NOW’S a good time to inspect your home’s windows for damage sustained during winter.

That way you can address any problems when the weather’s nice.

If you have wooden windows, easily remedied problems like cracks and chipped paint are common. Finding wet rot is a more serious situation because the damage has already been done. If you spot this, treat it straight away.

There are various methods for doing this. The following approach is probably the easiest for DIYers.

Start by scraping out the worst of the rotten (soft) wood – but proceed with care. If you remove too much, you could be left without much window frame.

When you’ve removed most of the rot, use a wood-hardening liquid on the rest.

Apply it on the area around where you’ve removed the rot then work it in well. This liquid, as the name suggests, makes soft wood hard again.

You could use the liquid alone and not scrape the rotten wood out, but obviously the liquid will penetrate better and work more effectively if you remove the top layers of rot first.

To restore the appearance of the window frame, use a wood filler specially designed for rotten frames. This usually requires you to mix hardener with the filler, which can be tricky, so read the instructions carefully before you do anything. You will need to work quickly before the hardener sets.

When the filler has set, sand, wipe clean and paint. It’s obviously important to apply the paint as soon as possible to give the frame maximum protection. A quick-drying, water-based wood paint is much nicer to use than an oil-based one and will ensure you have the job done in a fraction of the time. This really helps when you need to do a number of coats in one day.

From now on, remember to check your windows periodically so you can maintain them when they need it.