Rotten Exterior Window Trim needs repair/replacement.
#1
01-13-14, 05:31 AM
Rotten Exterior Window Trim needs repair/replacement.
Hello All, new to the site and looking for some assistance. I have several windows where the exterior trim and/or sills are either partially rotted or completeley gone. My house was built in 1991, and the builder used poor quality feaux-wood trim, and my PM admittedly was lacking.
I am fairly handy and pretty much have all the tools I think I would need, so I plan to do the work myself. Replacing the trim would be fairly straightforward I think. The sills, a little more difficult but I think I can handle it as well. IF I COULD FIND MATCHING TRIM.
From what I can measure, there are 3 sizes that were used, and I can't seem to locate anything that matches at my local HD, Lowes, etc:
1) The sills are about 1-1/8" thick roughly.
2) There are trim pieces between the windows that are 1-1/2 X 1-1/8 roughly.
3) There are trim pieces on the top & sides of the windows that are 2 X 1-1/8 roughly with a slight profile on them.
I am located in the Chicago suburbs...any ideas where I can get replacement trim that is the same size? Any direction would be appreciated...thanks!
Paul
I am fairly handy and pretty much have all the tools I think I would need, so I plan to do the work myself. Replacing the trim would be fairly straightforward I think. The sills, a little more difficult but I think I can handle it as well. IF I COULD FIND MATCHING TRIM.
From what I can measure, there are 3 sizes that were used, and I can't seem to locate anything that matches at my local HD, Lowes, etc:
1) The sills are about 1-1/8" thick roughly.
2) There are trim pieces between the windows that are 1-1/2 X 1-1/8 roughly.
3) There are trim pieces on the top & sides of the windows that are 2 X 1-1/8 roughly with a slight profile on them.
I am located in the Chicago suburbs...any ideas where I can get replacement trim that is the same size? Any direction would be appreciated...thanks!
Paul
#2
01-13-14, 05:38 AM
Banned. Rule And/Or Policy Violation
Need to post some pictures?
No close ups needed.
If there so bad the sills rotted in most cases you would be better off replacing the whole window.
Any reason you have to have wooden windows?
No close ups needed.
If there so bad the sills rotted in most cases you would be better off replacing the whole window.
Any reason you have to have wooden windows?
#3
01-13-14, 09:11 AM
Welcome to the forums Paul!
http://www.doityourself.com/forum/el...-pictures.html
You might try looking at your local lumber yard [not a big box store] to see if they have what you need.
http://www.doityourself.com/forum/el...-pictures.html
You might try looking at your local lumber yard [not a big box store] to see if they have what you need.
#4
01-13-14, 05:53 PM
Thanks Joe & Mark for the replies....these are the only pics I have right now and I am out of town so I cannot take any more. I guess the reason to replace the wood is just cost....a whole lot cheaper than replacing all the windows, right?? I suppose I'll see if I can find these profiles at a lumber yard....are these sizes/styles of trim really that unusual?
typical window-2nd floor
Width of outer trim 2"
Width of divider trim almost 1-1/2
Sill thickness roughly 1-1/8
Depth of outer trim roughly 1-1/8 on the inside, but steps up to 1-1/4 on the outside
Depth of divider trim...roughly 1-1/8
typical window-2nd floor
Width of outer trim 2"
Width of divider trim almost 1-1/2
Sill thickness roughly 1-1/8
Depth of outer trim roughly 1-1/8 on the inside, but steps up to 1-1/4 on the outside
Depth of divider trim...roughly 1-1/8
#5
01-13-14, 06:07 PM
Group Moderator
Zonian,
Many times the sill will have a "sill nose" that can be removed and replaced without taking out the entire sill. If your sills have a 1/4" step up where the storm window sits (you'd have to remove a storm window, or maybe push a credit card down the bottom crack from the inside in order to tell) then it's possible that just the sill nose is rotten, not the whole sill.
Replacing the whole sill would probably be way above your skill level. I'm not diss'n you, just stating the facts... it's not an easy operation and a lot can go wrong, especially on multiple window units.
The 2" wide trim on the sides of the window is called brickmould. It comes in wood or PVC. The next piece (vertical / between your windows) that's 1 1/2" wide is just a piece of 5/4 (pronounced five-quarter) wood that has been ripped to width. This isn't usually something that you can readily buy, you will probably need a table saw or planer to make this.
The brickmould is probably the only thing that you will be able to just walk into a lumber yard and buy. Very few places stock sill nose, but you might be able to find someplace that can order it if you knew the exact profile. Azek PVC does make some sill nose profiles, but we have no way of knowing if they would match. You'd need to cut out a cross section of your sill nose to know for sure. Like I said, if you were a woodworker with a table saw and a planer, you could make it no problem.
You will probably need to set up a scaffold and remove the storm windows to do this work from the outside. It's not something I'd recommend doing off a ladder.
Many times the sill will have a "sill nose" that can be removed and replaced without taking out the entire sill. If your sills have a 1/4" step up where the storm window sits (you'd have to remove a storm window, or maybe push a credit card down the bottom crack from the inside in order to tell) then it's possible that just the sill nose is rotten, not the whole sill.
Replacing the whole sill would probably be way above your skill level. I'm not diss'n you, just stating the facts... it's not an easy operation and a lot can go wrong, especially on multiple window units.
The 2" wide trim on the sides of the window is called brickmould. It comes in wood or PVC. The next piece (vertical / between your windows) that's 1 1/2" wide is just a piece of 5/4 (pronounced five-quarter) wood that has been ripped to width. This isn't usually something that you can readily buy, you will probably need a table saw or planer to make this.
The brickmould is probably the only thing that you will be able to just walk into a lumber yard and buy. Very few places stock sill nose, but you might be able to find someplace that can order it if you knew the exact profile. Azek PVC does make some sill nose profiles, but we have no way of knowing if they would match. You'd need to cut out a cross section of your sill nose to know for sure. Like I said, if you were a woodworker with a table saw and a planer, you could make it no problem.
You will probably need to set up a scaffold and remove the storm windows to do this work from the outside. It's not something I'd recommend doing off a ladder.
#6
01-14-14, 06:05 AM
Banned. Rule And/Or Policy Violation
That whole window can be wrapped in coil stock and never need mantaince again.
Someone with a Brake buddy can even bend the metal to the shape of brick moulding in one pass on a brake.
Wrapping is not a DIY friendly job and requires special expensive equipment. Any contractor, window company or siding company can do it.
It's an extremely commonly done job by window company's everyday.
An average price around here per window is $75.00 per standard sized window. One like that would be more.
Someone with a Brake buddy can even bend the metal to the shape of brick moulding in one pass on a brake.
Wrapping is not a DIY friendly job and requires special expensive equipment. Any contractor, window company or siding company can do it.
It's an extremely commonly done job by window company's everyday.
An average price around here per window is $75.00 per standard sized window. One like that would be more.
