1)That could be a problem, or it could not. It would definitely need a more in-depth analysis. 2)Yes, that is correct--- although I have had to fight local inspectors on more than one occasion about the 9sf. 3) I do not know of any, this sounds like a custom carpentry job to me. 4) Are you trying to cut down on heat gain or take advantage of it for the colder months? That would dictate the type of glass package that would be best for you. A professional would be able to assess what would be most beneficial in this regard based on the unique circumstances of your home. 5) In my opinion a window specialist that also is knowledgeable and experienced in custom carpentry would be the best bet. Windows on Washington is a tremendous company, I would definitely consult with them to see if they would be a good fit.

Sophie - I disagree. I did not design this. I have no pretensions to being a designer and for many other aspects of the renovation we have indeed had formal plans drawn up. [I also know from experience that having an architect involved is far from a panacea .... but that's another story or stories]. For this room we knew we needed to replace the large leaky picture window and instead of replacing in kind we asked whether it would be possible and reasonable to build a window seat and what would be involved. We showed the contractor many pictures of window seats and shared the required dimension ranges (not exact dimensions) from various articles. He said a bay window would take care of it and no separate plans were required. I include the manufacturer's literature excerpt that says their Bay and Bow windows can be used as window seats. It seemed (and actually still seems) a reasonable solution. Projection Window Bay and Bow windows are like a piece of fine furniture for the façade of your home. These unique windows project from your home, creating additional space that can be used for a variety of purposes, such as a window seat or displaying meaningful trinkets. Our vinyl windows (typically double-hung or casement windows) are inserted into a solid frame to create this unique look that adds style to any home. Bay windows typically have three lites (one central fixed lite and two flanking operational lites) at 20-25-degree angles. Bow windows most commonly consist of four lites, all of which can be fixed or operational, set at 10-15 degree angles. The contractor asked us to describe what we wanted to the window vendor as well and we did. We never used the term bay window. We only talked in terms of window seat. The window vendor also did not dissuade us or suggest we needed an addition instead of a window. The window vendor spec'd the window we needed. Given that we have 8 foot ceilings - this would have been a really good place to catch that a 52" bay window wouldn't be long enough to provide a seat at a reasonable height off the floor. I think that's the key flaw here - plus someone's telling us that (unless I'm wrong) we weren't going to get the wood backing. Tomorrow should be interesting ...

He could have cut and fitted a skirt board at the stairs, wrapped it in aluminum, flashed it, put a continuous J channel at the top, and have the siding die into it on the angle. That would have taken more time and probably wasn't in his bid. It's not too late; siding unzips easily. Offer to pay for it. Your window detail is ugly, but I don't know how much better you're getting vinyl to look.

Hey There: Right now your window treatment doesn't show very much of your bay window...so we suggest you go with minimalistic pleated blinds - inside mount installation to each window. This way you show of the frame and molding of the windows. Furthermore, you will have the unique bottom up top down operation that provide privacy and light management. Check us out at www.PleatedBlindsStore.com or give us a call at 619.665.9446