Tiled window sills, replace with wood?

milkybars

We recently bought a house (don't tell the folk on the mortgage board forum!) and its a bit of a doo-er upper but nothing too taxing and completely structurally sound. However, all the windows have tiled sills on the inside which are not to our taste, particularly not in the bedrooms. The previous owner had new windows fitted and the inside part of the uPVC winsows partly overlaps the tiles as far as we can tell. I've read that you can have a joiner/carpenter make a wooden window sill to fit. Is it best to remove the tiles (opting for a chisel type approach?) or simply fit new sills over the top of the tiles? Is getting a joiner/carpenter the best option? Any other hints and tips appreciated.

jockster211

Hiya milkybars

You've got a couple of options. Firstly I assume its just the sills that are tiled? Nothing on the walls? Or ingoes(the bit of 'wall' that goes up to the frame)?

If the tiles can be covered completely then you could leave well alone & just cut a new sill in either timber or uPVC. Pick up timber sills at a local DIY shed around a tenner with uPVC a bit cheaper. I've got a local outlet that sells uPVC to trade & public. Maybe check you local yellow pages for something.

Just cut the timber sills to size, with the bullnose edge to the outside. Check it covers all your tiles. Then try silicone or no-nails to secure it to the tiles. uPVC is a little trickier to cut with a saw, I use a 4" grinder with a ceramic blade, but it is easy with experience. Again use silicone to secure.

Jockster

Broadsword

I go along with Jockster. I capped my tiled sills with a coverboard in UPVC. The board has a lip so it covers the tiles from any angle. The lip is about 1" deep. You may need to trim the width or can you can leave it deeper than the existing sill. I used gripfill type adhesive to affix (with a sealant gun). It doesn't matter what brand or whether it's solvent based or not. The brands usually are called "sticks like nails " or something like it in the title.

As advised, go to a UPVC supplier who supply all the claddings etc to the building trade. (see bulding plastics in listings) There will be different profiles from which you can choose. I bought 3x3m lengths for around £60.

Use a fine tooth saw to cut. A jigsaw won't be straight over long lengths (if reducing the width). A small circular saw with a fine blade is probably best. I made the profile for out of square ends from one of those gauges with lots of plastic fingers you can push round profiles but you could get away with a paper template