Window frame/porch repairs - suggested methods

[Oldhousenoob]

Lots (and lots) of rot in this wood/glass porch
I only intended to scrape a bit of paint off and see how it looked today.
I have no real idea how to get about repairing this
Particularly the bits at the bottom of the windows (not the fill, the bottom rail maybe?).
Any suggestions? iI.e. help!!!)
Also, any idea why/how it’s got so wet/rotten at the bottom?

 

[mardinor]

Absolutely glorious woodwork! That looks at least 100 years old, so due a bit of a repair (though the cills look to have been replaced as they don't meet the corner details well). The cause is modern paint that cracks then traps water inside.
PLEASE repair it. Look into RepairCare products or Timbabuild. Easy DIY job. Or get a local joiner to repair.

 

[fernicarry]

The cills look to be level on the top so water will have tended to pool on them. If the verticals are sitting in puddles then they will suck water up through their end grain. As @mardinor says modern paint then worsens the situation by holding the water in.

There seems to have been a new piece let in to the front of the cill on the right side. You could take the same approach making appropriate sized repair pieces and blending them in with a decent filler. The left side is quite far gone though so you may not have much left by the time you cut back to something solid. Complete replacement may be a better use of your time.

Ideally you want to get a bit of a run on the top surface so that you're not back here in a few year's time. Ready made cill sections from ETP could work. If not then you could make something up on a thicknesser with a jig to cant the piece over to the right angle. The existing posts could be trenched into the cill.

The vertical posts are made up of several sections hence the beads to hide the joins. That means most of it is just regular square edged timber. The corner piece with the stopped chamfer could be made separately on a router table, as per this chap.

Try to use decent timber rather than the fast grown rubbish you get in typical builders merchants. This place has a good selection although some species are a bit spendy. I'd go for a durable softwood like Douglas Fir. Use a waterproof PU glue on any joins. This expands a bit and fills gaps so your joints don't have to be absolutely perfect. Finish with a quality paint system like Jotun Visir and Demidekk. Simples!

If you don't have access to the machinery then a joinery workshop will be able to make up sections for you.

Lovely thing. Presumably a later addition to the house? Looks a bit Arts and Crafts. I fear there is more sadness to be found judging by the wrinkly appearance of the paint in places so it could turn into quite an undertaking. Hope you manage to bring it back to its former glory.

 

[Oldhousenoob]

that is so so useful, thank you fernicarry.
I can't spend too long on it right now (mid-hallway renovation/decorating), but wanted to have a quick look at it because I wasn't sure just how bad it was. I knew it was kind of bad but it's worse than I thought! the cill I just dug though right down to the stone!!
I think you are certainly right about more rot to find in other spots higher up.
I think plan for this year might be to sort the cills and the bottom of the posts and then work my way up next year. woodworking/wood stuff is/would be all new to me (oh - apart from lifting relaying a floor) so want to try an take it in manageable chunks.
I was thinking replace the cills and the bottom raily bits of the windows with some new ones in oak. and then the bottoms of the posts I wasn't sure whether to repair with resin or cut out and replace (which would feel sketchy to me, firstly, Ive never tried something like that before, secondly, they're holding up the roof!!!).

it is a bit of a later addition to the house but also seems to have replaced an earlier incarnation, you can see 'stuff' on the front of the house where an older slightly smaller one butted up onto the stonework.

 

[fernicarry]

secondly, they're holding up the roof!!!)

That's a point so you really need those posts to be solid and not half rot and half filler. I think you'd probably get away with working on one corner at a time but a strong boy or two would help give peace of mind.

Do the window units look like they are separate and could be removed to make it easier to work on?