Sealing Around Window Frames

[kalmap]

Hi,

Our windows have sealant around them and it appears to be showing its age with a number of gaps or areas with no sealant at all like the attached photos.

Is there any danger in me taking this sealant out and fully resealing around the frame? Any mistakes to avoid? I don't have any visible damp issues but I guess these seals can't be doing much good...

I was planning on just using builders grade silicone sealant?

I spent 2 weeks last year, doing this very job @kalmap.
Getting the old sealant out is the time consuming bit but it was well worth it as the windows look like new when I'd finished.
Avoid getting sealant on the bricks if you can as it won't clean off easily from them.
I used a crazy amount of antibacterial cleaning wipes to keep me and the equipment clean as I went along.
Google UPVC quadrant trim and use this along the join between the windowsill and the window (on your 1st photo).
It's cheap as chips (2.5metres for £3.29 from Wickes) and gives a really professional finish.
Don't cut the hole on the nozzle of your sealant too large.
You have more time than you think to smooth out the sealant so take your time to get a good finish.
Good luck.

Thanks a lot @Wingedharpy, really helpful. How does the upvc quadrant trim attach, does it need a glue? Did you bother with masking tape to avoid getting it on the brickwork?

We had 11 windows replaced last year and I amused myself talking to fitters over many cups of builders tea with 2 sugars and learnt the following

1 - When fitters mastic the frames into walls they run the line of mastic along the joint and then rather quaintly spit on a finger (of theirs) and run it down the newly applied mastic pushing it into the joint. They then quickly cleaned the surplus off said digit with kitchen paper, so they did not need wipes.
2 - Winged-harpy makes mention of the gap between the bottom of the window pane and the top of the windowsill. When I questioned this gap on our new windows with the fitters I was assured this was normal and was a run off route for any moisture that gets into the frame passing between the glass of the windows and the rubber gaskets. I therefore still have the gaps and they do not leak drafts etc.
3 - Window mastic is sticky stuff. I have played with it in the past and what it touches it sticks to, I.e. skin, hair, clothing and cats. The only exception I know of is ringing wet cloth or a wet finger.

Good luck

Yes, glue required for the UPVC quadrant.
I did use masking tape along the brickwork side of the vertical joints but didn't find it very helpful to be honest.
For me, the issue was that you need to get the masking tape off fairly smartish before the sealant starts to set and faffing about with sealant coated masking tape was messier than if I'd not bothered.
I also found that kitchen roll wasn't satisfactory for cleaning fingers after smoothing as, as Grumpy says, the sealant sticks to it and makes for more work picking bits of kitchen roll off your hands.
Hence, the antibac cleaning wipes.
Clearly, I'm just an amateur!
Don't know if this is true or not but, I watched a YouTube clip by some chap demonstrating how to apply sealant via a gun and he said that using spit on your finger to smooth, wasn't a good idea as it can encourage bacterial growth on the sealant.
His recommendation was a couple of drops of washing up liquid in water rather than spit.
I found the wipes served the same purpose as they're wet and I could use the finger cleaning one to clean the nozzle of the sealant after each application.
I also tried using one of the many silicone profiling tools (just a shaped piece of plastic really) that you can get for smoothing off but found that they don't help if one side of the join is against an unsmooth surface e.g.. brick!