In Arrowsic, 77% of the 304 homes were built before 2000. We replace and repair roofs here and inspect after storms, starting with a free, photographed inspection.
Arrowsic runs to about 7.7 square miles and roughly 597 people. It sits about 27 miles northeast of downtown Portland. The community dates back to 1841. We cover ZIP code 04530.
No completed roof in Arrowsic is logged in our job records yet.
Homes are scattered across the island, with the older, more closely built clusters at Preble Point and near the Town Hall.
We work across Arrowsic rather than one corner of it — Preble Point, Squirrel Point, Doubling Point, Bald Head, Mill Island and Spring Cove included. Age and construction change between them, which is why we look before we quote.
Arrowsic is a small, rural island town between the Kennebec, Sasanoa and Back rivers, crossed by Route 127 with bridges to Woolwich and Georgetown. It has no commercial or industrial district, homes are spread out on large lots, and all land within 250 feet of the rivers, salt water or Sewall Pond is in the shoreland district. The Doubling Point and Squirrel Point lighthouses stand on its Kennebec shore.
From this stretch of building, houses in Arrowsic sit on plywood or OSB, were first roofed in three-tab shingles, and are mostly on their second roof now. Trouble tends to be at the penetrations rather than across the field: the rubber collar on a pipe boot splits years before the shingles give out, and it is the leak we trace most often. Ridge vents were hit and miss in these decades, and OSB that stays damp for a season softens in a way plywood does not, something you feel underfoot rather than see from the yard.
Arrowsic has 304 homes in the Census Bureau's count and a median year built of 1985. 60 of them (20%) went up before 1940 — 22nd of 64 places on this site for pre-1940 share — and 69 (23%) in 2000 or later. The 1980s were the busiest decade, adding 73 of today's homes (24%). That is below Sagadahoc County's 27%.
About 25 years is the usual useful life of a roof, by the figure in the Maine Bureau of Insurance's claims guide. By that measure, 77% of Arrowsic's homes — the 235 built before 2000 — are past their first roof, and the 76 built before 1970 (25%) are usually on a third covering or later. Homes from the 2000s (49 in Arrowsic) are reaching their first replacement, while the 20 built since 2010 are mostly still on the roof they were built with. Older houses are where a second layer laid over the first turns up, and that layer is what hides soft decking.
By building type: 296 detached houses (97%), 3 attached (1%). Owners live in 95% of the 253 occupied homes. With houses like these, the jobs we expect most are deck and flashing checks on pre-war board sheathing and first replacements on 2000s builder-grade shingles.
| Built | Homes | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Before 1940 | 60 | 20% | |
| 1940s | 1 | 0% | |
| 1950s | 8 | 3% | |
| 1960s | 7 | 2% | |
| 1970s | 43 | 14% | |
| 1980s | 73 | 24% | |
| 1990s | 43 | 14% | |
| 2000s | 49 | 16% | |
| 2010s | 20 | 7% | |
| 2020 or later | 0 | 0% |
Census ACS 2020–2024, tables B25034, B25035, B25024 and B25003: 304 homes, 253 occupied. Survey estimates.
NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center logged no reports of hail 1 inch or larger within 5 miles of Arrowsic’s center from 2016 through 2025. That is a gap in the reports rather than proof that no hail fell: reports come from spotters and the public.
Arrowsic's Zoning Ordinance (amended June 11, 2026) requires a building permit from the Codes Enforcement Officer for new homes, additions over 100 square feet and accessory structures over 200 square feet. In the shoreland, resource protection and special protection districts, smaller additions and accessory structures and replacements over 200 square feet need both a building permit and a conditional use permit. For nonconforming structures, the ordinance allows normal upkeep and maintenance, including repairs or renovations that do not expand the structure, without a permit. The town's pages do not mention re-roofing by name.
Arrowsic is not required to enforce a building code. Maine law leaves enforcement of its statewide code optional for a town of 4,000 or fewer people (10 M.R.S. 9724(1-A)), and Arrowsic had 477 residents in the 2020 Census. A town that does enforce one may use only Maine's code, and the state says meeting the code is the building owner's responsibility either way.
The published number is 207-295-4332. The building official on record is Mike Field, Codes Enforcement Officer. The department page is here.
The design wind speed a roof in Arrowsic is built to depends on where the house stands: across greater Portland and southern Maine the published ultimate design wind speeds run 115–120 mph. Ground snow load is set for each address, not one figure for the whole area: the published figures here run 50–70 psf. The building department can confirm the figure, and the code guide explains what it governs.
Arrowsic borders Woolwich, Bath, Phippsburg, Georgetown, Westport Island and Kennebec River. Our pages for them:
Also in Sagadahoc County:
| Town | Re-roof permit | Code | Median built |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arrowsic | Not published | Enforcement optional | 1985 |
| Woolwich | Not published | Enforcement optional | 1982 |
| Bath | Not published | 2021 IRC | 1939 or earlier |
| Phippsburg | Yes | 2021 IRC | 1984 |
| Georgetown | Conditional | Enforcement optional | 1980 |
| Bowdoin | Not published | Enforcement optional | 1992 |
| Bowdoinham | No | Enforcement optional | 1985 |
All 10 Sagadahoc County towns side by side →
Arrowsic's Zoning Ordinance (amended June 11, 2026) requires a building permit from the Codes Enforcement Officer for new homes, additions over 100 square feet and accessory structures over 200 square feet. In the shoreland, resource protection and special protection districts, smaller additions and accessory structures and replacements over 200 square feet need both a building permit and a conditional use permit. For nonconforming structures, the ordinance allows normal upkeep and maintenance, including repairs or renovations that do not expand the structure, without a permit. The town's pages do not mention re-roofing by name.
Arrowsic is not required to enforce a building code. Maine law leaves enforcement of its statewide code optional for a town of 4,000 or fewer people (10 M.R.S. 9724(1-A)), and Arrowsic had 477 residents in the 2020 Census. A town that does enforce one may use only Maine's code, and the state says meeting the code is the building owner's responsibility either way.
The Census Bureau's 2020–2024 estimates put the median year built at 1985: 20% of Arrowsic's 304 homes predate 1940 and 23% were built in 2000 or later. At the usual 25-year roof life, 77% have needed at least one new roof already.
The building official on record is Mike Field, Codes Enforcement Officer. The department's own number is on this page, beside its name.
Not yet: no completed roof in Arrowsic is in our job records, so this page shows no job count.
Researched 2026-10-24; housing, Census ACS 2020–2024; hail, NOAA SPC. Sources: arrowsic.org · arrowsic.org · arrowsic.org · arrowsic.org · arrowsic.org · legislature.maine.gov · www2.census.gov · www.maine.gov · en.wikipedia.org · arrowsic.org · arrowsic.org · www.zip-codes.com · en.wikipedia.org · data.census.gov · www.spc.noaa.gov. Rules and staff change; check with the jurisdiction.
