DIY Window Board Revival: Fast, Cheap, Effective (DO TRY AT HOME)

We’ve all been there: living in a place that needs attention, but hiring a carpenter is too pricey, and the landlord would only cause headaches. Painting the walls? A breeze. Changing a light bulb? No sweat. But when it comes to the windows, that’s a whole different challenge.

Mine were already showing wear and tear. Then winter hit. Snow piled on the roof, dew started dripping inside. Later, rain followed, soaking through, damaging the window board, and ruining the veneer finish. The roof eventually got repaired, the wood dried out, but the windows remained an eyesore.

I decided to find an affordable and effective way to restore their original look. Something that would make the space feel cared for again, give me a satisfying hands-on project, and be worth sharing.

I spent less than 100 EURO since I only needed to buy some materials and already had most of the necessary hand tools.

Here is my instructable...

1. Folding ruler
2. White glue
3. Hot glue and glue gun
4. Plywood 4 mm (2 pieces, ~10 EUR each)
5. Grinding machine, rotary orbital sander
6. Household dustbuster
7. Plane 25 mm
8. Chisel 20 mm
9. Primer (colorless)
10. Glaze (pine)
11. 40 mm brush
12. 60 mm brush

Measuring the dimentions of the sill, I took a mm less in width and a centimeter more in depth in order to fit the ply wood in smoothly. The wood was purchased at the hardware store and cut to size on site.

The water damage caused the particle wood to swell and break the laminated pine surface beyond repair. Since the particle board was in poor condition and I didn’t want to waste time fixing it to achieve a flat and strong surface for veneer application, as in the original design, I opted for plywood. It had an identical look but required adaptations to hide the extra 4 mm added by this sandwich.

I removed the outer frame carefully to avoid damaging anything unnecessary. I chiseled away the broken areas, then sanded the surface to restore it to a flat and smooth finish.

Apply a sufficient amount of white glue to the straightened, clean, and dry surface. Wait 5 minutes to see if the parcel wood absorbs all the glue you applied. Reapply the glue to ensure even distribution. Place the plywood on top and press it down firmly. Since clamps cannot be used, I used a concrete block for weight. Any evenly distributed weight for pressing will work, but make sure to prepare it in advance as it's essential.

Now we have a surface that resembles solid wood, as it should. The next step is to trim the edge to align perfectly with the frame. To do this, I use a 25 mm planer, sliding it along the old edge of the window sill from one side to the other until the veneer wood matches the parcel wood carrier.

Once completed, I need to align the frame so that the work remains invisible to the eye. I do this by holding the vertical frame segments to the window frame and marking the intersection of the new surface with the frame using a pen. Then, I take a Japanese saw (or a molding saw as an alternative) and trim the strips along the marking parallel to the old edge. Once finished, I remount the frame pieces with the hot glue and feel that the operation was both successful and almost effortless.

I chose hot glue to keep the process flexible for any future repairs.

All the frame pieces were sanded when they were removed, and all the old nails were pulled out. The holes were filled with light-colored wood paste and sanded smooth.

The first step was priming. The wood primer I used takes about an hour to dry and 12 hours to fully harden.

A day later, I applied the glaze—or rather, my wife did. The wooden surface is very absorbent, so the glaze penetrates deeply into the lighter sections of the grain but less so into the harder, darker parts. The surface also becomes rough due to the raised wood fibers. To achieve a smooth, long-lasting, and visually appealing finish, it’s essential to wet sand the area and apply at least a second layer of glaze for a remarkable result.

Simply a memorable impact!