Window Replacement in Cape Elizabeth, Maine

With a median year built of 1967 and nearly one home in five built before 1940, a good share of Cape Elizabeth houses still have original wood sashes, early aluminum storms or first-generation replacement units whose seals have failed. On the ocean side of the house those windows take the brunt of wind-driven rain, and a leak at a sill often shows up as soft framing below it rather than as a drip indoors. Any home built before 1978 may contain lead paint, and federal EPA rules govern work that disturbs painted window trim.

Replacement choices depend on the house. Vinyl replacement units fit a 1960s or 1970s home well and cut drafts on a budget, while wood or clad windows from Andersen, Marvin, Pella or Integrity keep the proportions of older sashes on shingled cottages and farmhouses. Double-hung units match most historic openings; casements seal tighter against the wind that comes off the water. Bedroom windows should meet egress size where the opening allows. Because salt air shortens hardware life, stainless or coated components on coastal elevations are worth the upgrade.

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.

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