DIY Windown installation fail

[Luka Milicevic]

So.....

I do everything myself at my primary residence, and I am about to rent the upstairs bonus room (house hacking!) It needs a new window, and so of course I was going to put it in myself. After watching a few youtube videos I embarked on what actually seemed like a very easy task. In all of the videos I watched the windows were installed from inside the property. They all had to remove a wooden strip on the side of the window in order to get to the window track.

Well, I went upstairs and it looked just like in the videos. Got my hammer and pry bar and started attempting to remove this wooden strip. 

What the videos failed to tell me was that some windows are installed from the outside of the house. Of course this was the case with mine. I chipped away at what was actually the wood trim.

My wife was out playing in a soccer league. When she came home I had prepared a presentation to remind her why she married me, and to look past my flaws before she went upstairs into the bonus room :-D

[Mike Wood]

@Luka Milicevic I would encourage you to keep trying.  Can learn if you don't try.

If the window is vinyl or aluminum, chances are its got a nail in flange like the others have stated.  What kind of exterior siding do you have? Is there a trim piece around the window? If so, see if you can remove it to expose the nailing flange. 

You will definitely need to remove any interior trim/casing around the window opening.  This should expose the window and the wall framing (or close to it, exposing the edge of the drywall). This should give you a better picture of what you need to do.

Do some additional investigating.  You can always call someone in after you try some more.