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55 min ago

Westbrook-based company restores antique windows in historic buildings around the state

Photo / Tim Greenway Marc Bagala, owner and president of Bagala Window Works, with a restored six-light sash in the company's wood shop in Westbrook. The sash is being installed in a historic home in Waterboro.
By Tina Fischer

The next time you admire the view from the Portland Observatory on Congress Street on Munjoy Hill, take a moment to appreciate the windows through which you’re peering. They were painstakingly reproduced by Westbrook-based Bagala Window Works Inc. as part of a joint restoration project with Hardy Pond Construction and Papi and Ramano Builders, both based in Portland.

The project was completed years ago, but the exactitude and craftsmanship that Marc Bagala and his team brought to the complex project is typical of the company's process and ethos.

Bagala told Mainebiz that the windows were beyond repair, so he and his team crafted new windows to historic standards, and also replaced the jambs with Douglas fir and the weatherstripping with brass stripping that he manufactures.

On many of the jobs Bagala and his crew of 17 tackle, windows that can be restored are carefully removed from the building, trucked back to the workroom (in a former church on Westbrook’s Main Street), stripped of old paint, reglazed and repainted, with oil-based paint he imports from Europe.

Since he started the company in 1988, Bagala has tackled multiple window (and door) restoration projects around the state in addition to the Observatory. They include the Olson House in Cushing; the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow House in Portland; the Lincoln Theater in Damariscotta; the Walpole Meeting House, built in 1772; the Castle Tucker home in Wiscasset, which is now a museum; the solarium in the Taylor House museum in Waterboro; and an 18,000-square-foot private home in Greenville which had 116 windows in need of repair. The project took two years to complete.

Bagala replaces glass when necessary with antique glass he sources from carpenters who call him when they’re removing old windows. He also buys glass that’s been manufactured to replicate antique glass, but uses it sparingly, as the color is slightly different from historic glass.

He uses a variety of aged woods whenever possible, sometimes Bald Cypress that’s been buried in rivers in Florida. Old wood creates a superior bond with a window’s original wood. Each window is entirely handcrafted; truly a work of art.

woman working on a window repair
Photo / Tim Greenway
Aili Hoyt works on part of a French door in the Bagala wood shop.

The company never simply replaces windows with newly made. Many years ago when he was just starting out, Bagala did a few replacements and found they often had disappointingly short lifespans. 

His work has won multiple awards from Maine Preservation and Greater Portland Landmarks.

In addition to restoration jobs, Bagala teaches his techniques to homeowners, house flippers and people looking to start similar businesses. 

And his work has spawned a second business for himself; he and his brother manufacture both the metal weatherstripping he uses and specialty steam boxes of his own invention, to safely strip lead paint.

Bagala worked as a carpenter before he started restoring windows, but he's largely self-taught, and relishes an opportunity to learn a new skill. He experimented and refined and learned from his mistakes.

"I learn fast," he said, "and necessity is the mother of invention." He calls himself a jack of all trades who comes from a long line of "self-employers."

While Bagala speculates that retiring from the business might not be too far off, he loves the work. With an "excellent" crew handling the physical labor these days, he's in no hurry to move on. 

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