Window Replacement in Scarborough, Maine

About 39 percent of Scarborough's homes were built before 1980, and many of them still have original wood sashes or early replacement units that rattle in a northeast wind and leak cold air around the frame. Painted wood windows in a house built before 1978 may carry lead paint; federal EPA rules require that anyone paid to disturb painted surfaces in those homes be certified in lead-safe work practices, so removal is done with containment and cleanup.

The town's larger block of 1980s and 1990s homes has a different problem: first-generation double-pane glass whose seals have failed, leaving fogged units, and vinyl frames that have warped or chalked. Near Saco Bay the bigger concern is wind-driven rain, which finds any gap in the flashing at the sill and head of a window; a replacement that is properly flashed and integrated with the house wrap stops water that caulk alone cannot. Bedroom windows have minimum egress openings under the residential code, which matters when switching styles. Cardinal installs vinyl replacement windows and wood or clad units from Andersen, Marvin, Pella and Integrity, in double-hung, casement, sliding and awning styles.

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.

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