Siding installation in Portland, ME means working on the oldest housing in Maine: balloon-framed Victorians and triple-deckers from 1870 to 1920 on the peninsula, mid-century houses off it. On walls that old, what hides behind the clapboards decides the job.
Here is how Southern Maine Siding handles re-siding in Portland, Maine, from the peninsula's wood triple-deckers and Victorians to the postwar homes of Deering, Rosemont and North Deering. The work spans tear-off, sheathing repair and flashing, then new vinyl, cedar shingles, LP SmartSide engineered wood or James Hardie fiber cement.
What sets a Portland job apart is the city's review: siding visible from a public way in a historic district, or on a landmark, needs approval before work begins. We sort that out first and plan the material around the city's matching standard.
The figure to keep: Portland vinyl averages $1,025 to $1,300 per square, with cedar shingles near $2,575; each is the middle of a long run of quotes, never a figure for your own walls.
Portland's old housing changes a siding job because century-old sills and paint come off with the clapboards, and much of the peninsula sits under historic review.
Portland's houses fall into three groups, each with its own siding.
In a district, Portland's standard asks a replacement to match the original's composition, design, texture and, where possible, material. On a shingled house, that means cedar shingle siding, weathered silver-gray or stained.
All of Portland lies within 15 miles of salt water, where the Cedar Shake and Shingle Bureau calls for Type 316 stainless nails. Iron nails stain cedar blue-black.
Portland's triple-deckers grew out of houses built after the Great Fire of 1866: three stories, one unit per floor. Outside a district, we would side a wood one in James Hardie fiber cement, because painted boards read like the clapboard it started with.
With no side yard, we plan staging and the dumpster first, keep boards clear of roofs and ground, and flash every butt joint and window head.
Deering, Rosemont and North Deering are mainly mid-century and postwar houses, and most suit vinyl siding replacement. Extra money goes into sheathing and flashing there before a pricier board.
Vinyl moves half an inch or more over a 12-foot-6 panel, per the Vinyl Siding Institute, so we nail it loose. Landmarks exist here too, such as five Forest Avenue buildings at Woodfords Corner.
Portland re-sides come down to three pieces of work.
District review and the building permit are separate approvals here, so we ask Permitting and Inspections whether your job needs a permit and pull it when it does.
With your permission we lift clapboards low by a sill, at one corner and over a window, and log what turns up in the scope.
Nothing comes off the house until you sign.
Tenants on three floors of a triple-decker never face open walls on every side, and we walk the finished house with you.
You choose siding installation in Portland, ME by answering the review question first: is the house a landmark or in a historic district, with the wall visible from a public way? If so, the Historic Preservation Board or its staff must approve the siding.
Our stance in a district: start from the original material and treat anything else as the city's call. Ask how each crew handles old paint under the EPA lead renovation rule, which covers houses built before 1978.
Maine law puts any job above $3,000 under a written, signed contract, with at most a third paid up front.
The Portland owners who should look first hold the peninsula's oldest wood houses, like Munjoy Hill's, mostly built from 1850 to 1925.
Siding needs city review in Portland's historic districts, mostly on the peninsula, and on designated landmarks, when visible from a public way. Munjoy Hill's district, approved 5-4 on April 12, 2021, covers 376 parcels.
A Portland re-side fits the calendar from spring through fall, and frost leaves the city sooner than inland Maine. Winter is for filing any review application.
A Portland re-side costs about $1,025 to $1,300 per square in vinyl, $1,550 to $1,925 in LP SmartSide, $1,675 to $2,050 in James Hardie and $2,575 in cedar shingles. Read each as an average of many Portland quotes, never your price.
| House size | Vinyl | LP SmartSide | James Hardie | Cedar shingles |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small20 to 25 squares | $20,500 to $32,000 | $31,000 to $48,500 | $33,500 to $51,500 | $51,500 to $64,500 |
| Medium25 to 32 squares | $26,000 to $41,000 | $38,500 to $62,000 | $42,000 to $66,000 | $64,500 to $82,500 |
| Large32+ squares | from $33,000 | from $49,500 | from $53,500 | from $82,500 |
Portland per-square averages (each square covers 100 square feet of wall) from many quotes, never a bid; strip-off, wrap, flashing, trim and disposal included; rot underneath moves them.
After the material, height and the tear-off move a Portland price most: triple-deckers need staging all around, and soft sills or Victorian trim add hours.
Covering the old layer is an option in Portland when it is cement-asbestos shingle, or clapboard under lead paint, on a flat, dry wall, sparing tear-off and disposal. It is off the table on a soft or wet wall.
There is no Portland repair price here because we price repairs at the house, by damage, height, hidden rot and the match. Districts lean toward repair; past most of a wall, re-siding is the better buy.
After a Portland estimate request, we visit, read the walls and check the district map, then send a written price.
