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

I opened up the sash balance mechanism by grinding the staked keepers that hold the cover in place. Then inserting a putty knife into the housing (had to bend the end cover up for access) and over the spools (to protect them), then a flat screwdriver on top of that knife and turning it to pry the cover free. Not much pressure is required, if you have ground enough of the staking away. I was then able to replace the broken cord with some nylon masons line. I wound the new line around the drum and used it to rewind the spring, repeating until it looked like the other one that was not broken. I then used a small c-clamp to keep it wound and proceeded to place the correct number of wraps of lines on the drum to duplicate the unbroken one (total of 3 ½ turns). Then threaded the line out through the hole in the housing and through the plastic pellet and tied a big knot in it. Then released the c-clamp, while holding the spool with my thumb, and slowly allowing the tension to pull the plastic pellet into place against the housing hole. (I wore work gloves during the rewinding operation so I could safely hold the spool with my thumb when needing to do subsequent rewinding on it. From past experience replacing tape measure tapes, I was careful to watch for and avoid the spring going ballistic on me. It never really threatened to though.) Then I replaced the cover so that the ground away posts were in the opening where they belonged and taped the cover on with USPS packaging tape. :) The cover isn't in danger of coming off since it's held in compression when in the installed position. I wish I had been able to find some heavier line but I think the masons line will likely last well enough. It's rated at 155-pound test. If it doesn't, there is a heavier masons line available that is 216-pound test that I'll replace it with. A tip getting that left side track back into place without breaking it or hurting yourself is to slather some liquid dish soap onto the window stud. It slid right into place easily after I resorted to that method. It also helps to file the sharp end of the spline on the back of the track so it doesn't gouge into the stud. It has taken me nearly as long to post this than to replace the broken sash cord line. I hope it helps someone like me who couldn't find any info on doing this and had to stumble through it. I like fixing things rather than tossing them, especially when it only needs a piece of string replaced. YMMV

There are many different balances for windows. You need to know exactly which mechanism your window has. If you know which window manufacturer you have, the rest is pretty easy. Do you know this? If not do the following: The first thing you need to do is to remove the broken balance. If you can do that, you can probably fix the window. If you can't figure out how to remove the broken balance, call someone to fix the unit. Once you have it out, do a search on the internet or the local Yellow Pages for window balances or replacement parts. Local sources will just need you to bring the broken one down to match it. With the internet, you will need to match a picture or speak to a rep at the company. Buy two at a time. You should replace both balances on the sash at the same time. Ron

OP here, sorry it was meant to read "big gap between the window and the wall." That part is now much better (last time he had some assistants who did some of the work), but the outside still looks ridiculous. I'm just trying to figure out if there is some technical reason that a double hung might frame out on the exterior differently than a casement window. The installer kept telling me that this was the case. If that's true, okay, I wish someone had told me in advance though.