Next,we need to remove middle stop, or parting bead. This piece is going to be thrown away, so you don't have to be careful when removing this piece. The parting bead will be on top and along both sides. It's never on bottom. Take a screwdriver and tap it into groove between side frame and parting bead. Pry out. The bead is nailed into a recessed groove. When all of parting bead is out, upper sash will come out. If it's painted to outside stop, CAREFULLY pry sash from outside stop with a stiff putty knife. You want to avoid damaging outside stop. Remove upper sash same way you did lower sash, cutting cords under tension.

At this point,you should have inside stops removed and set aside to be installed later, both sashes removed, middle stop or parting bead removed and discarded,and outside blind stop left in place undisturbed. Check to make sure there are no obstructions in opening such as nails,the metal tab at bottom for holding in old screen, etc. The final step is to take a stiff putty knife and scrape face of outside blind stops to get rid of any old caulking. This is surface that replacement windows are going to rest against, and we are going to want this area as smooth as possible. Clean up all loose debris from opening, and you are now ready to install your replacement windows. That will be our topic for next weeks article.