Bay & Picture Windows in Windham, Maine

Big glass earns its place on Windham's lake lots. A living room facing Sebago Lake near Jordan Bay, a cove on Little Sebago or the open side of Highland Lake gets the most from a large picture window, often flanked by casements for air. Homes set back on the wooded hills and fields around Windham Center use bay and bow windows to pull light into rooms shaded by trees.

Large units have to be sized and installed for the site. A picture window facing open water takes more wind pressure than glass in a sheltered subdivision, so frame strength, glass thickness and anchoring should match the exposure. A projecting bay has a small roof of its own that collects snow and ice all winter; with around 69 inches of snow a year at the nearest long-record station, that roof needs solid framing, proper flashing where it meets the wall, and an ice barrier so meltwater does not leak inside. West-facing glass over Sebago catches hot late-day sun in summer, so coatings chosen for that orientation keep rooms comfortable.

Census estimates count about 8,700 housing units in Windham, with a median year built of 1985. Roughly 27 percent of homes were built in 2000 or later, and about 21 percent between 1960 and 1979, while only about 12 percent predate 1940. About 85 percent of occupied homes are owner-occupied and roughly 79 percent of units are single-family detached. Around 780 units are held for seasonal use. The town's 2017 comprehensive plan notes that many once-seasonal camps around the lakes are now lived in year-round, still reached by old gravel roads built for summer use. It also records that Windham's population held near 2,000 from 1830 to 1940, so most of today's houses belong to the decades of growth that followed.

Windham began as New Marblehead, granted in 1734 and incorporated as Windham in 1762. Its villages carry that history. South Windham grew with the mills at Little Falls on the Presumpscot, shared with Gorham across the river. Windham Center and Windham Hill line the old stage road to the lakes, where the Windham Hill Congregational Church dates from 1835. Great Falls keeps period homes along Great Falls Road and is a National Register historic district, and Popeville holds the Quaker Friends Meeting House. North Windham, on Route 302 between Jordan Bay and Little Sebago Lake, is the town's commercial center.

Windham's Code Enforcement department, at 8 School Road, administers the town's land use, building, plumbing and electrical codes, and permits are applied for through the town's online portal. Decks are structural work, so check permit needs there before building one. Properties within 250 feet of Sebago Lake, Little Sebago, Highland Lake, the Presumpscot or the Pleasant River fall under shoreland zoning, which the town administers and which limits building near the water. Windham adopted a historic preservation ordinance in 1989, but its 2017 plan says no local historic district boundaries were ever put in place.

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