The Sash

• Remove the sash. The window sash is the frame containing the glass pane panels. To remove the sash, first remove the interior stops of the sash, the pieces that keep the window pane from falling out of the frame. The stops are located on the inside edge of the replacement window and resemble vertical bars that hold the windowpane in place, and keeps it from falling out of the frame into the room. Once you remove these, either by prying them away or unscrewing them from the sash, you can remove the bottom pane, or lower sash, from the main sash frame.
  
  Remove the parting beads from the sash, if present, to remove the upper sash piece from the main sash frame. The parting beads are small rails in the sash that holds the upper sash in place like the stops did the lower sash. Some replacement windows did not come with parting beads, instead securing the upper glass frame directly to the main sash frame.
  
  Once the window panes are out, remove the sash from the window frame by pressing on the jamb liners surrounding the sash, between the sash and the window frame, securing the sash into place. Slide the sash from the frame by tilting it toward you top first.
  
  

Clearing the Window Frame

• Remove the jamb liners which held the replacement window sash in place by prying them from the window frame with a flat bar. With these out of the way you can clear the window frame of any remnants of the older window placements.
  
  Remove any old window support systems. Earlier replacement jobs often left much of the original window in place, with some replacement windows using parts of the older supports for the replacement kits. Check for the old sash weights within the window frame. These could generally be found in a pocket within the window frame and appear to be small pulley chains with weights in the ends. Unscrew the access panel covering the weight system in the frame and pull the weights out from the frame. After that you can use the window frame however you like with the old replacement window completely out of the way.