Waterproofing a wood window frame in a shower?

Question

I have a duplex which has windows in the shower on each floor. I am concerned that the wooden window frames will rot or accumulate mold. What can I do to prevent this from happening?

Marty Gordon · Answer

I have done this many times.  You definitely want to remove all wood trim/mouldings in the shower and cover the remaining structural parts with a KERDI membrane like what Home depot sells.  Then you can tile over top of the membrane.  grout, and caulk the seams.

Account Closed · Answer

They actually are vinyl replacements luckily.

Account Closed · Answer

Yes you are correct, IN the shower stall itself. That sounds like a good idea though with a second curtain.

Tom Sutherland · Answer

Tear of the casing. Apply this. http://www.homedepot.com/p/Custom-Building-Product...

Then tile over both the jamb and casing area.

Tom Sutherland · Answer

Also apply the paint on rubber membrane before putting any tile or coriander.

Jim Adrian · Answer

How high is the window off the floor? If you have a shoulder high window its easier to get away with painting it as long as water doesn't sit on the window sill.   Pictures would help.

I have a window that starts waist high and collects water.  I have done the trick of scrapping a painting with marine grade paint from mendards and after 2 years you have to repeat this process.  Getting the wood trim out of the shower is the best.  Corian or tile is the best way.  If you have a deep sill, make sure you can slope the sill to get water off it.   This is a maintenance time you should check every 6 months and expect to replace every few years. The shower curtain trick works as well but I refused to do this when I lived there because I hated the look of it.

Brian Pulaski · Answer

Keep in mind, most vinyl replacement windows are installed within the original wood window frame. The window won't rot, the wood frame it is mounted within possibly could. Is the concern about the window trim (remove and replace with PVC or the like) or is the old wood window frame, in which the vinyl window is secured in. In that case, trying to remove this and replace with rot resistant material would be fairly involved. You could try a boaters trick. Sand/scrape the wood frame down to bare wood. Clean and soak it with epoxy. Multiple coats to seal the wood. Then go over the top with a high quality paint suitable for wet conditions. It's not guarantee, however it is how I would do it (boater who has done plenty of epoxy/varnish work to wood that will get wet).

Tanya F. · Answer

Great that they're vinyl.  Corian trim looks nice but can be a bit expensive (we found our corian scraps on craigslist).  Are your shower walls tile?  Corian? Other?

You could also use Azek trim that's designed for exterior trim. Made of PVC I think, and it looks like wood when painted.

Tanya F. · Answer

Shower curtain over the wood window is a good idea, but is a short term solution. The wood might still rot anyway.

For a long term solution in our shower, we tore out the wood trim and replaced it with Corian.  No worries.  Are the window sashes wood, too? You might switch to a vinyl replacement window.  We replaced ours with glass block.

Waterproofing a wood window frame in a shower?

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