I am trying to nurse some more life out of a joined pair of old double hung window. The exterior sill that projects past the storm window is rotted completely. Storm windows protected the inside somewhat but the rot does extend into the area behind the storm window.
So I chopped and chiseled out all the fluffy rot. Next I painted a rot consolidator made by Bondo on the exposed slightly punky wood which solidified it and covered the area with a “waterproof coating”.
I made a reproduction of the old sill extension and taped clear tape to the backside to prevent it from bonding to the bondo wood filler I used. I filled in all the voids I could with the sill extension in place then removed it. I kept filling all the voids then remounting the sill extension until I have a solid surface to attach the extension to.
What would be the best way to mount the wooden extension to the layer of bondo (1/4 to 1″ thick in places)? Bondo sticks pretty good so I was thinking about buttering up the extension and attaching it with bondo and nails. Or using an adhesive caulk and nails. Silicone? Dap 230 sealant? Or just nail it on and caulk only the top edge? I will make a grove along the top of the extension about 1/8″ or so for laying in a bead of caulk which will hopefully seal water out.
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PL polyurethane type glue or construction adhesive and exterior grade (deck) screws. Countersink the screws and plug the holes.
could also use trim screws. There's some I get around here that are torx head and 3 1/2" long. The "bondo" if it's the minwax stuff, does stick pretty good, but I'd be like you and in favor of hitting wood somewhere.
I am using the Bondo "all purpose putty" filler. The wood will be glued on with PL premium polyurethane adhesive, and screwed down with 3 1/2" deck screws. I would like to use the trim screws, but couldn't find them at home depo or lowes, and the deck screws will be ok. I thought about nailing it on, but it might crack the bondo. Most places there is solid wood to screw into. The worse rot is in the center where the two units are joined together. The plan is to replace all the windows on the south side soon. They're over 60 years old and the sun and weather has pretty much destroyed them. Thanks for the suggestions.
Sounds like you've got things pretty much under control, but have you considered putting a metal cladding over this arrangement? Bend and cut it to fit over everything and so that it passes under the bottom sashes as far as possible, screw it down with a few #6 or #8 sheet metal screws between the storms and the prime windows and then caulk all the edges on the sill with more PL poly caulk. ??
(don't glue your bottom sashes down with that bead of PL......you might have to prop it open about 1/2" for a few days)
Maybe I could cover it with metal. Someone did that downstairs on the west side. It looked pretty good but... Water was running along the metal through the rotted sill at the side of the window. This place was a dump, but it was cheap. So I explored a bit. I ripped out a piece of the wall board which is really plywood, but actually is labelled weyerhouser wallboard. The house was a prefab, built in the 40's for military off base office housing. Unusual construction to say the least. It was a real bad situation. There were mushrooms growing in the wall even. I was able to either scoop out the framing or pull it out with my bare hands. It looked ok inside and out, but nothing structural was left. I had to replace about 8 feet of wall and band joist to get solid again. No wonder the cold wind blew through the baseboard and the wall seemed really shakey. Needless to say, I dont want to go through that again. So I'd rather be able to see what is going on. Again, these windows are toast anyway, I'm just putting off the inevitable.
Wow........that's quite a picture you paint. You're making me feel sorry for you already. Sounds like biting into an apple only to find a razor blade waiting for you. Sorry about that, but then again.........think of all the skills you'll develop as well as...........character.....from the experience. (yeah,right).Knowledge is power, but only if applied in a timely fashion.
I could go on and on about all the problems this house has. Still has the original furnace. I keep meaning to replace that. Big old coal conversion. Got a big gas burner in it now. Not too efficient. Fortunately I ripped out the walls and drywalled and insulated it good. The wiring is all up to code now too. Sure wasn't when I got the place 10 years ago. Got the masonite 12" lap siding on it. I put a few claps on each year to replace the bloated falling apart ones. Think its Hardie siding time. Thats when all the windows get replaced. So far 3 windows bit the dust, but the rest are on borrowed time.
Care to share where you're at and what the house ran you? Curious cause I'm finishing up my first and must say it is an experience.
Half of good living is staying out of bad situations.
Forget the primal scream, just Roar!
I'm in a suburb of Dayton Ohio. I've owned it since 1990, it was 45k then. I got divorced soon after we bought it, but I kept the house and all debts, so technically I had less than nothing. Child support for the kids is way more than the house payment, so fix up funds are pretty skimpy. The neighborhood is on a upswing and these houses are running about 90k now. I still need to do a lot to make it nice, but the worse faults are fixed. It passed all the usual inspections when we bought it, nothing really major was wrong except it had ben a rental for about 10 years before I bought it and was neglected. I don't know how much I have spent on it over the years for repairs and updates.
I'm tempted to think it better not to know. I've got these piles of envelopes I put the receipts in as I get them. They get spread around different locations. Haven't totaled as of late but they average around 5 grand an envelope and there's a bunch of them. All the work is done myself and have no frivolous expenses. But whatta you going to do with your bucks anyhow.
My windows weren't salvagable.Half of good living is staying out of bad situations.
Forget the primal scream, just Roar!