I have some wooden windows that are rotting. One contractor
wants to go through and replace them. Another wants to "scab" them.
According to him that means taking out the bad part, milling a
replacement and then "grafting" it on the good part. This has a
couple of pluses, not the least of which is MUCh less cost and we
also don't have to mess with restaining the insides since they were
left intact.
The home is about $400,000, so I have some concerns about
matching the current windows outside and also that it might look,
well "scabby". Any comments?

----
Ideologue: noun. Someone who disagrees with the writer on
an issue and is insufficiently apologetic about it.
Stolen from Billo in misc.writing

On Tue, 14 Jun 2005 14:22:55 GMT, (Kurt Ullman)
wrote:

I have some wooden windows that are rotting. One contractor
wants to go through and replace them. Another wants to "scab" them.
According to him that means taking out the bad part, milling a
replacement and then "grafting" it on the good part. This has a
couple of pluses, not the least of which is MUCh less cost and we
also don't have to mess with restaining the insides since they were
left intact.
The home is about $400,000, so I have some concerns about
matching the current windows outside and also that it might look,
well "scabby". Any comments?

Hadn't heard the term "scabbing" before, but I've done this, and done
well it's invisible. If the window exterior is painted the repairs are
very easy to hide.

--
Luke
__________________________________________________ ____________________
"I repeat, personal accounts do not permanently fix the solution."
-- George W. Bush, March 16, 2005

Luke wrote:

On Tue, 14 Jun 2005 14:22:55 GMT, (Kurt Ullman)
wrote:

I have some wooden windows that are rotting. One contractor
wants to go through and replace them. Another wants to "scab" them.
According to him that means taking out the bad part, milling a
replacement and then "grafting" it on the good part. This has a
couple of pluses, not the least of which is MUCh less cost and we
also don't have to mess with restaining the insides since they were
left intact.
The home is about $400,000, so I have some concerns about
matching the current windows outside and also that it might look,
well "scabby". Any comments?

Hadn't heard the term "scabbing" before, but I've done this, and done
well it's invisible. If the window exterior is painted the repairs are
very easy to hide.

Very routine operation for restoration work. Depending on the magnitude
od the damage the wood stabilisers and epoxy repair materials can also
do great things.

"PC Woody" brand has been very satisfactory to work with and is less
expensive than most competing products I've seen...

"Luke" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 14 Jun 2005 14:22:55 GMT, (Kurt Ullman)
wrote:
Hadn't heard the term "scabbing" before, but I've done this, and done
well it's invisible. If the window exterior is painted the repairs are
very easy to hide.

--
Luke
__________________________________________________ ____________________
"I repeat, personal accounts do not permanently fix the solution."
-- George W. Bush, March 16, 2005


I've never heard it used to describe repairing existing windows. I have
heard it used to describe taking used windows and using them as replacements
for your own.

Kurt Ullman wrote:
I have some wooden windows that are rotting. One contractor
wants to go through and replace them. Another wants to "scab" them.
According to him that means taking out the bad part, milling a
replacement and then "grafting" it on the good part. This has a
couple of pluses, not the least of which is MUCh less cost and we
also don't have to mess with restaining the insides since they were
left intact.
The home is about $400,000, so I have some concerns about
matching the current windows outside and also that it might look,
well "scabby". Any comments?

----
Ideologue: noun. Someone who disagrees with the writer on
an issue and is insufficiently apologetic about it.
Stolen from Billo in misc.writing


I've never heard it termed "scabbing", but replacing rotted sections of
a window is not uncommon. If it is done properly, there should be no
appearance issue whatsoever. Apply the spliced in pieces of wood, fill
any small gaps with filler, prime and paint, and you will never know
the difference.

Here is some more info:

http://tinyurl.com/7b5gt

Ken

I'm with Ken and Luke - it's not uncommon, and done well it's not
noticeable. I don't think it'd be tough to match the current stuff,
unless you have some pecule windows.

When I've seen it, it's usually rotted sills and trim. Some people do
it well, some not so.

Kurt Ullman wrote:
I have some wooden windows that are rotting. One contractor
wants to go through and replace them. Another wants to "scab" them.
According to him that means taking out the bad part, milling a
replacement and then "grafting" it on the good part. This has a
couple of pluses, not the least of which is MUCh less cost and we
also don't have to mess with restaining the insides since they were
left intact.
The home is about $400,000, so I have some concerns about
matching the current windows outside and also that it might look,
well "scabby". Any comments?

----
Ideologue: noun. Someone who disagrees with the writer on
an issue and is insufficiently apologetic about it.
Stolen from Billo in misc.writing


One other thing I will add to compare the two contractors. The guy who
wants to replace all your windows is probably recommending that route
because that's what he knows. He probably would be a *bad* contractor
to go in and replace rotted sections with newly milled pieces. He
knows that he can order new windows, and then show up and replace them
all in one day, get his money, and then leave.

If I had to guess, I would say the guy who wants to only replace the
rotted parts probably knows what he is doing and is willing to put
extra time into doing a proper fix without making as much money on the
deal. He will need to make up the new pieces of wood, go in and cut
out the rotted sections, splice in the new pieces and then possibly put
in an epoxy filler. Then let that dry, come back the next day to sand
and prime, then come back again to paint (unless he was going to leave
that to you if that wasn't part of the deal). He will probably take
longer to do it right. If it was me, I would probably go with the
selective replacement guy rather than the whole window replacement guy,
regardless of the cost difference.

Ken

In article . com,
"Hopkins" wrote:
I'm with Ken and Luke - it's not uncommon, and done well it's not
noticeable. I don't think it'd be tough to match the current stuff,
unless you have some pecule windows.

When I've seen it, it's usually rotted sills and trim. Some people do
it well, some not so.

So in addition to talking to their references, I should probably
go out and actually eyeball the work at a couple of places.


BTW: THanks to all who responded.

----
Ideologue: noun. Someone who disagrees with the writer on
an issue and is insufficiently apologetic about it.
Stolen from Billo in misc.writing

Kurt Ullman wrote:

In article . com,
"Hopkins" wrote:
I'm with Ken and Luke - it's not uncommon, and done well it's not
noticeable. I don't think it'd be tough to match the current stuff,
unless you have some pecule windows.

When I've seen it, it's usually rotted sills and trim. Some people do
it well, some not so.

So in addition to talking to their references, I should probably
go out and actually eyeball the work at a couple of places.

BTW: THanks to all who responded.

Certainly can't hurt if feasible...

So in addition to talking to their references, I should probably
go out and actually eyeball the work at a couple of places.

If it's feasible, that'd be great. Contractors shouldn't mind potential
customers doing that, and hopefully the references are accomodating.

On Tue, 14 Jun 2005 20:38:59 GMT, (Kurt Ullman)
wrote:

[snip]
So in addition to talking to their references, I should probably
go out and actually eyeball the work at a couple of places.

Yes. If possible you might ask the guy doing the "scabbing" if he'll
do one window to give you an idea how it'll look and if his work is
good. He may not want to do that, however, as he'll likely want to set
up on the job just once. Whichever you use, keep a sharp eye as the
work progresses, be nice and chatty, offer drinks, etc., but don't be
afraid to call a halt if it looks sloppy.

--
Luke
__________________________________________________ _________________
"The culture of recovery is insidious: now the moral measure of a
war is how it makes us feel about ourselves." -- Wendy Kaminer