Windows in Washington are the front and back of a District rowhouse, plus whatever the English basement and the ell still have. Side walls are often shared and blank. Original wood sash, tall and heavy, faces the street on many blocks. Alley windows take abuse. Summer humidity swells the frames. Winter drafts find single glass that was painted shut years ago. An end unit is the exception, with a whole extra wall of weather.
If the inside stool is soft, water is already past the brick joint and a new pane will not end the job. Fogged glass in a newer insert is a smaller repair than a rotten sill under an original frame. Cords, weights, and locks fail on their own and should be named if they are the real complaint. Masonry sills and brick molds want a straight description. Basement hoppers in areaways are a separate, wetter problem.
The top floor takes the sun and holds it. A middle room may have almost no glass at all because the house is mid-block, so the openings you do have matter more. A bath window that drips onto plaster is a fan problem and a window problem together. Say which wall, which floor, and whether the sash moves. Porch-front houses and flat-front houses do not trim out the same way. Say which one you own.
Skip the full count if you do not have it. Street facade, rear ell, basement, or the whole house is enough to start. Mention trim you hope to keep and old paint that will be disturbed when the sash is freed. This is Washington in the District: brick rows, not a waterfront cottage and not a high-rise. The opening is a hole in masonry.
Check the lower rail before you call. Windows in Washington fail where painted wood meets District brick, alley splash, and a top floor that bakes. Call the number on this page.