Bay & Picture Windows in Sebago, Maine

Sebago's two big views are the lake and the hills. West-shore homes look east across Sebago Lake, and houses on the rising ground toward Douglas Mountain can see over the trees. The stone tower Dr. William Blackman built on the summit after buying the mountain in 1892 looks out over Sebago Lake, the Presidential Range and the city of Portland, which gives a sense of how far a well-placed window up there can reach.

Glass that faces the lake faces the wind that crosses it, so large fixed units need solid framing, proper anchoring and a well-flashed head to keep wind-driven rain out. Because most shore houses here face east, strong morning sun comes straight in while afternoon heat is less of an issue than on a west-facing lot, which can change the choice of glass coating. A bay window adds its own small roof, and in a place averaging around 84 inches of snow at the nearest weather station, that roof has to shed snow and be flashed so melt cannot back up behind the siding. Casements flanking a picture unit keep a lake breeze available in summer, and a bay's angled side windows catch light along the shoreline in both directions.

Census estimates count about 1,520 housing units in Sebago, with a median year built of 1975, older than neighboring Naples. About 17 percent predate 1940 and roughly 36 percent predate 1960. Another 19 percent went up between 1960 and 1979, about a quarter between 1980 and 1999, and about 20 percent in 2000 or later. Some 85 percent are single-family detached houses, and about 89 percent of occupied homes are owner-occupied. Nearly 600 units are held for seasonal use. The town's 2006 comprehensive plan found that most homes along Sebago Lake, Peabody Pond and Barker Pond were seasonal while year-round houses sat away from the water, noted a steady conversion of camps to year-round use since 1991, and counted mobile homes at about 13 percent of the stock, mostly on individual lots rather than in parks.

East Sebago grew around William Fitch's early grist mill and sawmill and later around Kernan's West Shore Camps, a steamboat stop, and it still holds the Spaulding Memorial Library and most of the town's businesses. Fitch's General Store and House there, built about 1870, is on the National Register. North Sebago grew around Nason's Wharf, another steamboat landing. Sebago Center, once called Mud City, sits about 3.5 miles inland. In the hills west of the lake, the Dyke Mountain Annex, built between 1906 and 1908, is the only survivor of a summer hotel that burned in 1927. Camp O-AT-KA has operated in East Sebago since 1906.

Permits are handled by the Sebago Code Enforcement and Planning office at 406 Bridgton Road on Route 107, where the Code Enforcement Officer also serves as building inspector and is often out on site visits from noon to 3 p.m. The town's permits page lists building permits, shoreland zoning permits and permit-by-rule forms, and states that no permit is needed for roofing or exterior painting. Siding and window work should be confirmed with the office, and a new deck should be expected to need a building permit. Land within 250 feet of Sebago Lake or a great pond falls under shoreland zoning, which has its own permit form.

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