Sealing New Windowsill & Other Woodwork with Epoxy Resin

A number of years ago, I purchased a small Cape-style home in New England that was built in the 1930’s. We did our diligence during the closing process, discovering a number of items that needed addressing (and negotiating upon), including soaked and rotted window sills in both upstairs bedrooms…

The challenge wasn’t so much what to repair the sills with, hardwood was our obvious choice in a home of this vintage, but how to ensure that the damage wouldn’t occur again; as the windows in question faced the windward side of the house – and would therefore receive the harshest weather. The solution? Epoxy resin.

Since the windows were original, and my home-repair expertise is minimal; I called upon an experienced handyman to remove the rotted sills and install new woodwork – all of which he did with minimal damage to the surrounding casing and wall. Once the installation was completed, I sealed and coated the new sills (and seams) with a layer of epoxy resin – and voila – brand new sills well protected from sun, rain and snow!

I applied crystal clear epoxy resin for my window sills – as the gleaming durable finish makes for both a beautiful shiny aesthetic – and a hard water-tight surface that rain runs right off of through weep holes drilled into the storm window frame. However, epoxy resin may also be used as a wood filler where you’d rather repair woodwork instead of replacing it – in instances such as wood columns, for example.

DIY Epoxy Resin

Online site familyhandyman.com features how this is accomplished in, ‘How to Use Epoxy on Wood for Repairs.’ “Epoxy is the perfect material to make permanent repairs of rotting window sills, door jambs and exterior molding that are difficult to remove and expensive to replace. Epoxy is easy to handle too. You mix it like cookie dough, mold it like modeling clay and, when it hardens, you carve and sand it just like wood. It sticks like crazy and is formulated to flex and move with the wood, so it won’t crack and fall out like some wood fillers.”

Epoxy Resin Column Repair Image Courtesy of the Family Handyman

The site also includes lists of tools and materials needed and a complete set of instructions. And of course, you can get your epoxy resin from ProMarine Supplies! The last thing you may need is a nudge to get you started with this easy-to-use polymer (as I did). So, give it a try – and you too will realize how quickly and easily it is to get great results working with epoxy resin!