How to replace window stool?

[atgcpaul]

One of my wife's dogs (no, definitely not mine) is part beaver. I guess he was a little peaved we got home late one day and left this for me (as well as chewing off the corner of an entryway bench I made).

Anyway, how would a typical stool be attached to the frame? From the top down into the apron and/or through the front of the stool into the framing behind it in the wall? Recent episode of Ask This Old House had Tom Silva doing both. I need to replace the stool but don't to damage the surroundings. I have an oscillating saw with new and improve blades that should cut through nails, too.

And that dog needed some expensive dental work later. He is really the "gift" that keeps on giving. Do they sell a bittering agent that can be mixed into latex and clear finishes?

Paul

[LCHIEN]

I think its a sill, not a stool...

[atgcpaul]

I think its a sill, not a stool...

No, it's a window stool. The window sill sits under the bottom window sash and extends to the outside of the house.

[cwsmith]

Actually, that is the "stool", with the "sill" being the similar piece that extends from the very inside edge of the wall, slanting downward to the outside, extending over the siding where it acts to drain any precipitation (reference Carpentry and Building Construction, Feirer and Hutchings, page 933). The "stool" is the inside trim piece that sits at the bottom of the window opening, acting both as trim and sort of a shelf.

When the window is closed, the bottom window sash sits on the "sill" and behind the "stool".

After the window is installed, with the sill in place, the stool is nailed into the sill. Then the "casing" (vertical inside trim) installed and then the top horizontal trim.

To replace the stool, you'll have to remove the two vertical "casing" pieces. Hopefully the top trim has not been nailed to those. Once the two casing pieces are removed, the stool should be able to be pried off. You may have to remove the apron, but hopefully you can pry the stool, loose from the sill on it's outside edge (window side).

Properly installed, the "stool" is cut in a manner so that it sits inside of the window's sash.

If you'd like, I can return later and post a scanned illustration (no time at the moment, sorry).

I hope this helps,

CWS

[LCHIEN]

No, it's a window stool. The window sill sits under the bottom window sash and extends to the outside of the house.

OK, you're right! sorry.
Sorry for the dog, too!

[Black walnut]

Wow learn something new each day. Thanks #cwsmith for the education. It makes sense to me to disassemble as CWS says and then make a new stool from wood of the same species as you currently have so it matches the rest of the house.

[capncarl]

I have never replaced a stool that was NOT nailed to the apron. Nothing that you could not handle. I pulled the stool and apron off at the same time and pried them apart, pulling out the nails. For the stubborn nails that would not come out I split the stool.

[JimD]

When removing the casing, you might want to try the plastic pry bars sold to remove trim in cars. I did removing some trim I wanted to reuse recently and was pleasantly surprised. They won't work if the nails are big, of course, but they may be helpful. My plastic pry bars came from Harbor Freight.

[atgcpaul]

Ended up pry barring out the stool and apron (in pieces). I glued the 3 pieces of stool back together so I can get some general measurements. I'm glad I didn't have to take off the casings. There's also a bevel on the underside of the stool where it matches the slope of the sill that I'll do on the TS. I've got some poplar I'll mill to match. HD should be a ghost town today so I'll go later to get a matching apron.

Thanks for the feedback everyone.

I was going to do this yesterday but I went to the attic to store an oscillating fan. I noticed a small branch sitting on the attic floor. How did that get there? I look up and see that some critter had pried open the Al louvers at the peak of my roof and tore a hole through the screening. It was metal screening, too. Spent the rest of the afternoon going to HD to get newer, heavier gauge screening and wedging myself into the rafters to staple it in place with my air stapler. The fix isn't as nice as the original because they installed the screening from the outside after they sheathed the roof but before the shingles and louvers. Working from the inside wasn't ideal but not much I could do about that.

This house makes its own honey-do list.

[cwsmith]

I'm glad it wasn't a big challenge. Sometimes you run into workmanship that makes you wonder. Here's an illustration of a typical window installation:



CWS