Bay & Picture Windows in Scarborough, Maine

Scarborough offers more to look at than most towns in the county: the open grass and tidal channels of the 3,200-acre marsh, Saco Bay from Pine Point and Prouts Neck, and the beach at Higgins Beach. A fixed picture window takes in that kind of view with no sashes or muntins in the way, and a bay or bow window pushes the glass out from the wall so a room gains side views up and down the shore or across the marsh.

Large glass on an exposed wall needs to be sized for the wind it will face. Units near the water should carry a design-pressure rating suited to the site, and panes near floors and doors must be safety glass under the residential code. A bay window's small roof collects snow and ice like any other roof, so it needs its own flashing, underlayment and a solid support system below; a sagging bay usually traces back to inadequate support rather than the window. West- and south-facing glass over the marsh gets strong afternoon sun, and a low-emissivity coating cuts heat and fading. Cardinal installs picture, bay and bow units in wood, clad and vinyl, and one of the owners measures the opening before a price is written.

Census estimates for 2020 to 2024 put Scarborough at about 11,100 housing units with a median year built of 1988, a young housing stock for a town settled in 1635. About 30 percent of homes date from 2000 or later and roughly another 31 percent from the 1980s and 1990s, so a large share of houses are reaching the age when original roofs, builder-grade windows and first-generation siding come due together. About 24 percent went up between 1960 and 1979. The older layer is thinner but distinctive: about 16 percent of homes predate 1960 and about 8 percent predate 1940, including the summer cottages of Prouts Neck, many of which have changed little in more than a century. Roughly 69 percent of homes are single-family detached, about 77 percent of occupied homes are owner-occupied, and some 850 units are held for seasonal use.

Scarborough was settled in 1635 and incorporated in 1658, and it grew as a string of separate places rather than around one downtown: Pine Point, Higgins Beach and Prouts Neck on the shore, and Dunstan, Oak Hill, Eight Corners, North Scarborough and West Scarborough inland. Prouts Neck, first called Black Point, became a summer colony of Shingle-style cottages, many designed by Maine architect John Calvin Stevens. In 1884 he reworked a carriage house there into Winslow Homer's studio, now a National Historic Landmark owned by the Portland Museum of Art. The 3,200-acre Scarborough Marsh is fed by the Nonesuch, Libby and Dunstan rivers. Other National Register listings include the Dunstan Methodist Episcopal Church and the Richard Hunniwell House.

Building permits in Scarborough go through the Code Enforcement division of the Planning and Codes Department, which applies the 2021 Maine Uniform Building and Energy Code and its residential code. The town's code FAQ says anyone who intends to construct, alter or repair a building must first obtain the required permit, so new decks and deck replacements are permitted before work starts; ask the office about roofing, siding and windows. Lots near the shore, marsh or rivers fall under Shoreland Zoning Ordinance 405C, and any development in a FEMA Special Flood Hazard Area needs a flood hazard permit, a condition of the town's membership in the National Flood Insurance Program.

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 Scarborough exterior services overview, or see every town on our Cumberland County service areas page.