wooden window sill over tiled one?

Hi all more on my 'upgrading the master bedroom project...

The window sill in this room is tiled, which I dislike intensely. Ideally I would like to replace this with a wooden (maybe oak) sill. However ...

The horizontal part of the (uPVC) window is only about 6mm above the height of the sill. So assuming the tile+adhesive is 6mm or so, taking those off would mean I would have to get a replacement sill of only 1/2 and inch or so, which wouldn't have much of a profile.

I really don't want to either (a) replace the windows, or (b) drop the brickwork underneath by a smidgen...

I did wonder if one could get (say) a 25mm window sill profile, but with most of it cut away, to form a sort-of L-shaped profile, if you get me:

---------------------------------- -------------------------------| ) | ) |__)

and then mount this on top of the current tiled sill. This seems rather wasteful and I haven't seen anything like this for sale.

Any ideas?

Cheers Jon N

Reply to
jkn
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Thin plank with a half round profile glued and pinned to the front, sanded to smooth the join?

Beware thin oak - can "cup" if damp and maybe split.

I would varnish (thinned) the underside 2-3 times before mounting and then bond to the brick with plasterboard fixing PU foam using a few plastic packers to level the wood with some weights on top whicl ethe foam expands and sets.

Reply to
Tim Watts

Not a function of the actual thickness.

I've got 12mm oak here screwed down into the wall with the holes fitted with oak plugs after screwing. Looks great.

Not needful. Just screw down and plug.

Reply to
The Natural Philosopher

/The Natural Philosopher

- show quoted text - Not a function of the actual thickness.

I've got 12mm oak here screwed down into the wall with the holes fitted with oak plugs after screwing. Looks great.

Not needful. Just screw down and plug/q

Nah, easier with foam & weights, neat, no plugging, no screws to rust.

Jim K

Reply to
JimK

I've used car body filler successfully too..

Reply to
The Natural Philosopher

I was assuming the top of the wall would be uneven and the wood thin.

With a flat surface I would screw and plug (stainless or brass screws with oak).

Reply to
Tim Watts

I did that with some oak threshold. Not to glue it - I wrapped the wood in clingfilm, then adjusted on some blobs of body filler until "right".

When hardened I removed the clingfilm, and screwed and plugged (2 screws).

Rock solid on a rough floor, no rocking and removable if needed.

Reply to
Tim Watts

Brass/stainless, though I'm not suer that stainless would be good in oak, there might still be the reation with the iron and tannin that produces black staining.

Yep, nice easy maintenance. Whats the point in saving an hour on installation when later on you waste an hour trying to get the sill off without damage, give up and have to replace it...

Reply to
Dave Liquorice

Stainless is fine - I used A2 SS :)

Reply to
Tim Watts

? how often do you remove & replace your sills?

Jim K

Reply to
JimK

Hi guys Thanks for all the comments. A somewhat embarrassing update: after taking another close look at the tiles, I am not sure they are tiles any more! In my defence, they are painted over ... but they appear to have a drip slot underneath. It almost looks as though someone has got a length of wood (with the slot) and sawn it into 6" or so sections. Seems bizzare, but not for the first time in this house. I will double check this over the w/end.

Anyway, it also looks like (a) there is a bit more depth than I feared, maybe 23mm or so, and (b) I can hold of 20mm oak, so I'm back onto the plan of removing the tiles (whatever they may be) and fitting a nice oak sill in place. So a slightly different set of questions:

- do I need any sort of membrane to prevent moisture from crossing the cavity barrier? I'm sure I've seen diagrams which call for this but unsure what is really needed.

- most wooden sills seem to be inset into the recess walls, by an inch or so. What is the best way to achieve this? I'm wondering about how, if you cut 'slots' in the plaster, you offer the sill up. Or is this just an effect, and the sill is cut a bit narrower to fit the recess, with a couple of 'horns' on the outer edge?

Thanks a lot jon N

Reply to
The Night Tripper

You might want some DPC (damp course plastic, comes on a roll) under the cill over the outer leaf ideally - but it's unlikely to be particularly damp that high off the ground and sheltered by the outside cill so it's not so critical.

They might be set into slots but horns are more likely.

Reply to
Tim Watts

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