Windowsill - DIY newbie

kitrat · Post by **kitrat** » Sat Jul 04, 2020 7:11 pm

Hi all, I hope you might be able to give me some ideas. My partner and I moved into our house almost two years ago now and we're finally getting round to a bit of redecorating but we have little experience beyond painting. The windowsills in the hallway are/were a fairly poorly fitted and unattractive PVC. I could see the previous wooden window sill underneath them so I've removed the PVC from one (so far) with the mindset that either we can refresh the wooden sills underneath or we'll have pay to have someone round to do something properly with it.

So I've attached a photo of what we're left with. We're confident enough to fill the holes in the plaster and get the wood looking nice. However I'm not sure how to approach the rather large gap between the wooden sill and the remaining PVC trim in front of the window (which helpfully we have cracked the edge off of slightly!) The gap is about 250mm from the sill to the top of the remaining PVC. The PVC is on a downward slant which probably isn't clear from the photo. The gap goes a little way back (maybe a couple of cm in place) and goes beyond the back edge of the wooden sill. I don't know if there are ventilation/damp things to be considered.

Do you have any ideas of how you would go about it? Our only thought at the moment is trying to get the remaining PVC a flush straight edge again and putting some kind of wooden trim in front of the gap, and possibly filling the gap behind with something appropriate. I don't really want to botch it though and will pay someone to do it properly if it's going to be beyond our ability. But thought we could have a stab if we had a good idea of what to do.

Someone-Else · Post by **Someone-Else** » Sat Jul 04, 2020 8:42 pm

Wait and see what other say.
I would say in order to make it "nice" you would have strip the timber of paint/varnish then after making it good (Level. Lots of sanding) re paint or varnish it again.
But before you do that put a cement/sand mix in the gaps at the front and sides, but where the window is cut a small piece of timber and glue it in.

To strip the paint, which ever method you use (Heat gun, paint stripper or ?) is going to take a long time, no matter who does it (You or a person you pay) as well as the fact you would have to be very careful of the existing PVC, so if it were me, I would call / go on line and get a new PVC window sill as it would be cheaper, and being new, would look nice. (Obviously silicone sealant all round afterwards)

But, like I said, wait and see what others say.

dewaltdisney · Post by **dewaltdisney** » Sat Jul 04, 2020 9:36 pm

Well, that will take a bit of work to get right but it is worth it. Use a scraper to get all that adhesive off. Make good the plaster next. The varnish needs to be sealed to prevent bleed. Have read of my link below about painting with BIN. The gap can filed with some wood trimmed to fit in. When painted it will not be obvious.

DWD

kitrat · Post by **kitrat** » Sat Jul 04, 2020 10:41 pm

Thank you both, I feel more confident now that a piece of wood is the right way forward for the gap.

Fortunately the paint is flaking off easily already and the adhesive is only bonded to the paint so should not be too bad (I hope!) Will have a go with some paint stripper for what hasn't already come off. The other half advises that we have no less than two sanders in the garage (odd considering how little DIY we have ever done!) so hoping the wood will look a little nicer to work with after that.

When you refer to bleed of the varnish - do you mean into the paint applied on top? Or can it bleed into the nearby plaster? Sorry that's probably a silly question and I expect you mean the paint but just wanted to be sure. I will follow your advice in your link when it comes to it, thank you :)

dewaltdisney · Post by **dewaltdisney** » Sun Jul 05, 2020 7:49 am

The plaster will be fine. No, the varnish may bleed into the new paint if you do not seal it with a shellac-based primer. That is what BIN is for, it seals the pigments in the varnish that can be released with sanding. Just follow my guide, I varnished stairs and bannisters in my house and they are still bright white six years on. Let us know how it goes

DWD

Toria · Post by **Toria** » Mon Jul 06, 2020 4:59 am

I'll refer you to my boys. I think these two videos cover most of that, but there may be others which could help: