Siding, Roofing, Windows & Decks in Harrison, Maine

Census estimates count about 1,800 housing units in Harrison, with a median year built of 1980. Roughly 20 percent went up before 1940 and about 26 percent before 1960, another 24 percent date from 1960 to 1979, and about 26 percent were built in 2000 or later. Close to 89 percent are single-family detached houses, and about 90 percent of occupied homes are owner-occupied. Nearly 500 units, a bit more than a quarter of the stock, are held for seasonal or recreational use, mostly camps and cottages on the lakes. In practice that means three kinds of houses: 19th-century capes and connected farmhouses in and around the villages, modest ranches and camps from the postwar decades, and larger year-round homes and rebuilt lake houses from the last 25 years. Many older camps have been winterized and added onto in stages.

Harrison is inland lake country, well away from salt air, so cold and snow do the damage here. The closest National Weather Service normals come from the forecast office in Gray, which records about 84 inches of snow a year for 1991 to 2020, and Harrison sits farther north and inland still. Winters bring long stretches below freezing broken by thaws, which is the cycle that drives ice dams and splits old paint and caulk. Long Lake runs about 12 miles from end to end, so homes on the shore face wind that builds over open water. Lots set back in the woods have the opposite problem: shade and damp that keep siding, roof valleys and deck boards wet long after a storm.

Harrison has two villages, Harrison and Bolsters Mills, and the town is drained by the Bear River and the Crooked River. James Sampson built the first sawmill and gristmill at Harrison village, and after the Cumberland and Oxford Canal opened in 1832 the village shore filled with wharves and warehouses. Scribner's Mill, built in 1847 on the Crooked River, is now a museum. Three buildings are on the National Register: Deertrees Theatre, a 1936 Adirondack-style hall built of rose hemlock cut on its own grounds; the former Caswell Public Library at 42 Main Street; and Lakeside Grange No. 63 on Main Street.

Building permits come from the Harrison Code Enforcement Department at the Town Office on Front Street, whose officer is also the shoreland zoning administrator. The town Building Permit Requirements Ordinance requires a permit before anyone builds, modifies or adds to a structure, and names only routine minor maintenance, such as painting, as exempt, so ask the office before a residing or re-roofing job. The officer has 30 days to act on a complete application, and a permit lapses after a year without a substantial start. Inspections are booked 24 hours ahead. Near the lakes, the Shoreland Zoning Ordinance sets a 100-foot setback for new structures from great ponds.

Each page below covers one job in Harrison: 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.