Do I need to repair some rot in the sill when getting replac

[jason593]

Hi,

I have been getting some quotes on vinyl replacement windows and have a question.

Right now we have windows plus storm windows. There is some rot on the sills between the storm and the regular windows. After the storms are removed and the vinyl windows installed, any newly exposed wood will be capped in aluminum. The exterior trim and sill are already capped.

Is it necessary to replace the entire sill in this situation? Any rot will be under the new vinyl window and never see the light of day again. The new window would not be in contact with any of the rot.

I had one contractor say that it did not matter, that it would be covered up. I also had one that said that he would have to replace the entire sill and would cost an extra $150 per sill.

I don't know much about this kind of stuff but it doesn't seem like it should matter too much. The new window would be resting on good wood only. The sill doesn't seem like it's a structural element anyway. Any rot would be hidden forever.

What do you guys think? Thanks,

Jason

[JScott]

Your sill/nosing may be a 1 piece system of a 2 piece system. You may simply need the sill nosing replaced if there is no damage to you sill. With sill damage there are 2 schools of thought. Some splice in whatever is bad and some replace the sill. Replacing the sill is a more professional approach and $150 less than a sill replacement when not installing a vinyl window is a lower than usual cost( they vary from 200-300 in our area). We want water to still drain should water ever get behind the metal. Hope this helped.

[XSleeper]

Obviously, there are varying degrees of "rot". In our company, we try to use good judgment. We do not replace sills that have only minor damage which are otherwise solid. However when the damage has rotted a sill to the point that it is punky on the corners, or soft across the front, we obviously feel an obligation to replace it.

Sadly, sills that are already covered are prime suspects for rotton sills. In our area, very few sills have been wrapped by consciencious installers, and the cladding is either trapping water or was installed to cover up rotton wood. So I'd suggest that you plan on tearing off all your existing metal to inspect, then re-wrap everything with new- you will be getting a better install, better job that way.