Sills and insulation below windows

[overlander matt]

Another day and another set of questions... Work is progressing well from the scaffolding and the sash windows are going back in this week on the first floor. Unfortunately, I have completely overlooked what to do about the sadn stone sills that are currently painted a creamy colour. I'm wondering what an appropriate colour would be for the sills against white windows and brickwork. The front door will be pained black in due course... Anyone have any suggestions?



The sills sit on just a single skin of brickwork - the front wall is three bricks deep with the exception of the window area where the framing for the shutters forms a recess. There are just some plain wooden planks below the window in most cases and a sizeable void between the timber and the brickwork. I plan to locate cast iron radiators in theses recesses but obviously would like to improve the insulation below the window and behind the shutter frames. What would be the best product(s) to use in this case? A sheet type material could be slotted in behind the timber. I'm not sure about the shutters though...



Any ideas much appreciated. Thank you in advance.

Matt

 

[CliffordPope]

Sand-blast back to the natural stone?

 

[a twig]

Rockwool would do nicely

 

[Feltwell]

I think sandstone cills would look good as sandstone!

Providing your CO is OK with it I would try a chemical strip rather than sandblasting. Strippers of Sudbury do a wide variety.

If you want to keep them painted, the colour they are looks fine to me.

 

[Zebra]

Is there any risk of dampness in that void? Is there a dpc in the wall? You could use sheet insulation like celotex-type or polystyrene. They would still insulate if there were slight dampness but would cut down the breathability of the wall...

 

[88v8]

We had this single-skin situation in one bedroom. I stuck cork tile to the plaster.
Your wood panelling is also an insulator.

If the rads are to be modern, you could glue some tinfoil behind them, that will reflect much of the heat.

The sills look OK in cream. They may have been painted to hide past repairs, another can of worms. I'd leave them painted.
Black door, if south facing, black will not last.
But it's good to have a change from white.

Ivor

 

[overlander matt]

Thank you for the suggestions. I knew the option of going back to stone would be mentioned!! That might be more work than I can take on right now and I think I am going to have to put off further work to the windows until the spring when we will have finished the brickwork and pointing. Might as well tackle the sills then and give the windows a final coat.

As for the insulation, I think rockwool pushed up inside the box work for the shutters will help and maybe a celotex board behind the wooden panel below the window. I admit it's not very traditional but the heating needs to work as efficiently as it can in this house and the current design is not quite up to it. There will be cast iron radiators in front of the boards and I don't really want to insert any foil panels behind them on aesthetic grounds. That might however change when faced with high energy bills or a cold house...

Thanks again.

Matt