Composite & PVC Decks in Falmouth, Maine

Composite and PVC decking suit Falmouth owners who would rather use a deck than maintain it. Boards with a protective cap do not need staining, resist the salt that settles on Foreside decks after a storm, and stand up to the grit and shovels of a long winter. They also avoid the splintering and checking that pressure-treated boards develop after years of freezing and thawing.

Shade and moisture are the local challenge. Decks under tall pines in West Falmouth or close to Highland Lake stay damp and can grow mildew on any surface, so capped boards with good airflow underneath, proper gapping and a slope for drainage help them dry. PVC boards weigh less and resist moisture fully, while composite feels closer to wood underfoot; both expand in summer heat, so spacing and hidden fasteners have to follow the maker's rules. For the town's roughly 190 seasonal homes, a low-upkeep surface means arriving in June to a deck that needs a wash rather than a weekend of scraping. Railings in aluminum, composite or cable can keep a water view open.

Census estimates for 2020 to 2024 count about 5,300 housing units in Falmouth, with a median year built of 1986. Roughly 14 percent went up before 1940, about 16 percent between 1960 and 1979, about 31 percent in the 1980s and 1990s, and about 27 percent in 2000 or later. Around 84 percent of occupied homes are lived in by their owners, and about 81 percent of all units are single-family detached houses; the town's 2024 comprehensive plan notes that fewer than 10 percent sit in buildings of three or more units. An older layer runs underneath the subdivisions: a 1992 to 1993 survey recorded 985 buildings from before 1945, including farms, schools and summer homes in colonial, Federal, Greek Revival, Italianate and Romanesque styles. About 190 units are held for seasonal use.

Permits come from the Community Development Code Enforcement Division at 271 Falmouth Road. The town enforces the Maine Uniform Building and Energy Code, which means the 2021 International Residential, Building, Existing Building and Energy Conservation Codes. Its permit guidance says work that alters or repairs a structure needs a building permit, and it specifically requires one for replacement windows so egress can be checked. Painting and similar finish work is exempt; roofing, siding and decks are not on the exempt list. Shoreland zoning covers land within 250 feet of Casco Bay, the Presumpscot River, Highland Lake and qualifying wetlands, and within 100 feet of designated streams.

Falmouth has no weather station of its own; the nearest long-term record is Portland International Jetport, a few miles away, where snowfall averages about 69 inches a year and February nights average around 17 degrees under the 1991 to 2020 normals. The coldest reading on that record is 39 below zero, in February 1943. Along Falmouth Foreside, houses face open water on Casco Bay and take the brunt of northeast storms, wind-driven rain and salt carried off the bay. Inland toward West Falmouth and Highland Lake the salt load drops, but tree cover, lake humidity and long stretches of freezing and thawing work on roofs, trim and deck boards instead.

Composite and PVC decking do not need staining, do not splinter, and resist rot, which is why they have become the default for new decks in Maine. Composite boards blend wood fiber and plastic under a protective cap; PVC boards are all synthetic and lighter. The North Deering farmhouse on this site got a rebuilt deck with AZEK composite decking. The framing underneath is still wood, so it is built to last as long as the boards on top.

• Layout, size and board color are chosen with the owner at the estimate visit.
• Footings and framing are built to code, with joist spacing that suits the board manufacturer's span rules.
• Joist tape or flashing protects the tops of joists and the ledger.
• Boards go down with hidden fasteners or color-matched screws and the expansion gaps the product requires.
• Matching railings, stair treads, fascia and landings finish the deck.

• You are done staining and sealing a wood deck every year or two
• The deck is in shade or near water where wood stays damp
• You want a deck that stays barefoot-friendly with no splinters

• Composite versus PVC, and the product line
• Deck size, height and shape
• Railing system and stairs
• Hidden-fastener versus face-screw installation
• Footing and framing conditions

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 composite and PVC decks overview.

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