Wooden windows, putty breaking off

R

rmelly

Guest
The putty on a couple of my wooden windows is badly cracked / flaking at the base of a few of the panes.

I have someone lined up to remove & replace it, but he's a bit unreliable (time wise) but competent, so it might not happen for a month or more.

I was considering putting some seethru silicone sealant (from one of those guns) on top of the remaining putty in the bad areas as a temporary measure.

Any reasons why I shouldn't do this?
 
Think it would be best to check with the person doing the job, might get them moving faster also

The silicone can be a curse to remove. I regularly reseal around the top of the bath and it can be a curse to get the old stuff off first. They will have a bad enough job in taking the putty off.
 
Thanks, I'll check with him. Other than that is there any issues e.g. dampness etc?

Re the bath, have you tried putting on the sealant when the bath is full of water:

 
rmelly said:
Re the bath, have you tried putting on the sealant when the bath is full of water:
Click to expand...

Yep. Tried everything down through the years. The water appears to run along a very fine line and come out in a different spot to where the gap appears to be. Happens most when the kids take their leisurely showers and him indoors throws wobblers when the water appears as a leak through kitchen ceiling. Only option is to seal the side of the bath very well with the silicone.
 

Back on topic.

This is not a hard job to do.
You could have it done in a few minutes.
Remove the loose putty from the whole section of window, normally the bottom, then clean it out with a wire brush to make sure you have loose bits out too.
Knead the putty with your hands till its a bit soft then work it into the rebate, can be hard on your thumbs.
To smooth it down use a painters scrape down hard so it sticks to the glass and the wood.
Leave it for a couple of weeks then paint it normally.

Regarding putting silicone onto the window before you putty, don't.
I have done this and it makes smoothing the putty down impossible because the putty slips on the silicone.
So if you plan to use silicone you'll have to remove it before you put putty on the window.
 

Thanks, I was planning to use it as a temporary measure and it would be removed along with the existing putty before proper replacing of the putty as you have outlined.

Main issue is I live in an apartment so I don't have any of the tools including a ladder which is where my brother comes in. I want to replace all of the putty on all windows and repaint. And he owes me...
 
Don't use silicone, use painters mate or alex plus.

They can be removed easily when the job is being done properly and silicone is a pain to remove.
 
Why are you removing all the putty from the windows?
 
Hasn't been done for 25 years or more on most of the windows, thought I'd get it all done now and not have to think about it again for a few years rather than doing it piecemeal -most needs repainting at a minimum as it is.

I take it from your question that maybe this is not such a good idea?
 
If putty is hard it is very water proof and very stuck to the glass and the wood.

When I'm doing my sash windows I tend to leave putty that is firmly stuck, basically its doing the job so why move it?

Normally it's the bottoms that need doing.

If the windows are old (40-250 years) then part of the sides might need doing.

As I say if its stuck I leave it be.
 
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