Window Replacement in Brunswick, Maine

With about 31 percent of Brunswick's housing built before 1960, many homes here still have original single-pane wood sashes with storm windows added over them, or early replacement windows from the 1980s whose seals have failed and fogged. Both leak air, and on the windward side of a house near the bay they also let wind-driven rain past worn glazing and sills. Houses from before 1978 may also have lead paint on sashes and trim, and federal EPA rules set work practices for disturbing it during replacement.

Replacement options run from vinyl replacement windows for the capes, ranches and colonials in the outer neighborhoods to wood and clad units from Andersen, Marvin, Pella and Integrity for older houses where the sash proportions and divided lights matter. Brunswick's Village Review Overlay District exempts windows replaced with identical styles and materials, so matching the original look keeps a project out of board review, while changing the style or material should be checked with Planning and Codes staff first. Bedrooms that need egress openings are worth reviewing during the measure, because the 2021 residential code Maine adopted in 2025 sets minimum clear openings for sleeping rooms.

Census estimates put Brunswick at roughly 9,500 housing units with a median year built of about 1982, so the typical house here is younger than in Portland but the range is wide. Close to one in five units dates from before 1940 and about 31 percent from before 1960, including the houses of the downtown and the Bowdoin neighborhoods. Another 16 percent or so went up between 1960 and 1979, and roughly 27 percent is from 2000 or later. About 71 percent of occupied homes are owner-occupied, and only about half of all units are single-family detached houses, which reflects the apartments, student housing and multi-unit buildings near the college and Maine Street. Seasonal homes are a small share, about 165 units. Expect clapboard Federal, Greek Revival and Colonial Revival houses in the historic districts, and vinyl-clad capes, ranches and colonials farther out.

Brunswick grew on the river. The Androscoggin falls about 41 feet in three stages here, and the town once had as many as 25 sawmills and, in 1809, Maine's first cotton mill. Bowdoin College, chartered in 1794, anchors the Federal Street Historic District, listed in 1976, with Federal, Greek Revival and Colonial Revival houses, First Parish Church and the Harriet Beecher Stowe House. Pennellville, on Middle Bay Cove, preserves ship captains' houses built between 1794 and 1860. Other neighborhoods include Cooks Corner, Mere Point, Bunganuc Landing and Brunswick Landing, the former Naval Air Station that closed in 2011.

Building permits in Brunswick go through the Planning and Codes Office at Town Hall, 85 Union Street, on paper or through the online permit portal. Maine's building code moved to the 2021 International Residential Code on April 7, 2025. Much of the historic core lies in the Village Review Overlay District, where the Village Review Board issues a Certificate of Appropriateness for alterations; the town notes that replacing windows, facades and ornamentation with identical styles and materials is not subject to review, and staff can approve minor work not visible from a public way. Waterfront lots within 250 feet of tidal areas also fall under shoreland zoning.

A new window is only as good as the way it is set into the wall. Replacement windows go in either as inserts inside the existing frame or as full-frame units after the old frame comes out; the right choice depends on the condition of the frame, the trim you want to keep, and the siding around it. The site lists vinyl replacement windows and wood or clad units from Andersen, Marvin, Pella and Integrity, in double-hung, casement, picture, bay, sliding and awning styles.

• Each opening is measured and checked for rot in the sill, jambs and framing.
• Old sashes or whole frames come out; damaged wood is repaired before the new unit goes in.
• Units are set level, plumb and square, shimmed, and fastened as the manufacturer requires.
• Low-expansion foam and backer rod seal the gap without bowing the frame.
• Flashing, exterior trim or capping and interior casing are finished so the opening sheds water.

• Fog or condensation between the panes of insulated glass
• Sashes that stick, will not stay up, or let in drafts
• Soft or rotted sills and frames
• Single-pane glass or storm windows you take on and off every year
• Frost or ice on the inside of the glass in winter

• Number of windows, their sizes, and any custom shapes
• Vinyl versus wood or clad units, and the brand and series
• Insert versus full-frame replacement
• Glass package and grille options
• Interior and exterior trim work, and whether siding is open around the opening

Every job is priced from a free on-site visit. Typical ranges for the trade are on our window replacement page, and the details of this service are on the window replacement overview.

Back to the Brunswick exterior services overview, or see every town on our Cumberland County service areas page.