Advice and Tips for Installing Window Sills Easily
Installing a window sill, yourself is a lot of work, especially if you have no experience with it. But don’t let that scare you. Indeed, even a layperson with a little manual skill can install window sills himself and thus save money. Do you want to do this work yourself or use a professional like Apex Window Werks for instance? We explain the most important steps for the installation of window sills.
Interior Window Sills
Interior window sills primarily serve as decoration and storage space. You can opt for the most diverse materials:
- wood
- natural stone
- artificial stone
They are the most used. Natural stone is particularly suitable since this material is not only extremely resistant and easy to maintain but is also offered at quite affordable prices (around 15 euros per meter). To install a window sill, you must, in addition to the window sill that you have already purchased, obtain the following material:
- Mounting foam or glue
- Spirit level and cutter
- Wooden wedges, support, and objects for weighting
1: The installation surface of the window sill should be clean and smooth, so it should be cleaned well beforehand. If the surface is very irregular, it is important to apply a filler to make it as smooth as possible.
2: Then lay out the mounting foam. It has the advantage of equalizing small irregularities. Distribute the foam evenly over the surface, with a thickness of about 15 mm. To do this, you can use a trowel.
3: Now install the window sill. Use your spirit level to make it straight. You must use the aforementioned wooden wedges to secure your window sill for window sill repair. Indeed, the mounting foam gains in volume when it hardens, so it may sometimes shift or come out of the recess. Using wooden wedges prevents the interior window sill from sliding up or to the side. Additionally, you can use an object to weigh the window sill.
4: Finally, fill the joints around the window sill using silicone. After about a day, the joints will have hardened, and the new window sill will be fixed.
Tip: Instead of mounting foam, you can also use mounting glue. The mounting glue is waterproof and hardens very quickly. It is, therefore, ideal for fixing window sills. However, you can only use it if the surface you apply is flat and perfectly smooth.
However, do not hesitate to compare the costs between the replacement and the repair of a window: it is possible that there is not a big difference in price between the two operations or that the replacement is even less expensive than carpentry repair.