Composite & PVC Decks in Sebago, Maine

Composite and PVC decking suits Sebago because so many decks here belong to camps whose owners would rather spend summer on the water than sanding and staining. Capped boards resist the mildew and staining that come with shade and pine needles, and they do not splinter under bare feet coming up from the lake. For owners who arrive in May to find a winter's worth of needles and grime, a wash is all the boards need.

Temperature swings are hard on any deck in a town with long, cold winters. Composite boards move with heat and cold, so gaps and fasteners have to follow the manufacturer's instructions, and hidden fastener systems keep the surface clean. Snow cleared from a composite deck should come off with a plastic shovel to avoid scratching the cap. PVC boards contain no wood fiber, which makes them a good choice for low decks close to damp ground or near the waterline. The framing below is still wood in most builds, so pressure-treated joists with joist tape on top, spacing matched to the board chosen, and footings below frost are what make the deck last.

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.

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.

Sebago is inland lake and hill country, so salt air is not a factor; snow and cold are. The National Weather Service station in nearby Gray records about 84 inches of snow in a normal year, with roughly 20 inches in each of January and February. Elevation adds to the exposure here: Sebago Center sits about 450 feet above sea level, and homes on the slopes toward Douglas Mountain sit higher still. Along the shore, Sebago Lake freezes over completely only every few winters, so wind has miles of open water to build across before it reaches the west-shore camps, and the lake area is known for sudden weather changes in every season. Wooded lots throughout town keep walls and decks shaded and slow to dry.

Composite and PVC decking do not need staining, do not splinter, and resist rot, which is why they have become the default for new decks in Maine. Composite boards blend wood fiber and plastic under a protective cap; PVC boards are all synthetic and lighter. The North Deering farmhouse on this site got a rebuilt deck with AZEK composite decking. The framing underneath is still wood, so it is built to last as long as the boards on top.

• Layout, size and board color are chosen with the owner at the estimate visit.
• Footings and framing are built to code, with joist spacing that suits the board manufacturer's span rules.
• Joist tape or flashing protects the tops of joists and the ledger.
• Boards go down with hidden fasteners or color-matched screws and the expansion gaps the product requires.
• Matching railings, stair treads, fascia and landings finish the deck.

• You are done staining and sealing a wood deck every year or two
• The deck is in shade or near water where wood stays damp
• You want a deck that stays barefoot-friendly with no splinters

• Composite versus PVC, and the product line
• Deck size, height and shape
• Railing system and stairs
• Hidden-fastener versus face-screw installation
• Footing and framing conditions

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 composite and PVC decks overview.

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