I just came back from a big box store looking for suitable windows for a new house that I am building. After looking, I am confused about what to buy. The house is a farm style with wide covered porches, and I live in central Kansas where the weather is moderate. The issue arises out of the fact that I will be trimming out the inside of the house with solid oak. Every door and window, including the wide sills in the 2x6 walls will be trimmed in oak. I want good quality windows, but they all seem to come with integrated sills that would be hard to match with my oak. There is also the issue that my sills will be wider than standard. I want maintenance free exterior finish on the windows, which means vinyl or fiberglass. All windows will be either fixed or casement. My question is am I looking at surface mount vinyl or fiberglass windows that have no interior wood, so that I can add my own oak trim on all four sides? It would seem yes, unless I am missing something. Do you have some suggestions on good quality surface mount windows? Regards, Chuck

I am installing a 48" wide double French door with flat jambs in a room in my house. The house was built in 1900 and I am doing major renovations and addition. It originally had lathe board/plaster, then previous owner drywalled over top of that. I am concerned only with the door plumbness with respect to the drywall (ie keeping the face of jamb where trim mounts flush) problem is that if I am standing in the room looking at the double doors and I put bottom of right side of jamb so that it is flush with face of drywall, keep the jamb plumb with a level on edge of jamb where the trim will be mounted, on top the jamb is 1/2" recessed from face of drywall. I am talking about the hinge side of the doors. so that is really too much to extend the jamb and I have the hinge to deal with too. So do I move the jamb out so it extends 1/4" out from face of drywall on bottom and 1/4" recessed from drywall on top? Or do I move it out the full 1/2"-which would mean filling a 1/2" gap between trim and drywall on bottom! I know if you use split jamb this is essentially what you would be doing since you can't really split the difference since the casing is already installed. FYI I installing plinth blocks, fluted casing, rosettes on this flat jamb and I am not worried about the other side of door unit as I will make extension jambs to match the drywall face. FYI with the right side of jamb as mentioned above (flush at bottom and recessed at top) and the left side of jamb flush with drywall, the door is "square" in the opening and the left side of door unit has the jamb actually flush with drywall the entire length of door. but if I am moving the right out either a 1/4" or a 1/2", do I have to move this side out as well to keep the door square in the opening? there is a 8" step in the room-if in room with double door closed there is a step that is visible. so if I move one side of door out 1/2" then the exposed step will have different amounts exposed and since it is hardwood and will have lines going across the bottom of the door, it could look odd to have it out of square with the opening.