Hello again Snoonyb, I had a door company come out to give an estimate on finishing the job just to see what it would cost should it start raining (it's hard to get help to life that thing during the week). Since they charge for the service call, they were also able to see exactly what I was working with and give advice on the amount of work left, and confirmed two things: 1) The concrete is not level and will need to be raised a bit 2) The gap on the sides only leaves about 1/4"-3/8" at most. If the door cannot be squared in that little space (it's hitting the trimmer in certain spots), the space will need to be widened a bit. I'm going to give it one more shot of just shimming the sill to try to level it as a test to see if it can be squared, but if that doesn't work, I'll need to widen it a bit. Once widened, I'd have to add the 4" tiles you suggested and get the whole surface level. I'm hoping I can remove a trimmer on one side and replace it with this http://www.strongtie.com/products/connectors/HH.asp, and cut the stucco back to accommodate the extra 1.5". How does that sound? I can take a picture of all 4 gaps if you're curious how much room I have. It's really hard to get pictures of it though since the lighting can be misleading. This post was edited by shaklee3 on Tue, Feb 11, 14 at 22:17

WindowDog, You're absolutely right. I do tend to over think things and explore every option before starting a project. Since I don't know much about windows, I'm trying to avoid making a mistake. It drives my husband crazy. He thinks we should leave the old window in and just proceed with tiling the shower which includes tiling around the window. If I understand correctly, what you're suggesting is to order a window with a block frame rather than a fin. The low expansion foam with reseal the window and re-stuccoing won't be necessary? It sounds like a good plan. We'll discuss this with the guy who will be dong the install and let him deal with it as you suggested. Thank you. Windowswashington, Thank you for your suggestion. We did consider the retrofit windows but our windows (especially this one) are too small for this option to work for us. We would lose too much glass. We plan to replace this window with one that is about six inches taller.

Once again,I'm not sure if i understand exactly how the windows are set. I have a feeling the best way now might be far different to the right way for new construction. Butyl or urathane sealant along with some new stucco and trim keep's coming to mind as a possibile solution. Flashing tape do'es a good job when used in combination with house wrap during construction. I'd think there would be lots of if ands & buts dependent on how much siding was removed to use tape during remodel work. Sound's goofy but understanding how cedar wood shake/shingle roofs shed water serve's well for any siding installation. Just keep in mind that starting at top of a wall,as water run's down,as it run's off one element it should run onto outside surface of the one below. Leaving joint between underside of upper element and exterior side of lower element not only alow's water to exit should it make it's way to underside,it alow's air circulation that help's dry out. IMO,a watertight head flashing is 90% of the battle. It is for that reason that I would leave origional head flash in place if it were possible to work the wider head flash under old one. I realize my comments don't answer your question but in combination with what you know and find out through other sources may be of some value in the end.

For the wood siding, we will add furring strips that will attach to the concrete wall., so that is not an issue. The carpenter will also trim out those windows where the siding will be. The question is specifically for around window on the right, with the small frame. And specifically Whether I should leave it as is or build out a frame around it