Doors and Windows - window frames dilemna

Due to years of neglect my windows are a real eyesore. The paint is peeling off and I need to repent. On one of the wood frames it actually looks it rotted out. Can I simply replace this with a another stud the same size or is there putty I can use that will allow me to paint over it?

You can re-do almost anything with wood, to a point. You could fill in and patch the rotted areas, but it would crumble away again and at a faster rate. You could cut out the old sill and replace it with another (it would be tough to duplicate that exact same shape though), but you would have a seam that would allow water to eventually exploit its weakness and lead to water infiltration. You could even wrap the rotted wood with aluminum. I hate to see rotted wood allowed to remain with a patch job, but for some it's the only solution they will consider given the price of replacing an entire window. I see this situation as a perfectly good excuse, I mean motivator, to replace the entire window. But you have choices.

There is hope for your window yet. Depending on how much rot you have you may be able to remove the exisiting rot and repair your window sill. You may want to check on a product called endrot. This product will repair and kill the spores that cause rot to happen. I have used this product a few times and have been very sucessful. You may also be able to replace the sill of the window with wood. Look at the site hammerzone.com for some very helpful instructions. Good Luck!