Deck Replacement in Frye Island, Maine

Many Frye Island decks were built alongside the cottages of the 1960s through the 1990s, and the pressure-treated framing and older fasteners from those years are now wearing out. Common signs are soft or split boards, railings that move when leaned on, posts sitting on blocks that have shifted with frost, and ledgers fastened to the house without flashing, which lets water rot the rim board year after year.

A complete replacement means removing the old deck down to its footings and building a new one from the ground up. New footings go below the frost line, the ledger is bolted and flashed or replaced by a freestanding frame, and railings, guards and stairs are brought up to current code, which many older island decks never met. The new surface can be composite, PVC, pressure-treated or cedar. Because many decks sit close to Sebago, replacing one at the same size and position may involve shoreland rules for nonconforming structures, so check with the Code Enforcement Office first, along with any tree permit if trees must go. Demolition debris leaves the island by ferry, and the new deck must be done before the season ends. Cardinal builds new decks and full replacements only, not repairs.

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.

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.

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.

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