Bay & Picture Windows in Cape Elizabeth, Maine

Views are the reason many people buy here: Casco Bay from the Cape Cottage end, the open Atlantic along Shore Road and Two Lights, or the marsh and fields out toward the Spurwink River. A large picture window or a projecting bay can frame that outlook, but on this coast it also becomes the largest single surface facing the weather, so glass size, frame strength and installation all have to be matched to wind exposure rather than chosen by look alone.

On an ocean-facing wall, a fixed picture unit with operable casements on each side gives the view and still lets the house breathe. A bay window adds a small roof of its own, which collects snow and drifting ice; it needs proper support underneath, ice barrier and flashing at the wall, and a pitch that sheds water. Low-E coatings help on south and west exposures where afternoon glare off the water can heat a room. On shingled cottages, bays and wide units should be proportioned so they do not overwhelm the older facade.

The Census Bureau's 2020-2024 American Community Survey estimates about 3,980 housing units in Cape Elizabeth, and roughly 90 percent of them are single-family detached houses. About 88 percent of occupied homes are owner-occupied. The estimated median year built is 1967. Close to 40 percent of the stock predates 1960, including about one in five homes built before 1940, and another quarter went up between 1960 and 1979. Only around 7 percent was built in 2000 or later, so most houses here are old enough to have outlived at least one roof and one round of siding. The older layer includes summer houses from the late nineteenth century, when Portland architect John Calvin Stevens designed Shingle Style cottages along the Casco Bay shore. The survey also counts roughly 210 seasonal units, homes that may sit closed through the winter.

Cape Elizabeth is a collection of named neighborhoods rather than a single downtown: Cape Cottage and Delano Park near Fort Williams, Shore Acres, Pond Cove, Oakhurst, Two Lights and Kettle Cove, Spurwink Shores and Bowery Beach. Fort Williams Park surrounds Portland Head Light, the oldest lighthouse in Maine, and the Cape Elizabeth Lights stand in Two Lights State Park. National Register listings include the 1886-87 C.A. Brown Cottage in Delano Park, a John Calvin Stevens design in weathered wood shingles over a fieldstone base; Beckett's Castle, a stone summer house from the 1870s; the Spurwink Congregational Church; and Crescent Lodge, the 1855 Bowery Beach schoolhouse.

Permits run through the Cape Elizabeth Code Enforcement Office, 320 Ocean House Road, which has accepted building applications online since May 2025. Its FAQ states that a building permit is required to construct, structurally alter or enlarge a structure, and that no permit is required to replace siding or roofing. A new deck needs a building permit. The town's Shoreland Performance Overlay District covers land within 250 feet of tidal waters, Great Pond and the Spurwink River, with a 75-foot setback for new structures from most water bodies. Resource protection permits go through the Planning Office, and work in a mapped flood zone needs a Flood Hazard Permit.

Picture windows are large fixed units that frame a view and pour light into a room. Bay and bow windows project out from the wall, adding floor space and light from three or more directions. Both are heavier and more exposed than an ordinary window, so the structure, support, roof and flashing around them matter. The Cumberland Center colonial on this site received Andersen 400 Series bay, double-hung and picture windows.

• The opening, header and framing are checked; widening an opening may need a new header.
• Bay and bow units are supported with cables, brackets or a framed seat so they do not sag.
• The small roof over a bay is flashed into the wall and roofed or capped to match the house.
• Insulation goes into the seat and head so the projection is not a cold spot.
• Interior seat boards, casing and exterior trim are finished to match.

• A view you want to see more of from the main living space
• An old bay that sags, leaks at the roof, or feels cold at the seat
• Fogged glass in a large fixed unit
• A dark room that needs more daylight

• Size and configuration: picture, bay or bow, number of units
• Whether the rough opening changes size
• Support method and seat or roof finish
• Glass package and brand
• Interior finish carpentry

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 bay and picture windows overview.

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