Siding Replacement in Sebago, Maine

Sebago's houses are older than those in most of the lake towns around it, with a median year built of 1975 and more than a third built before 1960. On those older homes, full siding replacement often means dealing with several generations at once: original clapboard or shingles, a mid-century layer of asbestos-cement or asphalt siding, then aluminum or early vinyl laid over the top. Each layer can trap moisture against the one beneath it, and the damage stays hidden until the last layer comes off. Any suspect mid-century shingles should be tested before removal begins.

Taking the walls down to sheathing is the only way to see what those layers hid, especially along sills and at the corners of old farmhouses and camp additions. On camps near the lake that have been converted to year-round use, a tear-off is also a chance to add a weather-resistive barrier and flash every opening, since many were built without either. Wind off the open lake drives rain hard into lake-facing walls, and those walls usually show a failing envelope first. One of Cardinal's owners measures the house and writes a fixed-price proposal, so layered surprises are discussed before work begins rather than after.

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.

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.

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.

Siding replacement is more than new cladding. The old siding comes off, the sheathing underneath is inspected and repaired where it has gone soft, a new weather-resistive barrier and flashing go on around every opening, and the new siding and trim are installed as one system. In Maine, where wind-driven rain, freeze-thaw cycles and long winters test every seam, the layers you never see decide how long the wall lasts.

• An owner walks the house, measures every wall, and notes rot, past leaks, and how many layers of old siding are on it.
• Old siding and trim are stripped to the sheathing, and damaged boards are cut out and replaced before anything new goes on.
• A house wrap or other weather-resistive barrier is lapped shingle-style, with flashing tape and head flashing at windows and doors.
• New corner boards, window and door casing, and frieze trim go up, then the siding itself, fastened to the manufacturer's spacing.
• Debris is hauled away, magnetic sweeps pick up nails, and the job is walked with you before the last crew leaves.

• Clapboards or shingles that are cupped, split, or soft when pressed
• Paint that peels within a few seasons of being painted
• Stains, mold, or bubbling paint on interior walls after storms
• Dated aluminum, asbestos-cement or 1970s metal siding you want gone
• Rooms that feel drafty along exterior walls

• Wall area and how many stories need staging or lifts
• How many layers of old siding come off, and whether any need special handling
• Sheathing repairs found once the old siding is off
• The siding material chosen: vinyl, fiber cement, cedar or composite
• Trim detail: corner boards, window casing, frieze boards and brackets
• Whether windows or the roof are replaced in the same visit

Every job is priced from a free on-site visit. Typical ranges for the trade are on our siding page, and the details of this service are on the siding replacement overview.

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