Well from these limited pictures I think the trim looks good, not being able to see the entire style of the house. As long as he duplicates it in the second floor it should be fine.

Thanks @rocketjcat. That at least makes me feel a little better on this early morning. I have to say that I think it looks less bad in the pic than in real life. I just walked up the street to look at a neighbors that I like (at 5:30 am like some kind of weirdo stalker!) and I continue to think I'm not happy with this. If I leave it I will probsbly get used to it, but I'm worried that instead it will bug me every day for the next 20 years!

Thanks @gnbuilders. He is doing a beautiful job. Super tidy and nicely done and leaves the site immaculate. Very happy with the workmanship. The design issue is absolutely my fault alone for not communicating better about what I want. I imagine I can get used to it, but if I think I can't I'm going to need to decide very quickly. What you can see in the pic is all that is done so far, so if I'm going to suck it up and foot the bill for a change now is definitely the time. Thanks for the vote of confidence and advice!

I agree with GNBukiders...they look very good. But what exactly are you unhappy with? Just that it's wider than you're used to seeing or is it not the style you pictured? Did you expect trim that was more 3 dimensionally like a colonial molding? Can you post a larger picture of the house with more of the existing windows?

@rocketjcat - yes and yes, I think. I think I expected the wide trim to be less wide and the trim to have a more traditional and 3d look. Frankly we hadn't discussed it in detail yet and I didn't really expect to find siding done that day. I thought they were going to finish all the strapping and insulation first. My husband planned to be home when they started the actual siding, but things moved more quickly than we expected. Again, our fault for not clarifying both the schedule and the plan for the trim in advance. I'll try to get a pic of the neighbors house with the trim I like, or find another similar pic online, and I'll try to show a pic with more of our house showing, though we are completely changing the look of our house with this job, so it's a bit of a matter of making it look the way we want now, not really matching anything that was there. Our current windows have no trim at all. Just brick to the frames on the lower and "edging" on the top. ( yes, we are covering brick with siding, but it's very very ugly flat pink brick that is drafty and leaky, so the siding and insulation are actually a big upgrade both in energy efficiency and appearance)

Oh, if your were wanting an entirely different thats a shame. I'm not a pro, but I would think that the current flat window could be trimmed out with additional molding at the top, bottom or both without changing anything that's already been done.
http://houzz.com/photos/7554659
Definitely search through houzz for colonial window molding for a good picture to show your builder and see if he can modify.

You are missing a little detail. Would an extra bend help?

Could it work to add just a superficial "picture frame" around the outside of the window then fill in with caulk or something similar...probably has never been tried before. Not ideal, I realize.

If anything you like to add to bring the edges out a bit, you can add Composite band molding and that will make a huge difference without spending to much money.

Hi all,

So wonderful to have so many thoughtful and helpful responses. Yes, I was sort of wondering if we could add some trim of some kind. I like the look of that piece! I think I've seen something like it a Home Depot. I really don't want to upset the contractor or make him think I think he's done a bad job, because I don't think he has. It's just all about the aesthetic I want!

HD might have this in wood, I'm not sure they carry this molding for exterior use, if they do, I wouldn't buy it there, you will pay triple for it. Ask your contractor to get it from his supplier, the cost will be next to nothing.

Good luck

I love that wide look. Goes perfect for an older home.

Can you post a pic of the whole house facade?

I like the window. Do
You have more pics that we can see from a distance?

It's a bit hard to get a good shot of the house. Our houses are only 12 feet apart so you pretty much can't get the front and side into one shot. Here's an angled one of the side and another of the front. The red is the insulation board. The porch is new and not yet finished. I don't have a before pic on my phone. The transformation from earlier this summer is already quite something (never mind from what it was when it was a 1949 post-war bungalow before we started this back in 2001!)

Cheryl, is it that you want the molding to sit on top of the siding? I think either a trim piece may help, or bulking up what's under the aluminum. Just make sure they caulk, I've had windows that were done like that and got water behind the siding. Where the j channel meets the aluminum. Unless with your house wrap your safe. I still hate any chance of water, I have not had good luck. I wish you much luck. It does look nice, but if YOU are not happy, life is too short. So make it look how you want it to look, before doing more. :) GOOD LUCK!

Cheryl, I think there are a couple of things you can do. If the contractor changed the j channel to white, it would look similar to the photos posted by River Valley above, as long as the white matched the windows.
Or he could replace the j channel to wider vinyl white j channel and eliminate the clad aluminum. Here is a link to Mastic site to see the window trim I'm talking about, and a close up of the look of wider j-channel trim.
http://mastic.plygem.com/wps/portal/mastic/masticroot/products/trim/windowanddoortrim?family_name=Vinyl%20Casing%20Trim
PS, it looks to be a quality job he's doing, and sounds like a professional who takes pride in his work, so he shouldn't be offended if you suggest an alternative, especially since you admitted it was a miscommunication on your part.

@Cheryl. Your installation contractor did a very nice neat job. In my opinion the only option would have been to drop down to a 2 1/4" Vinyl Casing trim which would have acted as the the j- channel and aluminum trim in one, or gone to 1x4 or 1x6 Notched trim by Kleer, Aztec or Versatex. If you make this change now, Time to Re-side. Best of luck

I still like it. I think looks great.

What is the end of this story?

Van, this story ended 6 years ago.

Indeed it did.

But guess what - I actually love my windows now!

So my advice. .... Take a breath, be patient and things sometimes work out!

:-)

LOL. Going through a remodel now and having crippling anxiety about it daily! I needed to hear this. ^^^

If the contractor flashed it properly and used membrane tape. I would be satisfied, Many installers will just use the coil metal and not flash it. Lazy and code violations. Next time make the contract specific and note nonpayment for contract violations.

We are planning to have our siding and window trim redone about a year from now. What are some good resources to read & study to know if the contractor is following all the proper steps? We've had one bid so far - $89K. The company rep was a joke, and tried to get us to sign up right away, or we would "miss our place in line".

The windows look great , nicely done. I also like the front of your house, you have great landscaping too. Your house is making a beautiful transformation❣️When I had all new windows installed and a new front door It looked a bit different and it took a few weeks to get used to them and and now I really like the look❣️Give yourself some time.

I build in VA. That's a good job. I do like windows with window ceils , that's picture frame. Looks fine. Nice job