Fixing wooden windowsill to brick?

[chunkolini]

Bedroom reclamation going well.
Next up
Wooden windowsill. I fancy a slab of proper tree wood.
The window is just over 2m long and on a cavity wall.
Front edge is on top of fairly straight and level brickwork.

I can't lose much space above or windows won't open
So how to fix wood to this?
Fill with mortar to level with the top and glue on top of it? Sounds iffy to me
Use a proprietary filler? Which one? Which glue?
Maybe just fill the top of every other brick?
The back is fine. Screw a wood batten along level with the front.
Any more suggestions?

 

[ajlelectronics]

Bedroom reclamation going well.
Next up
Wooden windowsill. I fancy a slab of proper tree wood.
The window is just over 2m long and on a cavity wall.
Front edge is on top of fairly straight and level brickwork.
View attachment 498137
I can't lose much space above or windows won't open
So how to fix wood to this?
Fill with mortar to level with the top and glue on top of it? Sounds iffy to me
Use a proprietary filler? Which one? Which glue?
Maybe just fill the top of every other brick?
The back is fine. Screw a wood batten along level with the front.
Any more suggestions?

With my very large windowcill, I leveled at various positions along the top, dropped some old coins into the cavities (tradition) and screwed countersunk fixings through it. Fill, sand and paint and 7 years later it is still something I am proud of. Painted it white but can't remember what with, but not a hint of degradation so far.

It was so deep that I had to join two pieces of wood to cover it and even that is perfect still. You are more skilled than I am, yours will be at least as good.

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

I've been using tile backer board...it sticks down very well and provides an insulation gap which stops the cold coming through the sills. I find it's also good for the cheeks too.

Really does cut down the cold coming up the brick...this is on the inside...never tried on the outside or under the windows!

 

[Blobber]

Traditionally something like this that screws to the under side and down the face of the brickwork/blockwork, the window edge normally being held in a rebate on the window frame, but it all depends on what type of window's you have

HIGH QUALITY WINDOW BOARD TIE GALVANISED STEEL FOR FIXING TO MASONRY 12 x 147mm | eBay UK

The TIMco window board tie has been designed as a simple solution for fixing window boars to masonry. It is made from galvanised steel and conforms to EN 10346 DX51D Z275. It is 12mm wide and 147mm long.

www.ebay.co.uk

 

[gaz1]

if you want hidden screws then use the french cleat system

otherwise its mostly screw down from the top through the material

 

[DanZac]

All the windowsills in our house are just sat on the brickwork and held in by the plaster work at the ends.

That's how the original ones were and when I replaced them I just did the same.

There's probably an Inch either end bedded into the wall and plasterwork and a bead of sealant against the frame.

They've been like that for 10 years now and they've never moved (even with me sitting on them to reach out and clean the upstairs windows).

 

[jimi_boom]

when ever i do this, i would use expandable foam underneath the window board to ensure that no draft gets through.
drill some countersunk holes into the window board using a plug cutter set, fix with screws then simply glue and plug the holes with the dowel that is left from using a plug cutter set.
If you don't have any spare wood for the plugs then i typically use the underside that you cant see and be careful not to go all the way through :-)

 

[Dragnet]

I just wrote a post about how windows are wedged without fixings, before wondering if you're just talking about an internal sill...

Can you tongue and groove it to the window frame? This would be the neatest and most robust detail to my mind.

 

[chunkolini]

It's an internal window sill.
Walls are recently plastered and upvc windows

 

[ajlelectronics]

This was likewise also finished, bar the cill. I recall now that I used a liquid gloss solvent base paint.

 

[cheb]

I'd be sticking it down with suitable jollop. Maybe 30 minute foaming polyurathane, that would need temporary weights on it while it sets.

 

[Shedendman]

^^^^^^ as he said
Glue it down,level those bricks out with a bit of bonding plaster or what ever,make sure its bone dry before you stick it down with something like gripfill etc

 

[Newlands]

A proper window board has a bare-faced tongue on it that fits into a groove at the bottom of the frame. Any shrinkage means that the gap doesn't show. You can't always do that on a refurb job of course, in which case it's best to place any fixings as close to the window frame as you can and hope for the best. And I'm not trying to be pedantic because everyone does it including me, but really the cill is on the outside and the inside is called a board, at least round here.

 

[Windy Miller]

.... but really the cill is on the outside and the inside is called a board, at least round here.

I never knew that! This place is amazing for learning random facts!

 

[MattF]

Pack it underneath with wooden, or plastic, packers to get it level, & apply expanding foam underneath. Put some weights atop it, if you like, to make sure the foam doesn't lift it incase you overly apply the foam.

 

[pedrobedro]

No Nails, get the dust off the bricks and lay a decent bed.

 

[addjunkie]

No Nails, get the dust off the bricks and lay a decent bed.

Id agree, all in my house are screwed down from above and plugged, each time I see the plug its irritates me, I didnt do them, I did all the skirtings and architrave with stick like sch1t, and the occasional 18g nail.

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

This is sort of stuff I used...I use it anywhere I can because even a few mm of insulation seems to help a lot.

Just fill up the bricks with mortar...then glued the backer board down and stick the wood over the top.

ProWarm BACKER-PRO Tile Insulation Backer Board - 1200 x 600 x 6mm | Wickes.co.uk

ProWarm BACKER-PRO Tile Insulation Backer Board - 1200 x 600 x 6mm

www.wickes.co.uk

 

[chunkolini]

cheers guys
So new Window Board, another useless factoid to share with friends
No screws this will be waxed. I cant be having repaired holes for fixings
Gloss paint is the work of the devil. I am slowly removing every speck of it from my house.
so plan A clean and fill the tops of the bricks with mortar then a skim of this to level and ready it for the wood https://www.toolstation.com/toupret-interior-filler/p63284 then gripfill and
wood batten across the back to glue the back down to then seal around it when fitted
I am planning on going all arty farty with this
Probably a nice gentle waved edge similar to my breakfast bar below, to indulge my dislike of straight lines.
I have been offered big slab of Ash to do the whole thing in one piece.