Window Replacement in Long Island, Maine

With most of the island's houses built before 1940, original single-pane wood sash is still common, along with aluminum storms and first-generation replacement units whose seals have failed. Summer cottages that were never meant for winter often have the loosest windows of all, and the comprehensive plan counts the island's many unheated or poorly heated summer homes among the reasons they rarely become year-round housing. Houses built before 1978 may contain lead paint, and federal EPA work-practice rules apply when it is disturbed during window removal.

Replacement choices include vinyl replacement windows for simpler cottages and wood or clad units from Andersen, Marvin, Pella and Integrity where divided lights and exterior trim matter. Double-hungs match most of the older houses; casements and awnings seal tighter against wind on exposed walls. Because anything that arrives the wrong size cannot simply be swapped the next day, the estimate is an on-site measurement and a written fixed-price proposal. For owners converting a seasonal cottage to year-round use, tighter, insulated windows are one of the first steps toward a house that can be heated.

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.

Summer steamboats turned Long Island into a resort in the 1890s, with hotels such as the Granite Spring, the Dirigo House and the Mountfort Inn and summer cottages built by rusticators. A 1914 fire destroyed the Granite Spring Hotel, Ponce's wharf and most of the business district. During World War II the Navy built a fuel annex in the island's center, and nearly 90 homes and cottages were destroyed or moved to make room. Much of that land is now town conservation property. The comprehensive plan notes no National Register listings, but the island keeps the remains of Civil War veterans' retreats and a beach whose sand sings underfoot.

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.

A new window is only as good as the way it is set into the wall. Replacement windows go in either as inserts inside the existing frame or as full-frame units after the old frame comes out; the right choice depends on the condition of the frame, the trim you want to keep, and the siding around it. The site lists vinyl replacement windows and wood or clad units from Andersen, Marvin, Pella and Integrity, in double-hung, casement, picture, bay, sliding and awning styles.

• Each opening is measured and checked for rot in the sill, jambs and framing.
• Old sashes or whole frames come out; damaged wood is repaired before the new unit goes in.
• Units are set level, plumb and square, shimmed, and fastened as the manufacturer requires.
• Low-expansion foam and backer rod seal the gap without bowing the frame.
• Flashing, exterior trim or capping and interior casing are finished so the opening sheds water.

• Fog or condensation between the panes of insulated glass
• Sashes that stick, will not stay up, or let in drafts
• Soft or rotted sills and frames
• Single-pane glass or storm windows you take on and off every year
• Frost or ice on the inside of the glass in winter

• Number of windows, their sizes, and any custom shapes
• Vinyl versus wood or clad units, and the brand and series
• Insert versus full-frame replacement
• Glass package and grille options
• Interior and exterior trim work, and whether siding is open around the opening

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 window replacement overview.

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