There may be no need to replace that old window.
What do you do if you have an old style window that has an outside sill with the density of a dry sponge and looks like Swiss cheese.
Rip it out and replace it with a new expensive replacement unit?
It may not look the same as the other windows. It will be expensive. You will probably end up reworking the outdoor siding around it and repairing the inside wall as well. Also, those old windows don’t just pop out with a twist of the wrist. Putting in a replacement window could turn out to be a small part off the work required to repair the damage done just removing that old window.
But wait is the window broken, does it not work properly does it really need to be replaced or is it just some rotted wood that is the problem?
I discovered a product years ago that can make this wood repair a simple project with a lot less work and expense.
This stuff can repair almost any deteriorated wood, usually at a fraction of the cost of replacement, if replacement is even possible.
It is a combination of two, two-part epoxy products.
There are other two-part epoxy wood filler pastes available but it is the liquid epoxy part of this combination that really makes the difference.
The first time I used this product was over twenty years ago. I had, at that time, purchased an older home. While remodeling the bathroom I found a soft spot in the subfloor right along the edge of the bath tub. This tub was a big heavy fitted in place cast iron beauty. Water had been leaking under an area of poorly caulked linoleum for quite some time. My problem was that putting down ceramic tile over this soft rot spot would only lead to more trouble later on. I did not want to tear up the floor. I did some research and fond a product that was being used for the reconstruction of all sorts of historical wooden items.
At that time, if memory serves, I purchased a 5 pint kit for about $50.00 ( 1 pint each of the two parts of the liquid epoxy, 1 pint of a solvent/thinner, and one pint each of the two parts of the solid epoxy paste.)
I mixed up a batch of the liquid epoxy and added a little thinner, per the instructions, to make it flow better when poured onto that soft spot. It was absorbed in a few seconds and the wood looked wet. The manufacturer recommended that you apply additional quantities until the soft spot appeared saturated. I did it once more and saw that it took some time for the liquid to sink in. It then had a much shinier, smoother surface than before.
The next morning I checked the area that I had treated. To my great surprise and relief, that section of the floor was hard as a rock. It was harder than the untreated surface of the solid flooring.
I then mixed up a batch of the solid epoxy paste and used it to smooth out the indented surface of the treated area.
A couple of days later the tile was laid. Ten years later we sold the house. We never had a problem with that part of the floor.
Now to the more recent past. Three years ago we moved into our current home. It had a few problem areas when we bought it, but we bought it anyway.
One of the problems was that previously mentioned rotted wood window. I’m not sure why this one window took such a beating when the rest of them were in good shape.
I again ordered a 5 pint kit of that wood epoxy. This time the cost was $70.00 plus shipping. I proceeded to start the repair of the rotted exterior window sill, only this time the wood was so rotted and full of holes that it was only a little paint left on it that held it together. This was not going to be a simple, pour it on, let it soak in, and wait for it to harden, situation. First of all, most of anything that I would pour on would have dripped right out the holes in the bottom of the sill.
Day one: I began by gently painting a thinned batch of the liquid epoxy onto any surface strong enough not to be knocked off by the tiny artist paint brush that I was using. I made up several small batches and worked slowly.
Day two: It didn’t look much different but the wood was much sturdier and I could paint on bigger quantities of the liquid epoxy still using that same little brush.
Day three: I painted on a batch of liquid that was not thinned and used a bigger brush. As I worked I saw the surfaces starting to become shinier and I knew they were becoming saturated.
Day four: I made up a batch of the solid epoxy and pushed it into the deepest cavities as best I could. I left the surfaces rough so that the subsequent layer I would apply would have something to better adhere to.
The instructions said it was better to apply thinner layers of this material than to try to fill the entire cavity in one shot. And since some places were well over an inch deep I applied several layers. Also where the cavity was deep I was able to insert some small pieces of wood between the layers of epoxy. This helped to use less of the paste epoxy and reduce the number of layers that needed to be applied.
Days five, six, and seven: I applied the additional layers of epoxy paste and the chunks off wood.
Day eight: I sanded the surface smooth and applied a coat of primer
I know this sounds like it took a long time. It did take about a week until the final layer was sanded smooth. The epoxy applications took 30 minutes or less each day. The sanding and priming took a little longer. I’d say an hour and a half. So, seven days at 30 minutes a day and another hour and a half for the sanding, that’s 5 hours total.
I know it would take longer than that to replace the window and certainly cost a lot more. I only used about half of the paste epoxy purchased and less than a quarter of the liquid components so I have plenty left for any other repair jobs I may need to do.
After three years the sill looks as good as the day I finished the job and painted it.
These great products are LiquidWood and WoodEpox available from Abatron, Inc. They can be found at www.abatron.com
Originally posted: October 26th, 2006.