Window Replacement in Windham, Maine

Most Windham homes are young enough that their windows were double-pane from the start, but many of those units are now thirty to forty years old. Failed seals, foggy glass, worn balances that let sashes drop, and cold drafts along the sill are typical in homes from the 1980s and 1990s. The smaller group of older houses, including period homes in South Windham and Windham Center, may still have original wood sashes that rattle in winter wind.

Replacing windows in any house built before 1978 is covered by the federal EPA rules for lead-safe renovation, since old paint on sashes and trim can contain lead. Bedroom windows also matter for safety: replacements should meet the egress size required by the residential code, which can rule out swapping in a smaller unit. In converted lake camps, old windows are often a mix of sizes and brands, and a replacement project can bring them into a consistent set. Cardinal installs vinyl replacement windows and wood or clad windows from Andersen, Marvin, Pella and Integrity, in double-hung, casement, sliding, awning, picture and bay styles.

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.

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