Deck Building in Casco, Maine

A deck is where a Casco summer happens, whether it faces Sebago Lake, Pleasant Lake or a wooded lot. Lake lots often slope toward the water, so a new deck may need tall posts, several levels or stairs and landings down the grade. Cardinal builds new decks in composite, PVC, pressure-treated lumber and cedar, with railings and stairs, and footings go below frost so posts do not heave through a long winter.

Permitting in Casco depends on where the deck is. The building permit application asks whether the lot is in shoreland, water body, wetland or resource protection zoning, and wants a plot plan with roadside and lakeside setbacks plus existing and proposed lot coverage. Maine's shoreland zone reaches 250 feet from a great pond, and projects there use Casco's Shoreland Project Permit Application, which requires photos of the site before construction and photos of the shoreline vegetation within 20 days after. Contractors who disturb more than a cubic yard of soil there must hold DEP certification. An owner measures the site and writes a fixed-price proposal.

Census estimates count about 2,970 housing units in Casco, with a median year built of 1988, noticeably newer than Raymond's 1976. Only about 5 percent predate 1940 and around 18 percent predate 1960, while roughly 31 percent have gone up since 2000. About 76 percent are single-family detached homes, a lower share than in neighboring Raymond, and about 90 percent of occupied homes are owned by the people living in them. Seasonal use is large: roughly 1,210 units, about four in ten, are held for seasonal or recreational occupancy, from shoreline cottages to second homes. The town also runs a short-term rental registration ordinance, since many lake houses are rented by the week. The older layer is small but real, including a Federal-style house from about 1795 in South Casco.

Casco's Code Enforcement Department, which the town calls its building department, works from the town office at 635 Meadow Road and meets by appointment. Since April 7, 2025 the town enforces the 2021 I-codes under Maine's uniform building code. The building permit application asks whether a lot is in shoreland, water body, wetland or resource protection zoning, wants a plot plan with roadside and lakeside setbacks, and records lot coverage. Permits are valid for one year. Work in the shoreland zone, within 250 feet of a great pond, uses a separate Shoreland Project Permit Application with photos before and after construction.

Casco is inland, so the weather that wears on houses here is snow, cold and the wind off big water, not salt. Published normals from the National Weather Service office in nearby Gray show about 84 inches of snow a year for 1991-2020, well above the roughly 69 inches at the Portland Jetport. Deep cold and midwinter thaws alternate from December into March. Cottages on the north shore of Sebago Lake face miles of open water to the south, and Sebago rarely freezes over completely, so that exposure lasts through the winter. Houses on Pleasant Lake, Thomas Pond and the smaller ponds sit among tall pines, where shade and needle litter keep roofs and decks damp.

A new deck starts below ground. Footings have to reach below the frost line so the deck does not heave, the ledger that ties the deck to the house has to be flashed so it never rots the rim, and the framing has to carry snow as well as people. On top of that structure goes the part you see: composite and PVC boards, pressure-treated lumber or cedar, with railings, stairs and landings. Cardinal Exteriors builds new decks and full replacements only; it does not take on deck repairs or staining.

• An owner visits, looks at the yard and the house, and talks through size, layout, stairs and material.
• Permits are pulled where the town requires them.
• Footings are dug or set below frost; posts, beams and joists are framed to span and load.
• The ledger is flashed and fastened with structural fasteners, or the deck is built freestanding.
• Decking, railings, stairs and landings go on, with hidden or face fasteners to suit the boards.

• You want outdoor living space where there is none
• An existing deck is too small or poorly laid out for how you use it
• A new door, addition or view calls for a deck to reach it

• Deck size, height and shape
• Decking material: composite, PVC, pressure-treated or cedar
• Railing style and stair runs
• Footing type and site conditions: ledge, slope, access
• Permits and any shoreland or setback requirements

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

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