HELP PLEASE - WINDOW: how big or small is the gap supposed to be?

Does the brickie own a level?

Very poor job,excessily long window sill,looks naff,blockwork looks all out of true left hand side, but a face on photo would help,rather than one at a slight angle.
Window should sit on the sill,I always put down bead of silicone to the top of the sill and the window frame then sits on that.
There are usually drain holes in the frame, so careful not to block them.

 

I'm home now, so can see better on pc, window also looks to short in height, those corner blocks are part of a course around whole house?

 

Hi Harry.

Relax. This is wrong even if only because looks wrong - in fact it looks hellish. (It's probably wrong for other reasons too...)

So, it'll need to be sorted and that's chust fine. Just don't pay until it is. End of.

Please don't get stressed - it will be sorted. One way or t'other.

As KIAB requested, could you provide a straight-on photo so's we can see just how bad the level is?

It looks as tho' the 'builder' has kept the right-hand concrete sill section level, and then taken the whole slope out on the poor left-hand sill piece .

And, yes, the window is far too short - and that's a separate issue. (That one could - if you were very obliging - be sorted by dropping the window to the correct position on the sill (after it's been levelled...) and adding a nicely-profiled trim piece along the top to fill the gap there. But it would have to be an acceptable appearance for you - you do not have to compromise on this at all; you can insist on a completely new window.

Do not lose track of the simple fact that this is their mistake(s).

The sill profile is not helped by it being different to the décor course which is going around the house. If the sill had that additional step along the top, then that would be the window gap taken care off.

How to cope with the sloping sill? There must be a 'proper' way to do this, but even as a DIYer I'd have thought it would help if the two sections of the sill was at least straight!, and if the sill had that extra 'step' on top which the other décor bricks have, that could be trimmed off at the required angle to leave the seat for the window above perfectly level.

Harry, what was the original sill like? Do you have photos of what the other windows of your house are like? Or photos of similar style neighbouring houses - the ones that look 'correct'?

Your answer will be there.

 

As I see it, the new lhs cill, needs levelling up, then just dye some mortar the same colour as the cills and fill in under the window forming your own upstand.

 

Re the cracked joints, not normal or indeed correct, but a relatively easy fix, just need raking out and repointing, making sure the mortar matches the existing.

 

That's as maybe, but if you fill in with mortar as I said, the window is no longer short and the cill matches the rest of them, problem solved with out too much hassle, though if your looking for hassle, try asking the window company to remove and replace the window.

 

Hi Harry.

My "It's probably wrong for other reasons too..."? was just a flippant comment, really - sorry.

OOookkkkaaayyyyy. Interesting other photos. It looks as tho' your other windows have a similar type of sill, and don't have an 'upstand', so that's ok - the new sill should end looking chust fine when sorted.

It also looks as tho' your other windows have a goodly bead of sealant under them - I'd guess around 10mm thick in places? So I guess this window might well end up looking similar to that as well.

BUT, the sills need straightening! If they have been bedded down, they need removing and refitting.

The gap under the window, even then, will be far too big and very unsightly, so that window needs dropping down the best part of an inch, I reckon. Ie: removing and refitting.

That leave the issue of the slope in this sill. I fear it may be around a half-inch along its length, and I'm not sure what the best solution to this is. But I think that a sandstone-coloured sealant under the window's plastic sill will mask it better that white sealant.

Not sure what other solutions could be - it ain't their fault that the décor thingies weren't level either side of the old garage door. But there has to be a 'best' solution for these sorts of things.

Ok, your call - would you be happy with a nice décor moulding along the top of the window to cover the gap there? Probably something like an 'ovolo' style, since the window frames appear to have that. Of course, the gap would first need filling properly with an insulated material to match the value of the window frame.

So, best case scenario is that what's already there just needs fettling. By 'fettling' I mean that the window and sill needs removing and refitting!

Worst case - if you require, and don't be afraid to insist on this if you want to - is new window and sill levelled.

(As pointed out above, these loose bricks can be sorted fairly straight-forwardly. It will be a sign of the calibre of the builders you are dealing with if they suggest this anyway, or were they prepared to walk away leaving them like this...)

 

Looking at Phil's post above, that is a possible way of overcoming the gap without removing the window - ie coloured mortar to match the sill, and neatly finished to make a matching upstand to the wall ridges.

But I'd really have to trust these guys to do this properly. That's the best part of a one-inch gap?

Harry, perhaps a word in the boss's shell-like. Ask him what he thinks of it. If he tries to suggest it's ok, then you have a twit on your hands and you may need to get quite insistent. Hopefully he'll say "Yep - it needs levelling off. And we'll fill the gap with..." and see what he says.

Yes, they will be reluctant to even remove that window to reposition it, and even less so to replace it with a taller one. But - tough - they messed up, not you.

And withholding payment is very persuasive.

 

So a 15mm difference to overcome along a ~2m length?

Do bear in mind that this difference is not of these builder's making, so it's not a problem they've created.

Best solution? Dunno. But I reckon I'm being swayed towards Phil's idea of matching mortar being used to make up that 'upstand', leaving just a few mm for the sealant beading.

It would need to be done properly, tho' - a deep bed of mortar (ie deep from back to front, not just a thin bead at the front), and then finished very neatly along the front to match - and bond - on to the sill.

That should be easy.

A 15mm variation will be much less obvious with such a dark-coloured edge under there, than any white trim.

It might also mean that the window can actually stay where it is!


Harry - have these two sill pieces actually been fixed down on mortar yet? Is there any chance they're chust sitting there - unbedded - until they come back on the job and finish it...?