wood under windows

[james19000]

Hi,
need advice on how to approach this.

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• james19000
• 12 Jan 2014
• 1

Under the windows there is a piece of wood that juts out 4 1/2 cm,
typically you would put plasterboard on top of wood if plastering, on which to skim over, but, with the wood already sticking out 4 1/2 cm adding another 9cm to that is too much,

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• james19000
• 12 Jan 2014
• 1

On the other windows in the house, they've skimmed over the wood and naturally this has deteriorated and cracked.

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• james19000
• 12 Jan 2014
• 1

any ideas on how I can finish this neatly?

I'm already concerned that the undercoat plaster has to be 4 1/2 cm thick to bring it up to in line with the wood..

any suggestions on what would be a good undercoat plaster to use.
bonding or sand & cement mix.

 

[roughcaster]

Why don't you "carefully" chisel/cut back the thickness of the timber to take away the depth. As regards to the timber underneath the windows in the other rooms, take off the plaster that's deteriorated and cracked, chisel some of that back too if it's too proud, cut away a strip of wall plaster, (15-20mm or so) underneath the timber, then tack a strip of polythene over the length of old timber, this will stop the timber absorbing any moisture from the plaster you"ll use. So,, we've chiselled back the timber by 10 to 15mm, cut back the plaster below the wooden strip, we've fixed a strip of polythene over the old timber, let it overlap the joint between wood and plaster, then get/cut a strip of wire lath and screw it over the timber/polythene. Let the wire lath overlap everything, down onto the strip of brickwork you exposed earlier. Fix the wire lath, but don't worry if it has little bumps in it, all the better to grip the plaster. Once all this is done, mix up some Bonding coat, give the edges of the old plaster a good dampen down with a wet brush, pva along the edge, then flush out the area with bonding. You might need 2 thin coats to bring it out. Clean ff the wall round about the patch, let the bonding set, then finish it off with multi finish,,, job done, permanantly. Let it dry out for a few days, then mist coat/paint it. Do all the windows the same, and lastly, "make sure" the wire lath/mesh OVERLAPS/GOES PAST ALL the edges of the polythene.

 

[james19000]

thanks Roughcaster..

sounds like a good plan...

I'm thinking cutting away 10 to 15mm away from the timber under the window won't harm the support giving to the window..

How to make such a cut... I don't have a circular saw which what immediately felt like the right tool for the job..

 

[roughcaster]

It'll take a while, but i'm sure you could persevere with a sharp handsaw going along the grain, then chisel away the timber as you go. Maybe you might know a carpenter friend who might help out. Just make sure with all the windows, that you have enough depth for the wire lath, polythene and plaster. As you said you wont need that much,10/15mm at most,. Just check the depth as you go.