How to Fix Damaged Interior Window Trim

Oh the joy of dog ownership!
We let our dogs on the couch.  They like to lay with us when we are on the couch, one also sleeps on the couch.  Besides the major downside of the couch getting worn and stained over time, the dogs also like to perch on the back of the couch like cats and watch cars and people/other dogs walking by.  When they are particularly excited, like when they see Daddy walking home from the train, they paw at the window frame.

This is what the interior of our front window looked like:

Chewy

We left the windows un-repaired for some time for a couple of reasons.  We were waiting for Lucky to get old enough to not have accidents before we got a new couch; one that wouldn't allow them to perch by the window.  The other reason was that we couldn't locate the matching trim.  We brought pictures to Home Depot who said to call Andersen Windows but they couldn't help.  We did have a referral of someone who said they'd either find it or custom make it, and fix the window, all for $100, but we thought it'd just get destroyed again and be another $100 out the window (ha).

The big break was finding it on HomeDepot.com.  It wasn't carried in our local store but at another one not too far.

The process was pretty simple:

First, trim around the old apron with a box cutter.  There's likely tape around the edges and if you pry off the old apron it'll rip off a nice chunk of paint and maybe dry-wall.

Note that when you pry off the drywall with a hammer, use a thin board so that you don't damage the drywall.

Second, remove the old stool.  I again delicately trimmed around the edges with a box cutter.  Then I banged the shit out of the stool with a hammer to separate it from the other pieces of the window frame.

Third, remove any remaining nails and sand around the edges to remove old built up paint.

Fourth, cut the new stool and attach.  We bought a 7' piece of 1x2 select pine and cut it down in both dimensions to match the old piece.  I used a few 2 1/2" 8D brads to attach and counter-sunk them.

Fifth, cut the new apron and attach.  You'll need to cut at a 45 degree angle.  I also used even smaller finishing nails to attach.  Since our trim patter was pretty curvy, it was hard to find good spots to hammer in a nail.

Lastly, fill in nail holes, dings with wood filler, sand and paint.

Final final step, hope you don't have to do this all again in a few months!

Don't even think about it!

Introducing Lucky

The newest addition to the family:

Lucky is a poodle / something mix.  We got him this weekend from the Little Shelter in Huntington, NY.  Pamela had randomly searched shelter websites and found her picture and description last week.  We made the +1 hour trip to Huntington on Saturday (St. Patrick's Day) to see him and fell in love.  We couldn't take him home that day due to their 24 hour waiting policy, so we drove back on Sunday with Akina to make sure the dogs would get along well together.

Lucky and one brother and three sisters were left at a different local shelter, who passed them along to the Little Shelter.  The employees at the Little Shelter said that they were told the mother was a poodle, and they guess by the marking that the father was a terrier or sorts.  They believe, given the paw size, that Lucky will be approximately 30 lbs fully grown, a perfect companion for Akina!

Lucky and Akina are having so much fun playing!  Lucky is still getting acclimated and can be intimidated by Akina's attempts to play, but he's a playful puppy and comes back for more.

Lucky is a lot like Pamela - all he wants to do is get/give love, snuggle, and sleep.