Ramona, I completely agree with your desire to keep your old windows. That is by far the best, and often the most economical thing to do. Keeping your triple tracks for a fews years will help you identify the best solution. They are ugly but modestly effective as storms. And as the pp pointed out they can be painted to blend them in more. Many old houses had them installed in the last quarter of the 20th c as an energy saving tactic. Whether they actually do much is a debatable question, but they did, at least provide some life-prolonging protection for the primary sashes, and a platform for an all-season screen. (The latter is not to taken lightly. I often open my windows on warm winter days just to change the air. Without screens my indoor cats would escape, so it's handy having screens easily at hand just for that. I am in the process of rehabbing my windows, once I have got the wooden storms set-up, if I need to open a window in winter, I plan to use those small expandable screens to contain my critters.) The old-fashioned thing to do about storm windows is have wooden ones made and have wooden screen windows made, as well, to change out for the summer. Newer wood ones can found that allow you to pop out one section of the storm and exchange it for a screen panel during the summer. However, of course, in both these instances you would still have a wooden frame on the outside of your primary window. The invisible storm windows are often permanently mounted in exterior applications, though removable when installed inside. They are pricey, though, and as you note don't manage the screen issue. And the interior ones leave your primary windows exposed to the elements. You didn't say where you are located, but you may need to evaluate which need is more critical (tight storms or more flexible storm and screen arrangements) depending on your climate. Another good tactic to deal with the cost of wooden storms and screens is to do one elevation at a time to spread the cost, a bit. Sometimes one can find a local carpenter with experince to make wooden storms, and more importantly, fit them on site. Old houses are quite maddening, and few old houses still have perfectly square window openings (if they ever did), so whatever you do will require some skill to install. Use of triple tracks (particularly existing ones) as a transitional strategy when the long range plan is rehabbing the original windows and adding wooden storms/screens is certainly better, in my view than succumbing to the blandishments of the replacement window sales guy who will leave you without an essential feature of your house, with dubious energy savings and probably far-less long-lived materials, if not substantially altered window openings. They are, however, extremely annoying to clean. I curse those beastly tracks three times a year and they, in turn, get revenge by slicing my fingers. HTH, Molly~

Just pull the sashes; you need to do that anyway to put in the primary sash weatherstripping since you're planning on installing airtight storms. I don't know if you have pulleys (which complicate the process). You only have to take off one side of the interior jamb trim and a parting bead. Be patient and you can get the trim off with very little risk of breakage. Parting beads are a bit trickier because they smaller, but in some ways they are intended as sacrificial elements. I get about 75% out intact. You can see where someone prior to 1880 removed my original sashes and substituted the current two over twos. There are a few broken, but reinstalled, parting beads and little discrete prying marks on every window. Glazing on the flat, or on a slated easel, is so much easier than trying to do it in situ. You'd be able to get the compound out and replaced with a proper back bedding very easily. HTH, L.

It sounds like you are dealing with an all wood traditional double hung window with a metallic spring balance that had previously been fitted into the side jamb sash pocket. If so, the removal is often simple. Start by removing the interior sash stop with a thin putty knife by easing the wood out horizontally, from top to bottom and a little at a time. If the wood is painted, it helps to find the seam where the sash stop meats the jamb and score the paint vertically along this area. Next, remove the nails you found that secure the metallic spring balance housing on both sides of the inner sash pocket (the lower sash). The sash and metallic balances will slide inward together. The upper sash requires the removal of the center or middle sash stop. The removal of this piece can be tricky at times. The wood piece is traditionally set into a mortise or plow in the side jamb and is anchored physically only (i.e. no nails or glue). Due to the metallic liners, this traditional wood stop may also be covered by a piece of metal. Try to wiggle the stop from side to side (if painted, score both sides of the stop, where it meets the jamb). I haven't ever experienced one that has not come out, but some require extra effort. Once loosened, it may be tricky to slide it out of the plow and past the lower rail of the upper sash, but this can be done without cutting or breaking the stop; just be patient. Once this component is removed, the upper sash and metallic liners can be removed the same as the lower sash. I have not worked on this type of metal liner in a very long time, so please be patient if you find additional requirements necessary for sash removal. Also, please post your findings if other than described above.

Sounds like your referring to the jamb liners. Painting them is not a good idea. It's a compression jamb liner, so the sash is held in by the liners pressing against the sash, meaning they rub as the window is lifted and shut. If you paint, it will hinder operation, and wear off quickly. If the white is that bad, Andersen also makes a stone colored jamb liner. Might be easier to swap them out than change the color. The Andersen Woodwright double hung eliminated that jamb liner, and has all wood to the inside except for a small, narrow track for the sash. Much better looking. As for the unprimed pine, all of Andersen's wood is treated with a preservative, so it's protected. If your plan all along was to paint them an off white, the builder should have ordered clear pine interiors. It's easier to paint than a prefinished white interior.