Rotten sill on sash window

[LadyM]

Hi guys

I'm wondering whether it is better to repair or replace two partially rotten sills on my sash windows. The sills are quite rotten on one side almost half would need replacing; I have had two quotes one guy quoted for replacing the two sills and the other guy has quoted for repairing.

The guy who is just repairing is a lot lot cheaper and has said he will take out all the rotten wood but in his opinion a repair would be sufficient. I don't want to cut corners, if done well is repairing as good as a full replacement, if maintained will it last just as long.

I don't necessarily just want to go with the cheapest quote but at the same time I don't want to replace the whole sills if a repair will be just as good.

Many thanks

 

[Burnerman]

Personally, I don't think that any window repair is satisfactory and long lasting where the rot has set in.....invariably it comes back to haunt!
The complete sill needs to be renewed, which in itself is quite a difficult repair with the window in situ - but to a good joiner not impossible.
John

 

[gregers]

you can effect a very good repair by cutting out the rot and splicing in new timber.
use resin aswell as wood hardener and not a lot gets through it.

 

[LadyM]

Thank you I thought this would split opinion.

I will probably give repairing it a go and check that the joiner offers some kind of guarantee in case it goes bad. What are the pitfalls of repairing so I can keep an eye out for them. Do they tend to go wrong in a similar way?

Thanks

 

[Deleted member 174758]

I will probably give repairing it a go and check that the joiner offers some kind of guarantee in case it goes bad. What are the pitfalls of repairing so I can keep an eye out for them.

It is very difficult to offer any kind of meaningful warranty on a repair using old and new materials in this way - for one thing trades insurances seem wary of paying out on them - for another the efficacy of any repair is dependent of the quality of subsequent building maintainance (i.e. how well/how often are windows repainted). The main thing to watch for is that any rot is fully removed and thoroughly cleaned out with a steel brush before wood hardener is applied. Also make sure that if it needs replacing, then that's what it gets - in other words don't try to skimp on the repair. In the end a filler repair isn't permanent, but it can add 10 to 30 years to the life of a window. More than that and you're doing very well I'd say