I would make it match the rest of the house.

I love to caulk! (kind of goofy, I know). My favorite is the one annz mentioned, DAP Alex Plus tube looks like this. And ditto the good caulk gun. Splurge and spend about $12 on a contractor grade (Home Depot has them in orange, I think they are red at Lowe's). It makes all the difference. Softer grip, smooth squeeze application versus the hard uncomfortable grip, jerky movement of the couple dollar guns. Just be sure you're not filling large gaps (it will say on the tube the max size). I generally keep a big solo cup with me (those 10 oz + 'party' size), a little bit of water in it. And a clean damp, but not dripping lint free rag. Rarely use any smoothing tools, just light pressure with my finger (you can wear rubber gloves as long as they're snug). Keep dipping finger or smoothing tool in water, shake drips off, and it helps. Then any excess caulk on my finger after smoothing I just wipe on the rim of the cup. Sometimes it fall down in the cup, if I get too many blobs in the cup I start with a fresh one. It's tempting to use harder pressure, but all that does is just squish it out on the sides, then you have a funky raised edge. Light 'n smooth. ;) Oh, and little drops will happen (maybe onto the floor). Best thing to do is just let it dry and it pulls up on one solid piece. Try to wipe it when fresh and it will make a big mess. (To avoid blobs or caulk coming out gun when I'm done, I release the pressure on the gun about 3" or so from my end point. Caulk will still come out. The reason it seems like your bath caulk never cured is because it's all silicone (rubbery texture when dry). I don't like working with that stuff, it's a gooey mess. But some areas, like kitchens and baths where water is involved, it's the better choice.

Thanks, homebound, for the quick response. I suppose I should rephrase the "pretty clueless" to make it better understood. I know how to do a lot of things around the house - have painted and caulked many times before. Have laid tile a couple of times in small bathrooms. I have cut trim to make shelves and small items. I have changed out lighting fixtures and other odds and ends, but those seem very simple. However, I've not taken on projects such as these that would be outside in the elements. I have confidence that I could replace these columns with new materials, until the idea that something might be behind the molding that I don't know how to handle, and I don't know how that top "header" piece would come out. Also, I don't know that I really like the look of all that detail that's on there right now, in addition to the problems that come with all of the pieces patched together. I found some pieces of molding online (the long pieces added together are sold as full pilasters preformed out of polyurethane on some websites, so I wouldn't have to patch it together) but I wasn't planning on spending that much for them. I thought the cedar planks might be a much cheaper option. A handyman quoted us a price of around $400 to replace the pieces, but that seemed high also! I guess I can go back to the drawing board and come up with a better solution. I don't think leaving some of the pieces is going to work because 1) The piece right above the door will probably be destroyed when the storm door is replaced because it is sitting on top of the screws, and 2) Some of the wood is soft to the touch and is especially bad in the top "header" board. That is the main reason to replace (along with the fact that it looks really bad). Thanks again, and if you have any other ideas I'd love to hear 'em. -ll

I've never seen a contract so specific as to stipulate whether it was the door trim or countertop that would be notched, so frankly, I don't think you have legitimate grounds to ask for a redo. Your countertop installers took a lot of time and trouble to notch your quartz around your door trim. If they did a good job, then there's nothing wrong with what they did, and you can bet that the person who did the work is feeling pretty proud of himself for having done it well. Being married to the kind of guy who does work like this, I can tell you he'd be plenty hurt and angry if you were to ask for a redo, done the easy (in his book, wrong) way. Let it go -- And try to appreciate that your installers put forth this much effort to do a superior job.