Window Replacement in Standish, Maine

The window question in Standish depends on when the house was built. With a median year built of 1980, a large share of homes still have first-generation double-pane units from the 1970s and 1980s whose seals have failed, leaving foggy glass, sashes that no longer lock tight, and drafts at the meeting rail. The older village houses, roughly one in six built before 1940, may still carry single-pane wood sashes with storms, which lose heat quickly through a long inland winter.

Any home built before 1978 may have lead paint on window trim, so replacement there falls under the federal EPA renovation rules for lead-safe work practices. Bedroom windows are worth a second look too. The Standish Code Enforcement office lists the residential code's egress requirements, a sill no higher than 44 inches off the floor and a net clear opening of at least 5.7 square feet, which matters when an older casement or small double-hung is swapped in a bedroom. Cardinal installs vinyl replacement windows as well as wood and clad units from Andersen, Marvin, Pella and Integrity, in double-hung, casement, sliding and awning styles.

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.

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