Siding, Roofing, Windows & Decks in Frye Island, Maine

Census estimates for Frye Island are rough, because so few people live there year-round, but the picture is clear. The survey counts about 575 housing units with a median year built of 1990, and almost all of them, about 560, are held for seasonal or recreational use. The 2020 census counted just 32 residents. Nearly every unit is a single-family detached house, none of the counted stock predates 1960, about 28 percent went up between 1960 and 1979, and about a third date from 2000 or later. On the ground that means wooded lots of summer cottages and camp-style houses, a steady stream of newer and larger seasonal homes, and a lot of houses that have been enlarged since they were first built.

Sebago Lake shapes everything about the weather here. It is the deepest lake in Maine at 316 feet and covers about 30,500 acres, and it rarely freezes over completely, so wind crosses open water well into winter and hits the shoreline houses on every side of the island. Weather around the lake can change suddenly in any season. The National Weather Service office in nearby Gray averages about 84 inches of snow a year. On Frye Island that snow sits on roofs and decks all winter with nobody there to clear it, and the island's roughly 1,000 wooded acres keep walls and decking shaded and damp.

Frye Island is named for Captain Joseph Frye, and the land was part of the 1750 grant that became Standish before the island seceded to form its own town. Twin 65-foot car ferries make a roughly seven-minute crossing, every half hour through July and August and less often in spring and fall. Once across, golf carts are the usual way around, on roads with a 20 mph limit. The island has a golf course, two marinas and recreation facilities, and its town hall sits on Fairway Lane. Houses are scattered along the shore and through the woods.

Permits go through the Frye Island Code Enforcement Office in the new Town Hall at 10 Fairway Lane, open Tuesdays and Thursdays. The town posts separate applications for building and construction, electrical, plumbing, septic and tree removal. Completed forms go in the town office drop box or by email, and the officer sets the fee after review. Any tree over 4 inches in diameter needs a free tree removal permit before it is cut, which matters when clearing space for a deck. Since February 2024 an impact fee applies to new dwelling units. Sebago is a great pond, so state shoreland zoning rules apply near the water.

Each page below covers one job in Frye Island: what the town's houses and weather mean for it, what the work involves, and what moves the price. For the full picture of a trade, see our siding, window replacement, roofing and deck building pages.