Fix it yourself Tackle easy home maintenance jobs and save money

PROJECT TIMBER WINDOW MAKEOVER

2021-03-04 -

Without a regular coat of paint, timber windows can rot. Le unchecked, they can quickly become beyond repair and need replacement. It’s much beer to get in early with a quick fix.

Here’s how

STEP 1 Use a paint scraper to remove loose or flaking paint from window.

STEP 2 Use an old chisel to remove brile glazing puy from around the glass in the window.

STEP 3 Use the chisel or scraper to remove any roen wood from the window until you have reached timber that is sound. This is important as roen wood is like rust for timber; it will continue spreading if not treated until the window ends up beyond repair.

STEP 4 Spray wood hardener over the area. This will seal and harden any small amount of roen timber you might have missed. Leave to dry.

STEP 5 Mix epoxy filler with hardener according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Use a puy knife to force filler into the space le by the removed roen timber. Make filler slightly proud of surrounding timber but not too much as it’s hard to sand to make smooth with timber.

STEP 6 Sand the entire window to blend the old paintwork with the areas where paint has been removed. Start with a medium-grade sandpaper before moving on to finer grades.

STEP 7 Paint window using oil-based undercoat and leave to dry. Follow with 2 coats of enamel paint. Allow to dry and sand lightly a er each coat.

STEP 8 Cut glazing bead to length to fit in the area where you removed the glazing puy. Cut ends on a 45° angle to create a mitred join at corners. Undercoat before installing to fully seal timber. Spread glue on back of bead and place in rebate on window. Use painter’s tape to hold bead in place while glue dries.

STEP 9 Apply exterior gap filler in gaps around glazing bead and allow to dry. Undercoat filler and then paint.

Save money and knock off a few of those annoying little problems by tackling your home maintenance list