Do you have any idea why the finish is failing, Brian? Our climate is extremely bland and mild and exposure to sun is limited due to the retro-ranchiness of the house (deep eaves, patios, etc.). My durability concerns are more how the patio doors would hold up to kids. Currently we have a metal patio slider that is still undinged and sliding well after 60+ years; I don't suppose I can expect that sort of performance from wood can I? :)

Dear Arlosmom, I spoke to my carpenter and I looked at my pulleys. My pulleys are smoothly rounded out, not grooved. Carpenter says he has never come across a grooved pulley and has still changed out cords to chains, as he did on mine. He says that sash cords are standard 3/8" and he replaced mine with 3/8" chain. If 3/8 is not available to you, you can go a little larger, but stay under 1/2". At 1/2" they are too fat to work well in the pulley. As far as how to attach chain to weight, there is a loop on the top of the weight. You don't need any special hardware. His method with mine was to put the chain through the loop and hook the chain back onto itself by opening up a link and hooking it back onto another link then closing the link back up. He said depending on size of your weight's loop, you might use a wire if the chain won't go through. He advised that you must see to it that your pulleys are working smoothly. If they are gunked up with paint, be sure to scrape them so that they function well and don't rub on any window parts, because a smooth-working pulley is key to smooth-working windows. Any other questions, feel free to ask! Best, FW

A few more pictures would be helpful. If the windows are Pella like the door there might be a service tech that could come out and look at them for repairs if possible. If they fall that means the sash balance needs to be replaced, as far as the gap more pictures would help in understanding the problem.

Looks like there is enough room to work. Use a scrap of lumber ( 1 x 2 ?) to hold the weight. Cut the rope, and duct tape it to the new rope and pull the new rope up over the wheel. Then tie off the new rope onto the weight.