The exterior window sills of the Cross House are comprised of two parts. The lower part is 1-1/2-inches thick. This is normal. But the Cross House has an upper section which is 1-inch thick. This is unusual.

Most of the sills in the house are in excellent condition, which is amazing after 126 years. But…some are not, and these, not surprisingly, receive direct sun.

The huge window in the second-floor housekeeper’s room, facing south and wholly unpainted for decades, was just a mess. I had to take the whole window frame out, replace the lower sill with new pressure-treated lumber, and replace the upper sill with new PVC (which, it is supposed, will never rot or crack).

In theory, there is an easier way to fix messed-up sills. One can use a two-part epoxy method. First, one saturates the affected area with a watery consolidate, infills the missing bits with the epoxy, sands, and paints. Ta-da!

But, in my recent experience, such a ta-da is, umm, elusive.

 

 

 

 

I have no idea if this will work.

Covering over bad wood is, generally, a bad idea. But not always. The trick is to assure that water cannot get under. And, no matter how careful I might be, and will be, water is sneaky.

But, for now, I am OK with this solution. When all the Heritage Grant work is done, and after I am living in the house, and when it becomes to repaint the Sewing Room windows, I will remove the metal sill. If the underlying wood looks just as it does now, I will likely re-install the metal sill. If not, I will—sigh—replace the wood sills.

NOTE: The metal sills slip under the vertical trim. This was possible by removing the exterior face trim. With careful caulking, this should stop the #1 place where water can get under the metal sills.