Replies

1. 
   JohnCujie | Feb 03, 2009 10:31pm | #1

   Maybe not. Show us a picture.

   John

2. 
   rnsykes | Feb 04, 2009 12:59am | #2

   I'm not a window/siding guy, so I haven't seen it all. But I have installed probably just under a hundred vinyl replacement windows. I always try to do them from the outside and install them against the interior stops and sill. That was I don't have to damage any interior wall finishes(especially plaster). I'm not sure that I've ever seen one that actually sits on top of the sill. You'll most likely have to remove every other piece of trim before the sill though.

3. 
   calvin | Feb 04, 2009 01:18am | #3

   Melissa,

   Is there enough bottom on that replacement window that you could place a new sill on top of the old?  Or perhaps rough cut (hack) the old one off leaving just a half inch or so at the base of the  window frame-then rabbit the edge of the new sill and set that on top of the old.  You'd only be going above the old by about a qtr or 3/8's.  Taller apron under the sill and none of the old would show.

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4. 
   3kings | Feb 04, 2009 05:28am | #4

   we have done tons of replacement windows and all of them sit out side of the sill and interior trim so replacing any thing on the inside is pretty easy it is also a good time to insulate the wight bays if that has not already been done. the one thing is the sill often goes in first so the old one may have to come out last in the demo phase
   Noah

5. 
   Jebadia | Feb 04, 2009 09:35am | #5

   First off don't use vinyl replacements. They are cheap but that is what you are paying for. Wood clad windows are much better. I have never had to replace a sill if the window is measured right. Then again its hard saying without knowing the particulars. Good luck with the project it is fun.

   Jeb

6. 
   MattSwanger | Feb 04, 2009 02:16pm | #6

   by the sounds of it you already have the windows installed that you want and they are remaining there,  its the moulding/trim that you want to facelift. 

   9 times out of ten the replacements are installed from the outside and a telltale sign of this is aluminum cladding on the exterior trim (not the window unit itself).  If this is the case and its the interior trim you want to replace the window is pushed tight to the interior stops and sill and screwed in place so the sill can be removed,  its usually nailed well and through the bottoms of your side casings, as well as through your apron underneath the sill. 

   if you can see underneath the window itself then yes its sitting on the sill and pulling it out usually requires no more then predrilling some 3" screws into the face and "jerking" it out with a flat bar (for lack of a better term only 1 cup of coffee down).  

    

    

   Woods favorite carpenter

    

7. 
   YesMaam27577 | Feb 04, 2009 03:17pm | #7

   Pull off the inside stops, then all of the casing. Pull the apron if there is one.

   At this point, you should be able to get the stool (the "interior sill") to come loose.

   Replace the stool before you install the replacement window.

   Politics is the antithesis of problem solving.
1. 
   MelissaC | Feb 04, 2009 09:05pm | #8

   Thanks, everyone--

   It sounds like it's definitely worth it to start cutting away caulk, etc and see what I've got--I was nervous about starting in for fear I'd end up with a big hole in my house in February.

   Melissa