Bay & Picture Windows in Standish, Maine

Standish homes on the shore of Sebago, Watchic Lake or a hillside field often have one wall that should be mostly glass. A large picture window facing the water lets in the view without the frames and meeting rails of a row of double-hungs, and a bay or bow can pull the room out toward it. The same windows work on farmhouses facing open land along the town's rural roads.

Big glass on a lakefront wall needs to be built for the exposure. Wind across open water loads a large unit harder than a sheltered window in the woods, so the frame, glazing and installation should match the site, and flashing must shed wind-driven rain coming straight off the lake. A projecting bay has its own small roof, and with about 69 inches of snow a year at the nearest long-record station, that roof must be framed and flashed to carry a winter of wet snow and to keep meltwater from running into the wall. Orientation matters as well: a west-facing picture window looking over Sebago collects strong afternoon heat, so glass coatings should suit the direction the wall faces.

Census estimates put Standish at about 4,900 housing units, with a median year built of 1980. Roughly 17 percent of homes date from before 1940 and about 28 percent from before 1960, while about 22 percent went up between 1960 and 1979 and roughly 23 percent since 2000. This is a town of owners living in detached houses: about 91 percent of occupied homes are owner-occupied and about 86 percent of all units are single-family detached. Around 950 units are held for seasonal use, many of them camps and cottages on Sebago Lake, Watchic Lake and the town's smaller ponds. The town's own 2006 comprehensive plan notes that many seasonal owners come from out of state and use their places on weekends all year. The oldest houses cluster along Route 25 at Standish Corner, and the town allows individual mobile and manufactured homes on house lots.

Standish was incorporated in 1785 and named for Captain Myles Standish. Standish Corner, along Routes 25 and 35, holds the town hall complex, the 1789 Marrett House (now a Historic New England museum) and the Old Red Church, an 1804 meetinghouse on Oak Hill Road that is on the National Register. Many historic homes there stand close to the road within the old eight-rod right-of-way. Sebago Lake Village sits near the lake's southern shore, where Portland Water District land protects the drinking supply for Greater Portland. Steep Falls sits along the Saco River in the western corner of town, and Richville, Elmwood and Standish Neck round out the map.

Building permits in Standish come from the Code Enforcement office at the Municipal Building on Northeast Road. The town requires footing, framing and final inspections, and the permit holder must call for each one; permits run two years. For bedroom windows, the office lists the residential code's egress rules: a sill no higher than 44 inches and at least 5.7 square feet of net clear opening. Lots within 250 feet of Sebago, Watchic, the Saco or the Presumpscot fall under shoreland zoning, which has its own application through the Planning office. Standish Corner has a local historic district, so ask the Planning office first.

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