I have several nice, wooden casement windows in my home. Most have a swing-out (crank with a latch) part next to a fixed part. Some of the fixed windows are stand-alone fixed windows with no crank-out part. Some of the dual pane windows' seals have broken resulting in condensation appearing between glass, fogging the windows and, of course, making them less effective insulators as well as eyesores. The glass is in a substantial wooden frame which is mounted SOMEHOW in the also wooden window unit. Using a thin putty knife, I can feel four metal clips of some kind, two on each side of the window. From what I can tell looking at these clips, there are two dissimilar (I think) parts, one on the "removable" window for transport to the local window repair shop, and the mounted to other installed window unit. The windows are about 25 years old, and the plastic weatherstrip (white), which is L-shaped and fits into a groove in the windows, is rotting and should also be replaced. I don't anticipate any trouble finding or retrofitting the strip, but I have been unable to remove the fixed windows from their frames. My only guess is that there's some kind of tool that will release these clips so I can pull the window straight out from its mount. Anyone here ever heard of such a tool or some other method for disengaging or releasing these clips? My guess is I'll have to have four of... something to put in place so the window can come out. I will get some pictures posted asap to clarify.

Our old sliding patio door is worn out...time to replace it. We are looking at Lowe's "Reliabilt" model 300 vinyl sliding glass door. Vinyl on the outside & "composite" on the inside. We can't seem to get a straight answer as to what "composite" is. Particleboard ?? Is this considered "junk" in the building trade ? We considered an all aluminum door, but they are bad about conducting "cold". We considered "french" doors, but they won't work in our situation. Your input/suggestions would be most appreciated. Thanks, Roger