I hear you on the inserts sometimes feeling like a shortcut. When I did mine, I kept thinking—am I just hiding a bigger problem? But then again, with my place (built in '62), nothing’s straight and the idea of ripping out the whole frame made me nervous about what else I’d find. Did anyone have luck shimming inserts to fit weird angles, or is that just asking for drafts down the road? The chunky trim thing bugs me too... makes it look less original.
That’s a fair worry—shimming can help, but I’ve seen it turn into a headache if the gaps get too big. My old place had some crazy angles and I tried shims to make an insert work. It was fine at first, but over a couple winters, I started noticing cold drafts sneaking in around the edges. The chunky trim bugged me too... always felt like it was hiding something, not fixing it. Sometimes I wonder if just biting the bullet and doing a full replacement would’ve saved me trouble long term, even if it’s messier upfront.