James Hardie Fiber Cement Siding in Frye Island, Maine

James Hardie fiber cement answers two worries that are sharper on Frye Island than on the mainland. The first is moisture: the boards will not rot, swell or feed mildew, which matters on shaded walls in roughly 1,000 acres of woods where siding may stay damp all fall. The second is fire. Fiber cement does not burn, and on a wooded island reached by ferry, where a house may sit empty for months, a non-combustible exterior is a sensible layer of protection for a home surrounded by trees.

It also handles freeze-thaw well, since the boards stay dimensionally stable through a winter of swings above and below freezing that nobody is present to watch. Lap siding or shingle-style panels give the look of a painted cottage without the repainting, and the factory finish lasts longest when cut ends are sealed and the bottom course stays clear of the ground and of roof snow. The trade-off is weight. Fiber cement is heavy, comes in long boxed lengths and has to be cut with dust control, so ferry delivery, on-site storage under cover and staging on sloped shore lots all belong in the plan before the season starts.

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.

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.

Fiber cement is a mix of cement, sand and cellulose fiber pressed into planks, shingles and panels. It does not rot, insects do not eat it, it will not burn, and factory-applied finishes hold color far longer than site-painted wood. It is heavier and more exacting to install than vinyl, which is exactly why installation quality shows. The Back Cove home on this site was re-sided with a complete James Hardie package of wood-grain plank.

• Walls are stripped, repaired and wrapped, with flashing at every opening and roof-to-wall joint.
• Boards are cut with dust-controlled tools and fastened to the manufacturer's nailing schedule.
• Required clearances are held above roofs, decks and grade so the ends never sit in water or snow.
• Butt joints get flashing behind them, and cut ends are sealed or primed as the manufacturer specifies.
• Trim, caulk lines and touch-up are finished so the pre-finished color stays uniform.

• You want the look of painted clapboard without the paint cycle
• Wood siding keeps rotting at the bottom courses and around trim
• The house sits in wind and salt exposure that punishes other materials
• You want a non-combustible exterior

• Product line and profile: lap plank, shingle, panel or board-and-batten
• Pre-finished color versus site painting
• Trim package and detailing
• Tear-off, sheathing repair and house height
• Number of windows, doors and corners to flash and trim

Every job is priced from a free on-site visit. Typical ranges for the trade are on our siding page, and the details of this service are on the James Hardie fiber cement siding overview.

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