Idk I think they look good.

A little better tooling and clean up at the window to wall joint would help if it's still possible.

I think it looks good also. To match what you had the window would have to have been pulled in .

Looks good to me as well. I think trim would make it look muddled up.

No trim can be installed at this point, and your old windows don’t have trim anyhow. It’s a shame they weren’t set back like the originals...

I agree! The contractor said the wall wasn't thick enough.

I like them without the trim. Great color choice!

There are errors here that are going to cause you problems. First, it appears the “rain cap” was removed. Get that back. Second, with no recess, preventing water intrusion will be very tough. Is their a block inside that the window slides in front of? That would help. Most people don’t realize that the moulding above window is meant to direct water away from window. I would spray this with water and see what happens. Hope I am wrong. But while “restoring” a 1900 Victorian I researched this and realized these had value. So hope my experience helps you out.

I would agree with with Flo. The rain cap does not seem present or the flashings on the sides. If that is the case it is hard to correct with the windows stuccoed in.

My old neighbor put cedar trim boards around his windows . Had to go through the stucco to fasten them. PVC trim would work also . I don’t think adding trim will look with your style of home.

It would help to know the model of the window. Is it the E-Series?

It would also help to see a close up photo of the frame at the head and jamb.

I don't understand the comments about installation errors. Andersen residential windows have nailing fins on 4 sides. Aside from taping the fins to the sheathing, additional cap or jamb flashing is not required. And I can't think of a model that has a removable head fin or a reason it would have been removed for this project. Same for the jambs.

However, if casing trim were to be added, a flashing cap would be needed above it which I suspect would be prohibitively expensive and look even less authentic.

Series E

Thank you RES2. Yes, they are the E-series. I checked with the dealer and he felt they were installed correctly. Can you please explain what a flashing cap is and why it would need to be added? Is it possible to break the stucco surrounding the window and add trim and then restucco? Or would that compromise the waterproofing?

I don't understand why he couldn't install them recessed like they had been originally.

Outswing Casements were installed cpartist. And since they swing out if recessed they would never open to even 90 degrees.

jag1929 when a horizontal object interrupts a wall cladding, in order to prevent water entering the joint, it's necessary to add flashing to force water over the object and to drip free of the object. When that occurs at the head of a window its called a drip cap or a cap flashing.

You don't need a drip cap for your windows because there's one built into the nail-fin at the window head. (See the red nailing fin in the detail below) However, to verify that the nailing fins were not removed you should post close-up photos of the head and jambs.

I don't see any reason to add trim to these windows; it would be expensive and unattractive. I would ask the contractor to clean up the stucco around the openings and let it be. Very nice windows especially the sub-sills added to the bottom of the frames

As for the location of the windows in the openings, they only open to 60 degrees so I'm going to guess that the original windows were farther back and the frames were anchored to the structure. In this installation modern nailing fins were used so they were nailed to the face of the wall sheathing and stucco was added over them. (See detail below).

Conventional cap flashing at top of window trim.

Recessing the windows would have required a pressure treated sub-buck making the windows several inches smaller in width and height; extensive self-adhered flexible flashing; return of the stucco into the opening and a deeper custom built sloping sill. That kind of installation would probably have been prohibitively expensive.

The only mistake I see in the photos is what appears to be stucco butting up against the aluminum window frame. An exposed joint between dissimilar materials should have been raked and filled with sealant. Again, a close up photo would helpful.

As for the wall not being thick enough to recess the windows, if true, it was probably only by a small dimension that could probably have been accommodated but its pointless to speculate at this point.

The casement windows on my Spanish style house are recessed and they open out all the way just fine. Doing those bullnose/rounded corners in stucco is a pain in the butt, which is probably why the GC/builder chose the easy way and did everything flush. Your GC lowered the price of your house by erasing an original design feature ...

Sounds like the installer has never had to install anything to historical accuracy. I'm sorry your windows look like this now. I hope you kept the historical wood windows so that future owners can restore them.

Thanks again everyone! @res2architect, my GC said the wall was approx. 4 1/4" thick overall but the 2x4s were 3.5". Does that sound too narrow to accommodate an E-series outswing casement and still recess them? He also said he couldn't recess them without the risk of water intrusion. He said all new windows are installed flush for that reason. Is it impossible, or just difficult/expensive?

@chispa, were your recessed windows newly installed? Our contractor keeps saying the rough opening would accommodate an inswing or double hung, but not outswing due to wall thickness. We are very unhappy with how they look! :(

Recessing the windows would probably have required modifying the Series E frames which would have been quite expensive. Adding a sub-buck, flashing, a deep synthetic/composite sill and returning the stucco into the opening would have been extremely expensive.

@res2architect, thanks again for sharing your expertise!

As an owner of a stucco home as well in addition to missing drip cap, it does not look like they have added proper spacing between window and stucco as well.

If you have 2/4 stud walls with just a standard coat of stucco I agree with your contractor, no good/ easy/ reasonably priced way to recess the windows. I live in a historic district where we are required to recess windows in stucco so you always have to frame with 2/6’s then frame the opening smaller with 2/4’s so the windows can be recessed.

@HALLETT & Co. Thank you! If I ever do this again, now I'll now to what to ask for! :)

This makes me so sad. I am sure you have invested a ton of time and money and to be unhappy is a shame. Your GC is probably uneasy too. I would water test those windows because this is time before any more money goes to the GC. I am praying the basic design of this package works. Otherwise, big problem. I defer to the experts above but around here that would worry me a lot. We are in hurricane country so I am very sensitive to driving rain and what it can do. Good luck and hope you can figure out something good.

@jag1929, my recessed windows were installed when the house was built 20 years ago. I actually hate bullnose in stucco ... but would never remove it from an older Spanish style house. I'm sorry this happened to you.

Maybe a suggestion for other readers with similar remodeling updates, it might be a good idea to hire an interior designer or architect, with experience in older homes, to draw up specs and sketches for a proper period appropriate window installation. Your GC would then have bid the job based on those specs and sketches.

What is that sage green color number and paint brand

2x4 walls are too shallow to recess for most wood windows with jambs. 2x6 are a challenge for some also. Appears they are flashed correctly.

For trim, consider precast. These are Anderson 400s below with precast, recessed in 2x8 walls

Old Sierra Oaks · More Info

Hi. I'm no expert (very far from it lol), but in dealing with a situation similar to yours, I came across this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUXKXJScyYQ This person added the trim afterwards (on top of the stucco). Doing that might make you feel better about your windows. Good luck going forward. Please let us know what you decided to do. Depending on the shape of the trim you choose, if you try this, you might be able to get close to the look of the window trim in the picture shared by Jeffrey above even though not actually recessed.

Also, regarding stuccoing directly to the window without a casing bead, according to the Stucco Manufacturing Association (SMA), you should only do that if certain criteria are met (and there's a lot of criteria). See page 1 of 4 in this pdf: https://stuccomfgassoc.com/staging/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/SMA_Nail-Flange-Flashing.pdf It was a shock to me to find out that mulled windows are not supposed to have the stucco abut the window. Hope this is more helpful to you than it is scary.