↑Mon Jun 24, 2019 12:36 am
Don't forget to cut a drip groove on the underside of the sill about one inch in from the bottom edge.
Thanks, I will.
Re: dry rot in window sills
Posted: Sun Aug 25, 2019 5:53 pm
by Ernie
Finished repairing the damaged windows today, ordered fibre cement siding from Home Depot to replace cracked and broken shingles, and have to round up all the stuff for the paint sprayer. Took me 4 days to roll and brush last time so I am hoping to cut that in half with the sprayer this time. Hard to say, it takes me a lot longer to do anything these days.
Re: dry rot in window sills
Posted: Sun Aug 25, 2019 6:03 pm
by markiver54
Ernie wrote: ↑Sun Aug 25, 2019 5:53 pm
Hard to say, it takes me a lot longer to do anything these days.
You are not alone my friend!
Re: dry rot in window sills
Posted: Sun Aug 25, 2019 6:39 pm
by CT_Shooter
Over the last five years, I've replaced the southern facing window and door frames on my house with a composite material after fighting the weather related destruction of the wood for the last thirty years. The north, south, and west sides have never been an issue. It seems that the direct sunlight focused on the rain/snow weathered boards likely had caused that condition. Thankfully, all has been well ever since.
Unfortunately, unlike you, I needed to pay someone else to make those repairs for me. No way I could have done it myself. Congratulations... and good work.
Re: dry rot in window sills
Posted: Sun Aug 25, 2019 7:07 pm
by BigAl52
Ya me to. Theres just some things its better for me to hire done. I dont like doing it and learning as I go. Theres something called patience that seems to go away when I tackle jobs like that.
Re: dry rot in window sills
Posted: Sun Aug 25, 2019 8:02 pm
by Ernie
I enjoy figuring things out but I have to think it out before I tackle it, read about it and learn as much as I can. It was with some trepidation that I grabbed the recipicating saw and cut out the old sills. But once out it was just a matter of fashioning new ones and glue, screw and foam in place. Of course the first one was wrong but learned from that one and the rest when pretty well. I get satisfaction from accomplishing these projects. Patience I have, it is time that is hard to come by. If I was retired I could get my chores caught up but if I was retired I could not afford to do my projects so more patience.
Re: dry rot in window sills
Posted: Sun Aug 25, 2019 9:17 pm
by markiver54
Ernie wrote: ↑Sun Aug 25, 2019 8:02 pm
I enjoy figuring things out but I have to think it out before I tackle it, read about it and learn as much as I can. It was with some trepidation that I grabbed the recipicating saw and cut out the old sills. But once out it was just a matter of fashioning new ones and glue, screw and foam in place. Of course the first one was wrong but learned from that one and the rest when pretty well. I get satisfaction from accomplishing these projects. Patience I have, it is time that is hard to come by. If I was retired I could get my chores caught up but if I was retired I could not afford to do my projects so more patience.
Ernie,
I admire your ambition and willingness to dive in to your projects. I know time can certainly be a big issue.
I, however am now retired, but still tailor the budget for most things anymore so that I can just call the 'Guy' to do it.
It is rewarding to do some things myself, but that list of " can do's" has gotten smaller.
Kudos and carry on, but don't take on too much unless you have to.