Water staining on interior window sill/stool

SpartanEpoxies
shop deals on amazon
Advertise with us
Shop deals on ebay
House Repair Talk

Help Support House Repair Talk:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
B

Brettj

New Member
Joined
Sep 17, 2015
Messages
1
Reaction score
0
I just bought a house and noticed some staining on the interior window sills. It is pretty much on all the windows. I would have just thought it was rain water but this window does not open. Is it condensation or a leaking window? If I stop the leak can I just paint over it or do I need to remove the board and take a look underneath and replace it? Thanks for your help.

20150916_194351.jpg
 
It is likely condensation but it shoulod be checked out. Instead of ripping up the nice wood, I would dig into the drywall below and poke at the wood with a screwdriver from below to see if it is a bigger problem involving the framing
 
Taking off the lower trim piece is where I would start. There should just be a few finish nails holding that. Pick a small window that’s not in the main room to start with and carefully pry at the trim from below with a thin pry bar. Be careful not to dent in the drywall. Sometimes I have used a tapered wood shim as a wedge that can be tapped in from below to start the trim coming off. You wont see much under there but if you don’t see mold or rot I wouldn’t be too worried about it. If you get any clues its bad then you can open the wall.
 
bud16415 said:
Taking off the lower trim piece is where I would start. There should just be a few finish nails holding that. Pick a small window that’s not in the main room to start with and carefully pry at the trim from below with a thin pry bar. Be careful not to dent in the drywall. Sometimes I have used a tapered wood shim as a wedge that can be tapped in from below to start the trim coming off. You wont see much under there but if you don’t see mold or rot I wouldn’t be too worried about it. If you get any clues its bad then you can open the wall.
Click to expand...

If the house is new enough to have plywood or osb sheeting, any problem usually show up first in the closed cavity below the window.
 
If it's on just about all the windows, it's most likely condensation, not a leak. That's the good news. The bad news is that it is nearly impossible to mitigate those stains. You may wind up priming and painting in a color approximating the stain color.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top