Window and Siding Replacement in Woolwich, ME

Woolwich at a glance

Permit to re-side

Not published

Window, same opening

Not published

New or bigger opening: not published

Window must meet

U-0.30 or lower

2021 IECC (statewide; town need not enforce)

Built before 1980

49%

Homes in Woolwich, Census 2020–2024

People: 3,158
Homes: 1,430
Size: 35.1 square miles
From downtown: About 32 miles northeast
ZIP codes: 04579
Founded or incorporated: 1775

Woolwich is surrounded by water on three sides: the Kennebec River and Merrymeeting Bay to the west, Montsweag Bay to the east and the Sasanoa and Back rivers to the south. Route 1 comes over the Kennebec bridge from Bath and runs through the middle of town. Days Ferry, on the Kennebec, is a National Register village of houses from the 1700s and early 1800s.

The houses in Woolwich

Before 194022%

1940–19598%

1960–197919%

1980–199920%

2000 or later32%

In Woolwich, 49% of homes went up before 1980 and 22% before 1940; the median one dates from 1982. 83% are detached single-family houses, and owners live in 96% of the occupied ones. A sizable share of homes here date from before 1980, the era the federal lead rule covers (homes built before 1978). What the lead rule requires of a contractor.

70% of the homes in Woolwich have three or more bedrooms. The median owned home is worth about $254,500 by its owner's estimate, the figure to weigh any siding or window quote against.

Half the homes in Woolwich were built before 1982, which makes its housing about 5 years newer than across Sagadahoc County as a whole (median 1977). Set against Sagadahoc County as a whole, owners live in 96% of occupied homes here against 78% county-wide, the median owner-estimated value is $254,500 here and $333,300 across the county and detached houses are 83% of the homes, above the county's 75%.

Rooms in the median home: 5.7
Heated with gas / electricity: 1% / 4%
Townhouses and other attached homes: 3%
Homes in buildings of 2 to 4 units: 0%
Homes in buildings of 5 or more units: 0%
Mobile homes: 15%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates (tables B25034, B25035, B25024, B25003, B25077, B25041, B25018 and B25040), read through Census Reporter. These are survey estimates, not a count of every house.

Days Ferry is a historic riverside village of well-kept older homes in Colonial, Federal and Greek Revival styles, while newer growth is steered toward the Nequasset area.

What that vintage turns up

The largest group of homes in Woolwich, 32% of them, was built in 2000 or later, so that is the house described here.

Double-glazed low-e vinyl or fiberglass windows, usually installed with flashing tape over a house wrap. These rarely need replacing for age; when one fails it is usually a seal or a piece of hardware, and the maker's warranty is worth checking before anything else. Heavy frost or water on the inside of the glass in a cold snap is more often a humidity problem in a tight house than a window defect.

Vinyl, fiber cement or engineered wood over oriented strand board and a house wrap, the wall assembly the current code expects. The weak points are workmanship, not materials: tape that let go at the window corners, a missing kickout where a roof edge meets a sidewall, J-channel run tight with no room for the siding to move.

The one to watch on a house of this age

Houses built to recent Maine codes are tight, and Maine now holds new houses to a lower air-leakage limit than the national code. A tight house with too little ventilation fogs its windows all winter; before blaming the glass, check the humidity and the bath and kitchen fans.

And on the 22% built before 1940

Nothing behind the boards sheds water: no house wrap and no flashing at the window heads, only paint and trim. A new window set into that wall needs a sill pan and head flashing improvised into old framing, so ask how the installer will lap it before you compare prices.

Neighborhoods

We work across Days Ferry, Nequasset, Montsweag, North Woolwich, Chops Point and Sagadahoc Ferry.

Historic districts

Woolwich has 1 listed: Days Ferry Historic District. A National Register listing on its own does not limit what you fit; a local district or landmark designation can, and in several towns here a change of siding material or window sash needs a certificate before the permit. Which towns' rules bind, and how.

