Another picture. I can't seem to be able to post more than one at a time.

And yes, that is caulk slopped everywhere and it is warped on both ends.

This is the original hole in the trim. Don't know if this helps. What should I do, is there a better way to fix this? Thanks!

That's about the worst attempt at a repair I've seen in quite some time. He would have been more successful just putting duck tape on it. That window unit needs to be replaced. The vinyl extrusion is damaged and just putting a patch on it would not be acceptable repair to me.

I think some of those guys sleep on a bed made of coil stock!

I agree, the window needs to be replaced. Vinyl windows are very inexpensive to produce and there isn't any really good way to replace pieces of it (other than perhaps a sash replacement). The good news is, as mentioned above, they are cheap to produce and cheap to buy. The most expense will be in the tear out. It looks from the pictures as though it involves only the transom. Find a qualified contractor (discuss thoroughly how they will attempt to replace)and have it fixed right. Be prepared to share some expense with the seller as I am sure that the promise to have it fixed didn't stipulate to whose standards that fix was to satisfy.

"We bought this house with the understanding this was to be fixed. "

And the seller is going to give you the lowest cost 'repair' they can.

You should have asked for money and then done the repair to your own satisfaction.

I really doubt your contract says much of anything about the quality of the repair.

+1

Best way to fix it is pull that unit and set in a new one.

Shouldn't be too difficult.

If the homeowner had been timely in fixing it his insurance would have paid for it along with the new roof. Your right about asking for $$ but what is done is done. There is a personal item we are buying from the previous owner that we haven't paid him for so I do have that bargaining tool (I know all about the legalities but it is what it is).

And Eco, duct tape, that is more than true!! :) The homeowner has sent out a reliable window company to give a price on replacing the window and told me to get one to.

Wow. I've seen some bad stuff, but that about takes the prize. You cannot fix that. You have to have the window pulled, and a new frame put it.
Lesson learned, huh? Hope the rest of the house makes up for a little aggravation.

If the homeowner had been timely in fixing it his insurance would have paid for it along with the new roof. Your right about asking for $$ but what is done is done. There is a personal item we are buying from the previous owner that we haven't paid him for so I do have that bargaining tool (I know all about the legalities but it is what it is).

And Eco, duct tape, that is more than true!! :) The homeowner has sent out a reliable window company to give a price on replacing the window and told me to get one to.

Update: One window guy came out, never got back to me, second one says he can remove that middle transom, send to a factory, have them make a replacement with the same glass (several hundred dollars probably), and third guy (and the first guy) said no way to remove just that middle window, have to replace the whole thing, that the window is wrapped with a metal piece and screwed together so no way to access the window and remove it.

Last guy says he has been in business 35 years and the company he works for 30 years so knows windows. Says $3600 for a whole new alliance window (apparently the current window is certainteed and Alliance bought them). He also says he is really good with getting the insurance companies to pay up even though it is past the 12 month limit they put in their paperwork. I hope he is right!!

Update: One window guy came out, never got back to me, second one says he can remove that middle transom, send to a factory, have them make a replacement with the same glass (several hundred dollars probably), and third guy (and the first guy) said no way to remove just that middle window, have to replace the whole thing, that the window is wrapped with a metal piece and screwed together so no way to access the window and remove it.

Last guy says he has been in business 35 years and the company he works for 30 years so knows windows. Says $3600 for a whole new alliance window (apparently the current window is certainteed and Alliance bought them). He also says he is really good with getting the insurance companies to pay up even though it is past the 12 month limit they put in their paperwork. I hope he is right!!

Update: One window guy came out, never got back to me, second one says he can remove that middle transom, send to a factory, have them make a replacement with the same glass (several hundred dollars probably), and third guy (and the first guy) said no way to remove just that middle window, have to replace the whole thing, that the window is wrapped with a metal piece and screwed together so no way to access the window and remove it.

Last guy says he has been in business 35 years and the company he works for 30 years so knows windows. Says $3600 for a whole new alliance window (apparently the current window is certainteed and Alliance bought them). He also says he is really good with getting the insurance companies to pay up even though it is past the 12 month limit they put in their paperwork. I hope he is right!!

Not sure I would want someone to pull the window to send it to the factory.

That window should be able to be removed as it is zero mulled to the window below and either on both sides. It should be removable and rather simply for a qualified individual.

I am not sure what all the difficulty is with this unit.

You should be able to get the window size from that window directly or just re-measure it. Look for a serial number on the operable window below and track it backwards from there.

Certainteed did not go out of business. Their windows most recently were made by MI who is in financial difficulty. I do not know how this might affect the availability of the extrusion but I'm pretty sure this extrusion will re-emerge sometime in the future.

I know of no reason why you cannot get a replacement window. I think it's the same extrusion as the Cutting Edge line of windows by MI.

Wow, not sure what to think now, sounds like the Certainteed windows made by MI are pretty bottom of the barrel quality and maybe the Alliance window isn't much (any) better. And I still don't know how I would feel about removing that one window and hoping a new one would match. If they replace the whole thing, that isn't so much a problem. The other windows on the front of the house are separated by a large entry. I think a similiar design would fly

Thank you to all who tried to help. I have awesome news, this week they installed an entire new window for us. I am a big skeptic so didn't post until the job was actually done. The company did a nice job, very careful, no additional damage to the siding or indoors. The window looks very nice and nice quality. Just thought I would let you all know.

Great follow up.

Glad you got it fixed up.

That is great news! I missed this post the first time around, and I regret that I did because that aluminum "repair" gave me a good laugh!