Windows in Rhode Island take salt, fog, and wind-driven rain. Wood sash on older houses in East Providence, Bristol, and the East Bay checks at the sill long before the glass fails. Storms that do not latch buzz through a coastal night and trap moisture against the prime sash. Vinyl forced into a settled opening leaves a gap the wind finds. Say which wall faces the water or the open street.
A soft sill, fallen glazing, and a snapped sash cord are different repairs. Paint over rot lasts until the next nor'easter and then the stool swells inside. Look at the apron for the stain that means water is already past the frame. Shutters screwed flat to the wall hide the casing ends and do not seal anything. Odd sizes in houses that grew by wings make a stock unit a poor fit.
Fog between panes is a failed seal. Sweat on the room side of a single pane is often cooking, a shower, or a damp cellar, which this climate supplies without help. Do not replace an elevation for humidity you could exhaust. Houses one street off the bay still take spray on a hard east wind. Inland blocks in Woonsocket take less salt and more ordinary age. Say which you are.
Bays leak where they join the main wall, and that joint faces the storm on a great many triple-deckers. Brick openings need a careful size. A window that is also the way out of a sleeping room has to keep working after the repair. Weights and pockets full of grit are worth saving if the wood is sound. If a key sinks into the sill, the wood is gone.
List the openings and say repair or replacement. Mention storms, bays, and any sill that crumbles. Have the town and how exposed the house is. One leaking bay is enough detail to start. Call the number on this page.