Door sill replacement

[stonybloke]

How do I replace a rotten door sill? The rest of the frame is good and very securely attached to the brickwork.

 

[masona]

Cut 2 saw cut in the middle of the cill approx 4" apart,remove the middle section then see if there's any nail or screw at the bottom of the door frame and remove it if you can,then use a 2" cold chisel in the middle end section of the cill and split it with a hammer to prise it apart.Make sure the bottom of the door frame is not rotted otherwise you're wasting your time.When fitting new cill put dpc under the door cill to prevent rising damp.You might have to cut the tenon on the frame for flush fitting of the new cill.Make thin wedge under cill to tighten up to the door frame then screw + glue etc.........

 

[stonybloke]

Perfect! Thanks Masona. The old sill is now out and I am preparing the replacement. Hang on a mo! . . How do I glue the new sill in place if I fit a new strip of DPC - won't it just lift off?

 

[masona]

You could staple the dpc with staple gun,then use mastic sealant to cover the staple or instead of dpc use a good wood treatment such as cuprinol, bitumen paint or strip of leading flashing nailed underneath etc. Don't forget to sealed the nail.........

 

[stonybloke]

Thanks again - I think that bitumen paint may be the answer. A few thick coats then cement on top. When the cement has set, I'll fix the sill in place with a frame adhesive/sealant and hold it with 4 or 5 hammer-in frame screws through pre-drilled holes in the slot for the rain bar. I'm re-using the old plasic rain bar which I can fit in place after the sill is fixed. The new sill is made from Meranti and I am treating it with Sadolin Brush-on Wood Preserver and then finishing with Sikkens Cetol HLS (3 coats) for abrasion resistance. Thanks again for your help - however I will watch this in case you tell me that my plan is doomed . . . .

 

[masona]

I'm re-using the old plasic rain bar which I can fit in place after the sill is fixed.

Becareful when doing this you can distrurb the cement underneath as they can be hard to put back in the groove as plastic tend to expand when taken out. I usually put it in first then fit the cill unless it not hard to put in.If it's too late and you do have this problem you can carefully trim the bottom plastic with a sanding knife.

Also we don't normally drill thru' the cill to fit it,you could end up drilling thru' the dpc which will cause more damp problem unless it's nowhere near it.