Deck Replacement in Freeport, Maine

Roughly a quarter of Freeport's homes went up in the 1980s and 1990s, and a deck built with one of those houses is now 25 to 40 years old. Lumber from that era was commonly treated with CCA, joists were often face-nailed rather than hung, and ledgers were fastened with nails or lag screws and sometimes never flashed. The signs show up as soft rim joists, wobbly railings, cracked stair stringers and posts on shallow footings that have heaved out of line.

Cardinal replaces aging decks completely, from new footings up, rather than repairing or restaining them. Tearing out the old structure exposes the ledger area on the house so the rim joist can be checked, repaired if needed and flashed properly before the new ledger goes on with through-bolts or structural screws. New footings go below frost depth, and guards, stairs and handrails are built to current code, which has tightened since many older decks went up. Freeport's permit checklist wants framing, pier and railing details for any deck, so replacement goes through the Codes Enforcement office. It is also the moment to widen stairs, add a landing or move to composite.

Census estimates (ACS 2020-2024) put Freeport at roughly 4,250 housing units with a median year built of 1984, young for a town incorporated in 1789: about 17 percent of homes predate 1940 and about a quarter predate 1960; another 18 or 19 percent went up between 1960 and 1979, and roughly 30 percent were built in 2000 or later, leaving about a quarter from the 1980s and 1990s. Around 72 percent are single-family detached houses, close to 78 percent of occupied homes are owner-occupied, and some 280 units are held for seasonal use. The oldest stock is Federal and Greek Revival: the c. 1790 Mitchell-Soule-Davis cape and the c. 1830 brick Harrington House survive on Main Street, and saltbox farmhouses such as the Pettengill House and the Capt. Greenfield Pote House stand near Mast Landing and on Wolfe's Neck. Newer neighborhoods fill in between Route 1, I-295 and the river.

Building permits come from the Codes Enforcement office at Freeport Town Hall, 30 Main Street. A permit is required for any structural work or change of use, alterations may need one too, and the town asks owners to check with the codes officer first; a complete residential application is usually approved within a week. The residential checklist asks deck applicants for pier locations, framing, fastening, guards, handrails and stairs, and asks for a window and door schedule with U-factors. Downtown renovations fall under the Design Review Ordinance and the Project Review Board, and land within 250 feet of tidal water or a coastal wetland is in the state shoreland zone.

Freeport sits at the northeastern corner of Casco Bay, and the Harraseeket River carries the tide inland past South Freeport, Porter's Landing and Mast Landing. Houses on Wolfe's Neck, in South Freeport and along the river take salt air, fog and northeast wind off the bay in nor'easters, while homes west of I-295 sit in more sheltered, wooded country. Snow is a real load here: Portland International Jetport, the nearest long-record weather station, averages about 69 inches a season under the 1991-2020 normals, most of it from December through March. Winters swing above and below freezing again and again, so water that gets behind trim, into siding joints or under shingles freezes, expands and works deeper with each cycle. Ice dams form on poorly insulated older roofs.

When an old deck is soft, wobbly or pulling away from the house, a full replacement is treated as a new build: the old deck comes off, the footings and framing are built new, and the new surface, railings and stairs go on. That is the only way to deal with hidden rot at the ledger and frost-heaved footings, and it is how Cardinal Exteriors approaches it. It lets you change the size, shape and material at the same time.

• The existing deck is removed and disposed of, and the house wall behind the ledger is inspected.
• Rotted rim or sheathing behind the old ledger is repaired and the wall is flashed.
• New footings go below frost; new posts, beams and joists are framed.
• New decking, railings, stairs and landings are installed in the material you choose.
• Permits are pulled where required and the site is cleaned up.

• Soft or spongy boards and joists
• A ledger pulling away from the house or rust-streaked fasteners
• Posts that have heaved, leaned or rotted at the base
• Railings that wobble or are lower than today's code expects

• Removal and disposal of the old deck
• Repairs to the house wall behind the ledger
• New size, height and shape
• Decking and railing materials
• Footing type and site access

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 deck replacement overview.

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