Deck Building in Long Island, Maine

Plenty of Long Island houses look toward a beach or open water, and a deck is how a cottage takes advantage of that. The rules start with the lot. In the shoreland zone, the town's land use ordinance requires new structures to be set back at least 75 feet from the upland edge of a coastal wetland, and 250 feet in the Resource Protection zone. It treats an attached deck as part of the principal structure, so the deck counts toward setbacks and toward the 15 percent lot-coverage limit in several zones.

A new deck needs a town building permit with a scaled site plan, and the application lists foundation types including a 4-foot frost wall and piers. Footings belong below frost depth, anchored to rock where it is close to the surface. Cardinal builds new decks only, in pressure-treated lumber, cedar, or composite and PVC boards, with railings, stairs and landings. Hardware and connectors should be rated for salt exposure, since standard galvanized parts corrode quickly near the water. Lumber, concrete and decking cross on the private barge, and the debris container requirement applies to deck jobs too.

Census estimates count about 423 housing units, and the median year built is 1938. About 66 percent of units predate 1940, and about 68 percent predate 1960. Almost nothing was built between 1960 and 1979, only around 3 percent, and about 15 percent went up in 2000 or later. Roughly 95 percent of units are single-family detached houses, and about 88 percent of year-round households own their home. Seasonal use dominates: about 307 units, nearly three-quarters of the stock, are held for seasonal or occasional use. The town's comprehensive plan counts about 50 homes converted from year-round to summer-only use over a recent 25-year stretch and describes many summer houses as unheated or poorly heated. Many trace back to the summer-cottage boom of the 1890s and 1900s.

The Code Enforcement Officer meets by appointment through the Town Clerk. The town's building permit application covers new structures, additions, alterations, replacements and repairs, and it must include a scaled site plan and proof that a construction debris container has been delivered to be barged off the island. Every job gets at least three inspections: foundation, framing and final. Height is capped at 35 feet, and several zones limit structures to 15 percent of the lot. In the shoreland zone, new structures sit at least 75 feet from the upland edge of a coastal wetland, and the permit form warns that shoreland work may also need a Maine DEP permit.

Long Island lies about six miles out from Portland along Hussey Sound, a main passage into the inner bay. Wind reaches it from every direction, and the town's comprehensive plan notes that the first settlers built on the south side of the island to shelter from northerly winter winds. Portland International Jetport, the nearest long-term station, averages about 69 inches of snow a season under the 1991 to 2020 normals. A January 2022 winter storm badly damaged the wave break, floats and pilings at Mariner's Wharf, and the plan lists sea level rise, stronger storms and upkeep of the island's bluffs among the town's concerns.

A new deck starts below ground. Footings have to reach below the frost line so the deck does not heave, the ledger that ties the deck to the house has to be flashed so it never rots the rim, and the framing has to carry snow as well as people. On top of that structure goes the part you see: composite and PVC boards, pressure-treated lumber or cedar, with railings, stairs and landings. Cardinal Exteriors builds new decks and full replacements only; it does not take on deck repairs or staining.

• An owner visits, looks at the yard and the house, and talks through size, layout, stairs and material.
• Permits are pulled where the town requires them.
• Footings are dug or set below frost; posts, beams and joists are framed to span and load.
• The ledger is flashed and fastened with structural fasteners, or the deck is built freestanding.
• Decking, railings, stairs and landings go on, with hidden or face fasteners to suit the boards.

• You want outdoor living space where there is none
• An existing deck is too small or poorly laid out for how you use it
• A new door, addition or view calls for a deck to reach it

• Deck size, height and shape
• Decking material: composite, PVC, pressure-treated or cedar
• Railing style and stair runs
• Footing type and site conditions: ledge, slope, access
• Permits and any shoreland or setback requirements

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 new deck building overview.

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