Bay & Picture Windows in Harrison, Maine

The view down Long Lake or across Crystal Lake is the reason many Harrison houses were built where they are, and large fixed glass is how owners bring it indoors. A picture window with operable casements or awnings on either side gives the view without giving up fresh air, and a bay or bow projecting from a living room gains a wider angle up and down the shore.

Big glass on a lakefront wall has to handle what comes across the water. Wind builds over a lake about 12 miles long, so frames, glazing and anchoring need the right design pressure rating, and a projecting bay needs solid support underneath rather than just brackets. The small roof over a bay collects snow and can form ice at the joint with the main wall, so it should be flashed and underlaid like any other roof. Orientation matters too: glass facing south and west over the water picks up strong afternoon sun, where a low-e coating tuned to limit solar heat keeps a summer room comfortable. On a village house, a picture unit on a back wall can open up a view to fields or woods without changing the street face. An owner measures on site and writes a fixed-price proposal.

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 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.

Picture windows are large fixed units that frame a view and pour light into a room. Bay and bow windows project out from the wall, adding floor space and light from three or more directions. Both are heavier and more exposed than an ordinary window, so the structure, support, roof and flashing around them matter. The Cumberland Center colonial on this site received Andersen 400 Series bay, double-hung and picture windows.

• The opening, header and framing are checked; widening an opening may need a new header.
• Bay and bow units are supported with cables, brackets or a framed seat so they do not sag.
• The small roof over a bay is flashed into the wall and roofed or capped to match the house.
• Insulation goes into the seat and head so the projection is not a cold spot.
• Interior seat boards, casing and exterior trim are finished to match.

• A view you want to see more of from the main living space
• An old bay that sags, leaks at the roof, or feels cold at the seat
• Fogged glass in a large fixed unit
• A dark room that needs more daylight

• Size and configuration: picture, bay or bow, number of units
• Whether the rough opening changes size
• Support method and seat or roof finish
• Glass package and brand
• Interior finish carpentry

Every job is priced from a free on-site visit. Typical ranges for the trade are on our window replacement page, and the details of this service are on the bay and picture windows overview.

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