I just got done reading your dilema and wish to offer what I can. As a carpenter taught and trained by my father, I share your disappointment in what has occurred--there are very few crafstmen left and hundreds of parties who call themselves a carpenter because they claim to know which end of a hammer to hold. I suggest the following: 1) Take your own detailed phots of the damage as future evidence in case you end up in court over the matter later. Photograph the poor workmanship presently completed, the good work you were satisfied in the past, and any work that remains untouched from original installations. Remember, your photos will be reviewed by a judge who has not seen your home, so be sure to review them honestly regarding the detail they provide. 2) I would refuse any further attempts at this contractor to correct the problem. Their carelessness has already brought you to this juncture--no point in exacerbating the matter "hoping" that it will somehow get better. 3) Seek out the assistance of a good restoration carpenter/contractor. This can likely be resolved by going to the yellow pages or similar directory for assistance. Going to the carpenters union may also be a good solution, but if they tell you just about anyone can do the work, get out fast. I think you got really lucky with the first carpenter and, if you think the contractor you used can get you back to him, you might try that also. When you think you've found someone you can trust, demand references and/or a portfolio of completed projects to assure youself your confidence is properly placed--this type of work is tedious and demanding--anyone worth their snuff is going to be documenting their work for future customers to build confidence they can handle the project. 4) Once you have found the contractor you like and feel you can trust, let them give an estimate on repairs and bring that to the contractor you first used. You will likely get the cold shoulder, which will make point #1 all that more important. 5) Let the new contractor make the repairs, but insist on watching them for the first window if you wish to be sure they will meet your standards. A respectable contractor will not be offended by this and is even proud to demonstrate the cautious behavior required in dealing with such work. They will also have access to suppliers for replacement mouldings if the need develops. I caution you that it will only be through your own dillegence that the matter is corrected to your satisfaction--it may take 3-6 months of hard searching to locate the person to go to for the repairs--but I assure you it will be worth it. Good Luck. Bruce L

creekylis-I was in the same conundrum as you and couldn't find pics for the life of me. It was so hard to picture how it would look but I took the chance and I am happy that I did. I went from a very dark kitchen and everything in my house is dark stained wood and there is a LOT of it! The PO was a finish carpenter(carpentress) and it shows. I love stained wood but enough was enough. These pics are of the only item besides the fireplace that is original to the room. My DH would not let me swap out the windows and therefore the conundrum was created. Please ignore the two different tiles on the ledge-our reno is still incomplete. The large bow window replaced a slightly smaller one that literally took a hit in the demo and had to be replaced(i should have told my GC, who is my DB to have another accident over in the corner windows, too :I am happy the way it turned out in the end, but alot of angst over this decision. Good luck on making yours. Unfortunately the pics at photobucket are much darker than on my monitor and maybe if i e-mailed them direct to you it would show better? If you'd like send me your e-mail and I can do that for you. HTH Here is a link that might be useful: Painted Wood Trim w/stained windows

I think that these idiots are just plain not capable of fixing anything to your satisfation. Though they should fix it, and they should be responsible for it, I have my doubts. No matter how much you squeeze, you can't get blood from a stone, and you can't get good work out of people who don't know how to do it. You might be able to get money out of them, and if so, the easiest way to fix it is to have a good lumberyard or finish carpentry contractor/shop rout you new molding to perfectly match the profile of the old. The wood would be new (unless you had old wood to give them, or they could locate some, which is possible), but you could experiment (on scraps of the same wood) with stains and finishes to get it to look close to the original. If you're fixing it yourself, then you should look carefully to see if you can find pieces in lumberyards to put together to match your old woodwork. I've lived in places from the late 19'th C. to the mid-20th C., and in each place, the moldings were either built from pieces that are still around, or simpler 1-piece moldings are literally still for sale in the more upscale local lumberyards. A good lumberyard should be able to get you the pieces in pine, maple, red oak, or occasionally cherry. This is something that most homeowners don't know about, but can save you tons of money when restoring your old woodwork. To fix your old wood without replacing it, you can fill the problem areas with putty and dab stain & finish (probably shellac?) on top with a paint brush and sand it flush with very fine-grained (220 or higher number) sandpaper (draw in the grain lines with a pencil). I've also seen colored hard wax burn-in sticks that you melt with a soldering iron, mix to the right shade, then fill holes and dents with. I think you can buy it from Van Dykes Restorer's catalog. I saw a guy do it once and I couldn't see the repairs, honest. Or you could cut some patches out of wood (especially if you have some old wood around that might match well), cut out really bad sections of your damaged molding, and glue the new wood in place. The patch would show, but you can sand it down flush with the old molding, and it could look OK anyway. Good luck!

You should absolutely do the first option (4 lite in both the door and gable window). The front door is the most important statement piece on the exterior of your house, and while it the difference between a 4-lite and 9-lite doesn't seem huge on paper, in person the 4-lite will be draw praise from everyone that walks through it. It's a striking and interesting look that also coordinates with the other windows on the house, not because the lite sizes are similar, but because colonial (or equally divided lites).