Hello,

I'm on a window-fixing spree. Most of the windows in my house have aluminum jamb liners, which aren't put together the same way as a traditional wooden window. They're all double hung, but I can't quite see how to remove the sashes. I can remove the stops (which are fairly substantial pieces, not the usual wood strips), but the sashes still sort of "socket" into place around the aluminum jamb liners. It looks like the only way to remove the sashes is to remove the entire liner. Is this right?

Here are some photos of an example window:

 

That is correct. If you are going to remove them, you would probably want to unhook the springs from the screw head on top. Once the springs have been disconnected, check for any nails holding the jamb liners to the jamb. Usually there will be a pair at the top, and at least one at the bottom, along the outer blind stop. You might also have to remove the top parting stop, but not necessarily. Bring the front sash up and the top sash down until both are in the center. Gently pull in on the top of the sashes to free up the jamb liners on top. Be careful not to bend them up- they are pretty easy to destroy if you aren't super careful. As soon as you have pulled the top of the jamb liners in far enough that it clears the jamb, get your hands in the middle of the jamb, with one hand on each side of the pair of sashes and start to lift up. You should be able to pull the liners and the sashes out as one unit.

At this point, if you ignored the advice about disconnecting the springs, the jamb liners will probably shoot off like a rocket and get all bent up. So remember to disconnect the springs.

If some yahoo put a bunch of nails up and down the sides of the tracks you will probably end up bending the jamb liner up... but if you use a large nail set you can punch those nails on through and you might be able to get the jamb liner out without too much trouble.