There is no way I would have the builder reinstall the windows, especially since they are already flashed. The Andersen 400s I've seen have an integral vinyl flange to the cladding. To tear off the flashing and pry up the flange would leave a mangled mess, and probably leave you worse off than before. The merits of the caulking are debateable with proper flashing. I would sleep just fine at night knowing the windows are flashed properly.

Yep!!! I absolutely hated our trim and doors (didn't see our stained cabinets before they were completed) before they put on the sealer, but now love them. They are maple and I was aware that maple doesn't take stain as well as other woods, but I wasn't expecting them to look so blotchy and terrible. We did ask him to use a wood enhanser on the areas he hadn't done yet. Once completed, I loved them, but was very concerned midway. Again, it was with maple, not cherry, but know what you are going through. Maybe you could have him put the sealant on some of it or do some more test boards.

Hi Kathy, My house was built in 1897. I am assuming the windows are the original windows. Next to the top sashes, I can see the pulley mechanism for all of the windows, except the ones that apparently now have tracks. Thanks for responding to my post. I took a look at all of my windows again and I see that I was confused about some things. :-) I realize now that the windows where I don't see the pulleys must have been fixed up like you said your dh did yours: the pulleys taken out and replaced with tracks. I got mixed up because our bedroom has four windows, and three of them have these tracks and one has the pulleys. I would have thought the previous owner would have replaced them 'en masse', which is why I assumed the tracks were some type of cover simply coverig up the pulley space at the top of the pulley. I did find a This Old House video about how to plug the hole where the rope meets pulley with a small strip of rubber carpet padding. At least I can stop the wind from blowing through it, and remove the piece when I want to open the window. :-) Here's a link to that video; the plugging part is at the end: http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/video/0,,20051453,00.html Kathy, you wrote that your old windows have a piece of wood covering the pulleys. Does the wood run all the way from the top of the window to cover the pulley mechanism completely? Thanks! la_koala

Sink cutouts and a couple of other small remnants went to Columbia Gorge Stoneworks so they could make wall plates for us: Most of the big pieces got used for our fireplace surround: But there wasn't a big enough piece to do the hearth extension so we bought a small black slab for that (and I think the black hearth looks better than doing it all with the Azul do Mar quartzite would). But now we have just as much left over black stone as the quartzite remnants that we used for the surround. We still have the rangetop cut out which might become a vanity counter for our powder room.