HI Folks
We've been in this (new-build) house nearly four years now - all of the upstairs rooms have Velux rooflights.
Looking idly out of one of these windows (as you do!) I noticed that there's an amount of flaking varnish and grey discolouration, with a few small splits along the grain in the timber that forms the lower edge of the fixed window-frame.
Velux's website says --------------- The wood should be treated at least every four years and otherwise according to the set requirements.
-and- windows exposed to strong heat, strong sunlight and/or an especially high level of humidity (e.g. in a kitchen or bathroom) should be treated at least every two years.
Treatment: any surface treatment (varnish or paint) is removed, and the cleaned, dry surface is primed and lacquered/painted with waterbased acrylic varnish/paint. If the varnish/paint is damaged, the same treatment is applied to the areas in question. VELUX offers a repair kit with original repair varnish or paint.
When you treat the wood, it is important to cover the gaskets to prevent varnish/paint rubbing off on the gaskets, as this will make the gaskets stiff/hard and spoil their effect.
Guarantee depends on maintenance Please note that our guarantee depends on on-going maintenance being carried out in accordance with the above-mentioned maintenance directions.
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So - what's the best way to treat this ?
- sand down / remove the areas with flaking varnish
- treat areas with splits / discolouration with something (?what?)
- refinish with waterbased acrylic varnish
- maybe a light coat of varnish to all other timber surfaces, as a preventive measure - I can't belive that they really expect people to strip down & refinish all parts of each window every 2 - 4 years - or is this an amount of 'backside-covering' for guarantee purposes ?
Thanks Adrian