Next door

Woolwich shares a boundary with Bath, Arrowsic, Georgetown, Bowdoinham, Dresden, Wiscasset, Westport Island, Kennebec River, Merrymeeting Bay, Montsweag Bay, Sasanoa River and Back River.

Kitchen window with potted plants on the sill and a snowy yard outside

The rules in Woolwich

Siding replacement Not published

Woolwich's Planning Ordinance makes it unlawful to erect a building over 200 square feet, or alter the bulk of any building, without a building permit from the Building Inspector. A re-side does not change a building's bulk, and the town's pages do not mention siding.

Window replacement, same opening Not published Enlarging or cutting an opening Not published

Not published. Call the building department before ordering.

Maine sets this, not Woolwich: U-0.30 or lower

Woolwich counted 3,068 residents in the 2020 Census, under the 4,000 mark, so it need not enforce the state's code, and its pages do not say it does; the state still counts meeting the code as the owner's responsibility.

That is the 2021 energy code’s window figure, with no solar heat gain limit.

ENERGY STAR’s own figure here is U-0.22 or lower with an SHGC of 0.17 or higher, stricter than any code edition in force. When the code applies to a replacement window, and when it does not.

Who to call

Building dept: 207-295-4332
Official: Mike Field, Code Enforcement
Permits: Department page

What is behind the siding: every layer explained

Worker on a lift painting new shingle and lap siding on a house gable

Gothic-style house with carved bargeboard trim, a pointed window and diamond-pane sashes

Red clapboard cape-style house with a center chimney, shrubs and a sunny lawn

Blue clapboard house with a front gable, a covered porch and a green lawn

How Woolwich compares with its neighbors

Place	Permit to re-side	Permit for a window	Window must meet
Woolwich	Not published	Not published	U-0.30
Bath	Depends	Depends	U-0.30
Arrowsic	Not published	Not published	U-0.30
Georgetown	No	No	U-0.30
Bowdoinham	No	No	U-0.30
Bowdoin	Not published	Not published	U-0.30
Phippsburg	Depends	Depends	U-0.30

All 10 Sagadahoc County places side by side →

Work we have done in Woolwich

Nothing completed in Woolwich so far. Rather than pad this out, we have left it blank until there is a real job to describe.

Common questions about Woolwich

When were most of the homes in Woolwich built?

32% went up in 2000 or later and 22% before 1940; the median Woolwich home dates from 1982, and 49% are older than 1980 (22% older than 1940). ACS 2020–2024.

Do I need a permit to re-side a house in Woolwich?

No rule is published. Woolwich's rules say nothing on whether you need a permit to re-side, to replace a window in the same opening or to cut or enlarge an opening. Woolwich's Planning Ordinance makes it unlawful to erect a building over 200 square feet, or alter the bulk of any building, without a building permit from the Building Inspector. Next door in Bath, a re-side depends on the job.

What U-factor does a replacement window need in Woolwich?

Maine sets it statewide, not Woolwich: a U-factor of 0.30 or lower under the 2021 energy code Maine adopted, with no limit on solar heat gain. Woolwich counted 3,068 residents in the 2020 Census, under the 4,000 mark, so it need not enforce the state's code, and its pages do not say it does; the state still counts meeting the code as the owner's responsibility.

Does Woolwich have historic districts that limit window or siding choices?

Woolwich has 1: Days Ferry Historic District. Check a property's listing before ordering a visible window change.

Where these facts came from

Sources: cdn.townweb.com · cdn.townweb.com · woolwich.us · woolwich.us · woolwich.us · cdn.townweb.com · cdn.townweb.com · legislature.maine.gov · www2.census.gov · maine.gov · maine.gov

Window and siding replacement in Woolwich

What we do in Woolwich

Replacement windows

Siding replacement

Vinyl siding

Fiber cement

Hail & storm damage

Older homes