Attic insulation, air sealing and crawl space work across Sagadahoc County. We cover 10 jurisdictions here, each with its own page: the energy code that applies, the attic R-value it requires, the permit position and the building department's number. Of the county's 19,239 homes, 27% were built before 1940, and 11% of occupied homes heat with electricity.
Click a city for its full code, permit and rebate detail.
| City | Energy code | Attic R required | Permit to insulate | Building dept. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arrowsic | Not published | — | Not published | 207-295-4332 |
| Bath | Maine code, 2021 IECC | R-60 | Not published | 207-443-8334 |
| Bowdoin | Not published | — | Not published | 207-250-2399 |
| Bowdoinham | Not published | — | Not published | 207-666-5531 |
| Georgetown | Not published | — | Not published | 207-295-4332 |
| Phippsburg | Maine code, 2021 IECC | R-60 | Yes | 207-389-2653 |
| Richmond | Not published | — | Not published | 207-737-4305 |
| Topsham | Maine code, 2021 IECC | R-60 | Not published | 207-729-0908 |
| West Bath | Not published | — | Not published | 207-443-4342 |
| Woolwich | Not published | — | Not published | 207-295-4332 |
3 of the 10 publish an energy code edition we could name and 3 of the 10 a required R-value we could read; a blank in this table means the jurisdiction publishes nothing, not that we guessed.
Maine writes one residential energy code for the whole state, and no town may adopt a different building code (10 M.R.S. 9724), so the attic figure for new work is R-60 in every one of the 10 places we cover in Sagadahoc County. What changes from town to town is the permit desk.
Here, Phippsburg requires a permit for insulation work. The town pages carry each department's number.
The 10 places here with their own Census row hold 19,239 of Sagadahoc County's 19,239 homes (100%); the rest are in other municipalities or unincorporated areas.
Sagadahoc County has 19,239 homes in the Census count, with a median year built of 1977. 54% were built before 1980 and 21% in 2000 or later; the single biggest decade was the years before 1940, with 5,216 homes (27%). Of 16,446 occupied homes, 7% heat with utility gas and 11% with electricity.
Across the 10 places we cover here, Bath has the oldest housing (57% before 1940) and Woolwich the newest (32% built in 2000 or later). Bath is the largest, at 4,796 homes, and Bath has the most electric heat (20%).
| Place | Homes | Before 1940 | Median built | Electric heat | Owner-occupied |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bath | 4,796 | 57% | 1939 or earlier | 20% | 64% |
| Topsham | 4,313 | 12% | 1980 | 10% | 79% |
| Richmond | 1,782 | 32% | 1975 | 6% | 70% |
| Phippsburg | 1,763 | 19% | 1984 | 2% | 82% |
| Woolwich | 1,430 | 22% | 1982 | 4% | 96% |
| Bowdoin | 1,429 | 7% | 1992 | 9% | 85% |
| Bowdoinham | 1,370 | 15% | 1985 | 11% | 94% |
| West Bath | 1,039 | 12% | 1983 | 14% | 82% |
| Georgetown | 1,013 | 22% | 1980 | 2% | 83% |
| Arrowsic | 304 | 20% | 1985 | 13% | 95% |
Against the three-county metro on this site (287,616 homes), Sagadahoc County's pre-1940 share of 27% compares with 22%, and its electric-heat share of 11% with 13%. 2,721 occupied homes (17%) burn propane or other tank gas and 1,538 (9%) heat with wood, which matters because neither fuel comes with a gas utility's program attached. 78% of occupied homes are owner-occupied and 75% of all homes are single-family detached houses.
In Sagadahoc County that adds up to 5,216 pre-1940 homes, where walls were usually built empty (wall insulation) and a vermiculite check comes first; 4,303 homes from the 1950s to the 1970s, the usual candidates for an attic top-up; 4,017 built since 2000, where air sealing tends to matter more than extra depth.
| Built | Homes | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Before 1940 | 5,216 | 27% | |
| 1940s | 887 | 5% | |
| 1950s | 849 | 4% | |
| 1960s | 1,180 | 6% | |
| 1970s | 2,274 | 12% | |
| 1980s | 2,618 | 14% | |
| 1990s | 2,198 | 11% | |
| 2000s | 2,297 | 12% | |
| 2010s | 1,503 | 8% | |
| 2020 or later | 217 | 1% |
Figures: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates (tables B25001, B25003, B25024, B25034, B25035, B25040). Survey estimates carry margins of error, widest in the smallest places. Census table.
In Sagadahoc County, 53% of occupied homes heat with fuel oil or kerosene, 17% with propane or other tank gas and 11% with electricity, and 7% utility gas (Census ACS 2020–2024). Efficiency Maine pays the same rebates in Sagadahoc County as anywhere else in the state: $2,000 per attic, wall or basement zone with 500 square feet or more insulated at any income, $3,000 for a verified moderate-income household and $4,000 for a low-income one, plus $150 to $300 for sealing the attic's air leaks. It applies to work completed on or after October 1, 2026 by one of its Residential Registered Vendors, and an attic qualifies only if it starts at R-21 or less. Income-qualified households in Sagadahoc County can apply to Kennebec Valley Community Action Program (207-859-1500) for free weatherization through MaineHousing instead. Every condition is in the rebate guide.
It depends on the city, not the county. Across Sagadahoc County, 1 of the 10 jurisdictions we cover require a permit for insulation work (Phippsburg); the other 9 publish no rule either way. Each town page says which applies and gives the building department's number.
For new work, the published attic figures across Sagadahoc County are R-60 in Bath, Phippsburg, Topsham. 7 of the 10 jurisdictions publish no figure we could read. The Department of Energy recommends R60 for an uninsulated attic in this climate zone.
The Census Bureau's 2020–2024 estimates put 27% of Sagadahoc County's 19,239 homes before 1940 and 54% before 1980, with a median year built of 1977.
The same ones in every town across Sagadahoc County: Efficiency Maine pays $2,000 per attic, wall or basement zone of 500 square feet or more at any income, $3,000 at moderate income and $4,000 at low income, plus $150 to $300 for attic air sealing, for work completed on or after October 1, 2026 by one of its Residential Registered Vendors. The electric utility does not change it.
Yes, through the Weatherization Assistance Program that MaineHousing funds, which Kennebec Valley Community Action Program runs for Sagadahoc County (207-859-1500). If the household income qualifies, the work can be free rather than discounted.
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