On Oct 6, 2:31 pm, "Steve" wrote:
Hello. The windows in my Mom's house were just replaced. Apparently they had
to move the windows about 1/4" forward from where the previous windows were
(according to the person who installed it, this was necessary to get a good
seal so air couldn't get it - apparently the previous windows had not been
installed correctly and didn't have a good seal) so on each window there's
now about 0.25" space on the window sill (between the sill and the window).

I asked the window person what to do about the void. He said to fill it with
a piece of wood so I'm attempting to do that. The other alternative I guess
is to use wood putty or bondo to fill in the void.

I measured the void on one window to see what size of wood I would need.
Upon doing so, I found out the distance between the window and edge of the
sill (the depth measurement) varies significantly as you go from one end of
the window to the other so that one piece of wood with the same
cross-sectional area would not fit well.

Solving this is a headscratcher for me. The space seems too big to fill it
all with wood putty or bondo (the size of the void on each window is roughly
35" wide, 1" high, and 0.25" deep so it would be a lot of wood putty or
bondo).

I'm guessing the thing to do is fill each void with several pieces of wood,
each piece having a different depth (since the depth of the void changes as
you go from one end of the window to the other) and glue them in somehow (or
nail them in with small nails and top it off with wood putty) and then fill
around those pieces of wood with wood putty or bondo. And somehow make all
this look like a continuation of the existing window sill after the sill and
void are painted.

I'd appreciate any ideas on how to solve this problem. I'd also appreciate
responses from people who have used a lot of wood putty (or bondo or
whatever) to fill a large void like what I have and how it worked out.

Thanks!

Steve

FYI...the OP posted the same question in a.h.r, Nor cross-posted, so
replies here and there, don't show up there and here. This was my
reply in a.h.r, based on my recent window replacement project:

If I understand your question correctly, I had the same problem when
I
replaced my windows. It doesn't mean that the old windows weren't
installed correctly, it means that the new windows are "thinner" than
the old ones, say 3.25 inches deep instead of 3.5. When the new
windows are pushed back against the exterior stops, an interior gap
is
the result.

As Dan suggested - backer rod and caulk will solve the problem. See
this site for info on backer rod:


http://tinyurl.com/2ghkrf


Don't try the borgs to purchase - none of my local home centers
carried it nor did anyone in the paint/caulk department know what it
was. I went to a contractor supply house and paid between .05 and .
065
per foot depending on the thickness. The supply houses sell it in
bulk
by the foot as opposed to packaged in pre-cut lengths. It's much
cheaper than way. I used 1/4" or 3/8" around all 4 sides of my
windows
before caulking the interior. There'e really no good way to caulk
deep
gaps without it...that's what it's made for.


My concern is that if the contractor did not seal the inside of the
window along the sill, what else didn't he do? By sealing both the
exterior and interior edges of the entire window, you create the
desired dead air space.