Thought I would bump this back up and finish the story. Simonton finally sent a guy out to replace the window today, no charge. I called the dealer, who called Simonton. Simonton said they would handle it directly. Weeks passed, no word. I called the dealer again and he said he would call Simonton again. After he did that, their designated contractor called to arrange installation. He came out this morning, popped out the glass unit and replaced it with another. Mine was a Simonton 5500 series. The contractor said that the less expensive series do not include labor in their warranty. I asked how many of these fail. He said that within the 20 years he's been doing it, about 500-600 have needed to be replaced. I guess that's not too bad. So, the test will be the performance of this window. Hope I don't get unlucky twice. Despite having to nudge them twice, I am satisfied with their service.

I agree with Windows on Washington. Putting brand new windows in and leaving the old coil and caulk is a little like buying a brand new car and using the tires off the old car. If you don't feel comfortable doing the capping, you can contact a company that does siding and get a price from them. It usually runs somewhere between $50 and $100 per window depending on size and complexity but would be worth it IMO.

Mary, Are you referring to window restoration or just sealing up some existing windows? The two are going to be very different type professionals. If it it just sealing up some exterior trim on windows, a decent painter can do that. If its window restoration, that is a different ball of wax. Window restoration is a very niché marketplace. The best thing to do is start with a Google area search near your home and especially in those areas that are more heavily concentrated in older homes. Next would be to ask around any of the historic districts that are in your area and see who they might have a list for. Hope this helps.

Take the new sash to a autobody shop have the French Vanilla paint computer color matched and the sash painted is about the only thing I could think of.