If you enjoy house plants on your window sills, this article is for you. Learn how to maximize the space your windows have to offer and watch your plants flourish.
Window sills are the horizontal member at the bottom of a window. Window sills are a great space to house plants so they get lots of sun especially during the off seasons. Window sills are also favorite places for small pets to sit, watch the goings on outside, catch a few rays and wait for their humans to come back home. For these reasons expanding the size of your window sills is a good idea.
You know which side of the house is best for window plants. Usually it is the southern side of the house because the sun shines there the longest. Regardless of the direction the window faces, the window sill can be extended to make more room to house plants. Every sill in my house has been widened.
There are many kinds of window sills and window designs. Some are constructed from wood some from metal or other composites. To simply widen your window sills, this article will focus on how to make wooden window sills.
First measure the window sill from end to end. If the window is 4 feet wide the inside of the sill will measure about 48 inches. Be precise in your measurement. If it is a little over or under that is important to your measurement. Then measure the width of the treatment around the window. The trim or treatment will be the width of the tab we will create to make the new window seat more attractive.
Notice the ends of the window sills may have a tab that extends further and wraps around the window casing. Take a piece of paper and trace this tab including the corner. Trace both sides of the window sill. Some window sill designs will not have this tab and that is ok. We will be designing a window sill with the tab to help secure the window sill to the existing sill.
So you have the measurements of the length of the sill inside the window frame, the width of the existing window sill and the width of the casing or trim on the outside of the window. With your measurements you should be able to draw a picture of the new sill. It will look like an upside down T.
Determine how wide you would like your new sill to be. It is recommended you choose 8, 10 or 12 inches because wood comes in those widths and you will not have to do extra cutting. Count how many windows you plan on working on. When you go to the lumber yard they will help you with some of the cuts.
Go to the lumber yard or big hardware store like Home Depot or Lowes with your measurements. Choose boards that are the width that you would like your window sill to be. Take for example you want a 10 inch window sill. Look for wood that is 10 inches wide. It is not necessary to buy an expensive cut of wood. Pine will do nicely but be cure the board is straight. Look at one end of the board and bring it up to your eye. Look down the board. Is it straight or warped?
If you choose the lumber yard will make one cut on the board. They will cut the final length you need. Choose a piece of wood you will be able to cut and get multiple sills from to cut expense. Now that the board is cut and you have your pieces you will need a jig saw. Take the piece of paper you traced the tab on and retrace it onto both ends of the board. Double check your measurements before you make any cuts! If you have doubts cut a wee bit larger. It is easier to shave off some wood instead of having to get another board.
Now, using the jig saw cut out the tab. It will be an L shape. Take the wood and see how well it fits and adjust as needed. So of course it fits perfectly the first time! If not don’t despair. Just trim it off till it fits. A tight fit is better than a loose fit. Place inside the window frame and look at your work. If it is acceptable then take the window sill outside and paint with primer and dry. Then paint two coats of the desired window sill color on both sides of the board. It is usually preferable to use the same color as the window. You might want to coat with a couple coatings of sealer especially if you have pets. Their nails can do a number and scratch paint jobs. The new sill can also be covered with aluminum sheeting to protect the wood and then painted.
Once fully painted and dried, place the new sill and with small nails nail it into the window frame being very careful not to break any glass. You may want to make a pilot hole first and then put the nail into the pilot hole. Paint a dot over the nail and fill with wood filler if needed.
Now you have a wider window sill that can hold plants more safely and will create a space for a small pet like a cat or small dog. My dachshund loves to put his paws on the window sill while sitting on the top of a wing backed chair and watch out the window.
