You need proper waterproofing done to the underside of all the tiled surfaces in the shower. As the window sill goes, remove the sill and use a marble sill, etc but the underside of it still needs proper waterproofing.

We would like to leave the wood sill intact. The surround has been waterproofed with kerdi board, the folks who tiled the sill just didnt do a very good job hence the issues

Amanda, I would like to have lots of things but it's not happening :-)

There is no place for wood in the shower... moisture/water and wood is a bad combination, it will always be an issue down the road even painted, it doesn't take much for water to find a place to enter, and before you know you will end up with mold, etc, especially knowing that the workers didn't do a good job from the get-go.

Spend $100 more and get everything done the right way and you will save yourself lots of $$$ and headaches down the road.

GN could you briefly state what you would propose as a "right way" to do it. I have the same problem but not liking the suggestion I keep getting which is to replace the wood with a vinyl window. Which sounds to me like just as much of a maintenance nightmare, with soap, hard water deposits and crud getting stuck into all the groves and channels. Yuck! Youd think window manufacturers would have invented a window for inside of showers by now.

While I do appreciate the ”right way” feedback, my home is over 100 years old and that millwork will not be coming out. Any other suggestions as to tiling, epoxy, etc would be great. Thanks!

Please post a photo of your window.

That helps. Jambs, casing and sill all need to be replaced. Properly waterproofed and replaced with vinyl or tile/stone . Sill I'd do with solid surface. Sorry, but have worked in historical homes for many decades and sometimes alterations have to be made for longevity, and if done correctly, it can look just as vintage as your home.

For context, when we removed the old tile we realized they poorly attempted to tile over years of paint which in this case sort of helped because when the wood dried it wasnt rotted. (posted picture was immediatey after tile removal). Does the wood not being rotted make a difference? 🥴 We were hoping to put down cement board and go from there….

Jeremy, do you have a moment to explain properly water proofing?

Amanda here is an example of how to properly water seal a window in the shower, as the sill goes you can use Corian (in the picture), marble, or granite sill, just stay away from wood.

Can you use something like corian and have it milled to look like wood?

Yes, Corian has a few woodgrain colors I believe it's called NUwood and it can be routered to make a nice decorative edge.

I understand the attachment to beautiful old woodwork. But this 100-year-old house did not have a shower there when that window was installed. If you want modern plumbing conveniences, you need to make appropriate changes to all of the surrounding elements. If you really want to keep the wood window, consider returning to a clawfoot tub with a retrofit goose-neck shower and shower curtains that completely wrap the tub, so water is not hitting that window.

The reason for keeping the millwork is to avoid gutting the shower as well as keeping it. It is our only bathroom so keeping it functional is imperitive. If it were the ideal situation we would gut it and start over and do it correctly however right now that is not a feasible option. I was hoping for a work around for the time being until gutting it can become an option. Thanks!

FWIW, we had a tub w/shower once that had epoxy paint over plaste r & lathwall that held up surprisingly well over a period of 5 or 6 yrs. It did require monitoring of the paint and caulk and touching these up at the first sign of trouble. Drying surfaces with a towel and keeping room ventilated helped too I'm sure. The vertical surfaces (walls) were fine, it was where vertical wall met horizontal tub flange where dampness would collect and cause trouble. Similarly you have that flat sill that could cause a problem, even with tile on top. Is there anyway you could replace the sill with something slanted (or add a slanted layer on top) that would drain water away from that joint - like an exterior window sill does. Use Abatron (epoxy wood repair) to fix the broken wood. Someone else will have to advise re paint, there may be something better than epoxy

duplicate thread

I had similar looking old wooden window trim and window in my bath/shower and my contractor suggested replacing them with a smaller window higher on the wall where they would not get as wet, but I liked the light and so we compromised and installed PVC windows with privacy glass and waterproofed them well. Durock was put on the header, jams and sill and then waterproofed with tape and Hydroban. The small gap between the Durock and the PVC window frame was filled with Hydroban and then taped and more Hydroban applied. Then manufactured stone was used on the header, jams and sill and all changes of plane had silicone caulking applied. .

To do the minimum you should still remove all the rotten wood. Then maybe you can replace it with PVC trim and caulk really well.

You're already past the need to gut all of that and start over. It’s gonna be bad behind the wall. I’m surprised you can’t smell it.