I have several partially rotted sills and sill noses on my windows. Does the wood hardner and wood fillers on the market work to harden the soft spots and fill in the real rotted portions. Any hints on how to use them before I get going. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks
John
Yes they work but they're not cheap...
if volume of wood repair is large..... often removal & replacement with real wood is cheaper & faster.
Epoxies are better (but way more expensive) than Bondo (ester resins)
Where are you located? I've used the wood repair products with great success in SoCal but in very wet environments complete epoxy coverage of wood sills can trap moisture & cause other problems.
cheers Bob
To add to Bob's comments. I've used the same epoxy system with good results in Charleston South Carolina. As Bob says, the wood has to be dry. If it is not, the spores and moisture in the wood go to work around the repair. One has to follow directions exactly. I've had a couple of instances of creative mixing and application go wrong. TB
MinWax makes a kit that works well on small areas. I have some decent repairs a few years old. Just buy the kit, read and follow the directions and try to mitigate the water problem that may have started it in the first place, bad flashing, etc. Good luck.
Joe
Greetings,
If your windows are rotting outside just cap them with metal. Who cares what happens under the metal where no one can see?
When Bondo costs too much because of the volume of wood to repair I have been able to screw down into the good wood and leave the screws heads sticking way out into the large chunk of missing wood. Then I use stiff Type M masonry mortar (you don't want it to shrink) to fill in the rotted area and keep it moist for about 72 hours (tape an empty cheese-puf bag over it or something). The rotted area must be a large chunk without thin spots. If the shape of the stricken area is not a large chunk use a minimum of a 1.5" hole saw to make a large missing chunk without any "thin" areas. This is the cheapest way per cubic foot that actually works. If your budget is slightly more but still way less than bondo then you might mix your mortar with some latex admixture. If you paint your finished product no one will be able to tell.
Hope this helps, William
I've removed a few, exterior, and replaced with pressure treated wood scraps I had laying around. Not an exact fit with a little cutting but after caulk and painting you'd never know the difference. Frank
I've had good results with:
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