About window frame repairs
Wood rot is a fungus. It must be treated as a fungus. The only way to eliminate wood rot is to kill the organisms that cause it at the source.
Unlike other window restoration contractors, we will remove windows and re-mill at our shop to ensure a lasting repair. This process is for window frames that have deteriorated to the point that no "in place" restoration will be sufficient.
The process that Vickery and Sons uses eliminates insect infestation and wood rot with little yearly maintenance required. This is because we use a special combination of borates and epoxies to prevent water penetration and fungus growth. And we start with a proven weather resistant wood. We do not use pine, we do not use pressure treated. Our repairs are 100% mahogany, cypress, or redwood. We use these materials because they have a proven track record for resisting weather. And after all the rotten windows I have encountered, I beleive that anything less is useless.
We do not cover up rotten wood with aluminum. I see some home owners opting for this method of dealing with the problem. But this is just a cover up. The wood rot organisms are allowed to grow unchecked with this method, and I have removed aluminum and found nothing underneath but a wet mush. Not good, and very expensive in the long run.
The cause...
The process of using pressure treated pine in the window manufacturing plants as the standard base material could very well be one of the causes of window and sill rot that I see every day. These images are just 2 of many that cannot be blamed on poor maintenance alone. And they all are not so poorly engineered that they rot within a couple of years. The window companies tell me that their new pressure treating process insures that the chemical treatments will penetrate deeper.
I have repaired literally hundreds of sills and windows with rot throughout. The truth is, we can all expect to get only what we pay for. Their are some very well engineered windows out there. There are also some very poor ones. I have yet to meet the home owner who would rather pay thousands of dollars to upgrade all the windows in the home to make them match one new window, or to pay for a brand new window when they only need a frame or sill.
The difference between modern windows and historic windows is huge. Yes, the technology has gotten more advanced with low-e glass, gas filled layers, better insulation, vinyl extrusion, etc. But I also see windows that were made 100 years ago with very little rot in the frames, and windows that are 5 years old resembling the window in the picture above.
A lot of times I will find a window sill that is barely protruding beyond the siding, with no drip edge. This is an installation issue. This allows water to run right back underneath the window sill, and behind the siding. This is usually addressed by the installers with a bead of caulk under the sill, which lasts about one season.
A look from the underside.
This is just a part of the window repairs that were done on this home. A combination of poor design and poor installation created a problem for these homeowners. This is very common in my experience with newer homes.
