To be specific, I want to 100% replicate the look of the green homes bottom 3 windows on the gray homes top 4 windows. Trim, crown molding, all of it. The only difference is the gray home would have white trim and not that cream color.

I'm not a professional so don't go by me alone, but it looks like you'd be going to a wider trim, so I don't think it would effect your siding. If you were going to a smaller trim, I could see the problem with gaps maybe. A good carpenter could copy that trim on site or in his shop I would imagine. If it's something really special that he couldn't do, a good lumber yard could probably do it for you. You might want to trim out the lower windows to match even though you're keeping the shutters. The trim on that second house all matches up I think.

I agree, chickadee, about making all of the trim match. My only concern on the gray house was having it look too busy on the bottom. The green is set up better for this I think, being wider.

Olychick, would you be able to do it by just redoing the siding immediately around the windows or would it require more extensive work? It seems crazy that there's not a way to do this kind of nice little update without having to factor in a major residing job LOL.

Find a good carpenter and talk to him/her about it. It should not be that big a deal ... so long as you get a good one. When it comes to things like trim molding and esp on the exterior where you want to avoid leakage, you really need to get someone who takes pride in their work and knows what the heck they're doing.

Good to know, thank you! I've walked by the green house so many times, I wish I'd taken the phone number of the flipper that redid this house. It's sold now and the sign is long gone. :(

If you're an outgoing person, you could just knock on the door and ask the current owners for contact information for the seller. :)

Donna

Drew, I thought, when I approached my carpenter about it, that it could just be built out, leaving the current molding in place and attaching a wider piece to it (on top of it). That was MY idea. But he explained that the siding would have to be cut back all the way around the windows and the molding replaced. It was an extra big problem for my house because the siding is cedar shingle, which you can't just saw away; all the shingles surrounding each window would have to be removed, then replaced with smaller pieces and might not be reusable. It is totally doable, I just wasn't willing to pay the price.

If you want the name of the flipper, you can likely get it from the records in your assessor's or auditor's office. They should have the records of previous owners at that address.

I wonder if that's easier to accomplish with aluminum siding? And is it a serious concern with leaking/water damage/etc?

I guess that's where getting a few estimates from experienced people in your area will be helpful. You could try posting on the Remodeling forum and see if anyone there has experience with something similar. I don't know how much activity is on the Windows forum, but maybe there, too?

In our neighborhood.....all aluminum siding originally.....the only people who have trimmed their windows are the ones who have replaced the siding.

Instead of carpenters, I would go to a few reputable places that sell aluminum siding. They do this everyday and will know if it's do-able and what's involved. Take the pictures that you posted here with you.

response on this site

Thank you guys! This is some great information. I think I'm going to can this idea. Instead, I am going to try and find shutters that match the two windows downstairs and do all 4 of the upstairs. That should look good, right?

Maybe some kind soul will photoshop shutters for you. If they don't offer on this thread, it may be that they don't see it, so wait a couple of days and start a new thread asking for photoshop help. Your house is adorable.

That is a great idea. Thank you for the kind words, Olychick. :)

I'm not convinced you need to give up on this idea yet. My DH is a window installer that bends custom aluminum trim for windows as part of his job. It's possible the siding would need to be cut back, and then the trim could be wrapped in aluminum, and of course it would be caulked all the way around to make it water tight. I can ask him for more specifics if you're still interested in fleshing out the idea.

You could call around to reputable window dealers and ask if they have an installer who does custom aluminum trim work. You will need someone who is very handy with an aluminum brake to get the job done well.

In looking at the picture of your house it appears that the upstairs windows are aligned directly above and maybe the same width as the downstairs windows. It looks like there's a decent size gap between the shutters, so the shutters on the upper level would have the same space between them and not be running into each other. I think shutters up there would work for you and may look better than just widening the trim.

You've all given me some awesome information. Thank you everyone!!!

Any chance you might replace the windows? Because some window manufacturers have prefinished trim that snaps onto the window. No need to cut into the siding. Here's Andersen's video that explains how they do it:

http://www.andersenwindows.com/for-professionals/install-exterior-trim/

I have a Marvin prefab trim for my Marvin windows:

http://www.marvin.com/our-products/options/casing?menu=marvin&

Here's a pdf file that shows the ins and outs of a "full frame tear out with existing siding" (replacing the entire window, not just sash replacement) for Marvin windows, and the weather sealing that is required. I think but am not sure that the prefab cladding (trim) then attaches to the window itself like the Andersen technique. You can research that yourself perhaps. Looking at ours, the trim abuts the siding. But maybe it doesn't have to.

Marvin windows full frame tear out instructions