rotating sills

Jun 17, 2019 Last reply: 7 years ago 11 Replies

when I bought my timber frame house in 1996 it had been completed about six years.....after a while I noticed the external sills had rotated and were not shedding water as they should.......any idea what caused that?....I think I know but would like to see if anybody agrees with my findings.....


You need to find a qualified building inspector.

And leave enough time for people to find the message and explain more what is meant by rotating.

Crap wood can do odd things if not protected to start with. Brian

That'sbecause no-one can understand what you are saying.

Define 'rotating'. Do you mean 'rotting' or have the fairies paid a visit, removed the sills (cills?) and put them back on upside down ?.

Post a photo.

or even a surveyor, but preferably not the type that work for double glazing firms.

The cill has rotted underneath. Or the bit of wood it sits on. Or the front has swollen with the recent rain.

If the wood has rotted then chances are it hasn?t been maintained. Houses need regular maintenance, especially exterior wood work. Those who are idle and neglect to check exterior paint and renew when needed shouldn?t be surprised if the wood rots.

On some timber framed houses the timber is exposed to the outside weather.

Structural wood is almost never 'external'

Cedar is left untreated so that it weathers to a 'nice' grey colour.

Some people now use a flat-roof propane torch to 'caramelize' the outer layer which seems to provide some weatherproofing.

That block of flats that burnt down in East London recently had timber external decorative cladding.

You've not seen many buildings with structural wood, then?

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