Window sill repair

Charles in Aus. · Feb 6, 2016

My front window faces due North [ the equivalent of south in the Northern Hemisphere ] temperatures range from 1' to 40' degrees Celcius here .
I was laid up with cancer a few years ago , missed a lot of house maintenance and rot set into the leading edge of the centre of the sill .
It is made of fairly dense oregon from the early 1940s , I have some similar timber and would like to let in a piece to repair the otherwise excellent frame .

Copper based rot treatments used to be available here but are now banned due to environmental concerns , is there some new magic formula on the market maybe something used in boat building ?

Any suggestions as to what type of glue to use ? Even though the window will be painted I don't want to resort to body filler compounds as the temperature range will just crack them .
Epoxy resin or polyester resin ? I can cut and let in the new piece to some fairly tight tolerances but need a product to stick it there and perhaps even seal the end grain .

Teakettle · Feb 6, 2016

I'm sure there's an equivalent supplier there to Abatron in the US, who make a two-part epoxy "consolidant" for rotted wood, which we use a lot of around our place. You need to cut away the really powdery wood and then soak the
remaining wood with the liquid. Before it's totally set you then use ordinary epoxy adhesive to glue in the replacement section, or else (if you're painting over the repair so it won't be visible) you can build up the gap with a compatible
two-part epoxy wood filler (for which the consolidant acts a a primer). The filler has a similar expansion/contraction as wood, and repairs I did twenty years ago with this stuff are still perfectly solid.

TimV · Feb 6, 2016

Minwax makes a High Performance Wood Hardener #41700, that I've used with good results before. You paint it on and it soaks into the wood, then hardens. I found out about it while researching ways to preserve spalted wood for homemade knife handles, but its usual use is on projects like you describe. Link is to this product on Amazon, but you'll have to do your own research on price and availability in your area.
Minwax 41700 on Amazon

Stephen Newell · Feb 6, 2016

There are some woods that do pretty good in the weather without chemical treatments. White Oak, Cypress or Black Locust comes to mind. As far as adhesives normally wood to wood joint you would use an exterior glue like Titebond. Being a repair where one side has already been glued it would be better to use a two part epoxy. When finishing the new wood you might first seal it with a fiberglass resin. Then prime it and paint it. If you can't get an oil based paint and you use fiberglass use a bonding primer before painting with latex.

Ian Beale · Feb 6, 2016

Charles

If you can make the insert with a splice joint. Stronger and that way you don't have end grain involved. Wooden glider splice is 75 mm long for a 5 mm joint - and surface tolerance is 1/32 inch - a sill mightn't need that angle or that close.

Whatever glue you use needs to be made for wood and thin enough to penetrate the wood pores. White PVA is a good wood glue, but not if it will get moisture on it. So probably wood epoxy - maybe from a boatbuilding supplier. The last lot I got many years ago was Epicraft wood epoxy.

YMMV.

Burnie · Feb 7, 2016

For glues, have a look on the Carbatec website www.carbatec.com.au They have a store in Melbourne. They may even be able to help with timber treatments etc.

waynesteuck · Feb 7, 2016

Charles think about PVC ! nothing will eat it , will not rot can be painted , just cut out rotten or replace the whole thing
Wayne
Lowes/ home depot here not sure what you have

Charles in Aus. · Feb 8, 2016

Thanks all . good suggestions , I will start by cutting out the rot and seeing exactly what the situation is .

Window sill repair

Charles in Aus.

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Teakettle

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TimV

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Stephen Newell

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Ian Beale

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Burnie

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waynesteuck

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Charles in Aus.

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