MANCHESTER — The annual Window Dressers Northshire Community Build was held at the First Congregational Church in Manchester from October 17 to 23, with volunteers coming and going in four hour shifts – from morning to night – over the week-long event, to help people winterize their homes.
Similar programs are being held in Windham County over the next two weeks.
“Window Dressers is a program that got started in Maine,” explained coordinator Jim Salsgiver, as he prepared to teach a new group how to pull and tack the film around the rim of a window panel unit.
“They came up with such a good idea for these window inserts,” said Salsgiver. “It’s like putting an inside-the-house storm window in your house. It adds good insulation value and it stops all the leaks. It caught on so much that it expanded to New Hampshire and Vermont.”
Window Dressers, the brainchild of Richard Cadwgan and Frank Mundo, was initiated in 2010 following a woeful energy audit at their place of worship where the windows in the sanctuary were identified as a major cause of heat loss.
Constructing the first prototypes, Cadwgan installed them and the entire congregation was impressed with the results – “a warmer church atmosphere, lowered heating bills, and reduced CO2 emissions.”
Teaming up with Mundo, the pair began to expand the project out into their local communities. With a small loan from the church, Cadwgan and Mundo developed a model that could be expanded beyond the needs of their local community.
The vision was founded on three main principles – environmentalism, humanitarianism, and fiscal responsibility.
The Window Dressers inserts help to preserve heat resources, reduce fuel consumption, and reduce CO2 emissions. They promote community involvement and outreach – and are produced through the efforts of volunteer networks. Access to the inserts are equitable, and those who cannot afford them receive them at a substantially reduced cost or at no cost.
“This year – in Vermont – we are one of 23 community builds all over the state where people are making these window inserts for neighbors,” said Salsgiver.
“We have people – you know, the elderly, or people who just couldn’t afford the high heating bills – and we do them for free,” said Salsgiver, adding that – of the inserts that were purchased by those who could afford them, the cost was less than half of what it would have cost elsewhere.
As for finding those in need, Salsgiver said that has been difficult, mostly due to issues of confidentiality.
At first, Salsgiver said the team tried going through the churches and the town managers, promoting the program on social media, going through GNAT-TV and local papers.
While those efforts led to the communities of Wells and Fair Haven – and possibly West Pawlett – looking at the viability of initiating their own programs, there were still difficulties reaching the individuals most in need, locally.
“We were still having trouble finding people who really needed them, but couldn’t afford them,” explained Salsgiver. “And, what we’ve found in recent years is that we had to have a real focus on just following up on any lead. We just make it happen. And, we’ve asked people to spread the word.”
Salsgiver described the inserts as “a really great simple product” that “works tremendously well.” His inserts, he said, have remained in his windows for five years now – and have provided lower energy costs year-round, “I just leave them in there because, I’ll tell you, in the summertime these help a lot in keeping it cool, too.”
Of the structure of the community builds, Salsgiver and cohort Jeannie Jenkins liken it to the community builds of olden days. With the emphasis on volunteerism, “there is zero labor cost.”
“Basically, people liken it to an old-style barn-raising sort of event where people come together to build,” said Salsgiver, turning to provide instruction to a pair of volunteers who had lifted an empty window panel and laid it on one of the work surfaces.
He and Jenkins demonstrated the technique they found most efficient, and then stepped back to let the volunteers take over.
The window insert frames are made from pine, and come in natural or white.
The pine frames are wrapped “drum-tight” with a durable plastic film on the front and back. This specialized polyolefin film is secured and then heat-treated to create a clear, tight, taught surface. Between the back and front films is the insulating air space.
The outer edges of the frame receive a strip of foam weather tape that, once placed within the window frame, stops drafts and secures the window insert in place by a gentle and snug pressure.
“Renters and homeowners fit the inserts into their windows from the inside where they are held in place by friction – and they are beautiful,” explained Jenkins. “Depending on the efficiency of your windows and home, you could see fuel savings of up to 20 percent with inserts in place.”
Inserts are free for those who cannot afford to pay, Jenkins reminded, and are low cost for middle and higher-income households and, while insert order construction is already underway for 2024, orders for 2025 can still be placed.
The process is simple. Individuals are requested to call 207-596-3073 to be referred to their local Window Dressers group. They will then be asked to fill out the paperwork, after which a team of volunteers will arrive to take measurements, provide a quote, and collect payment.
Those who are able, are asked to volunteer at a community build, as well.
Once the community build takes place, inserts can be collected and installed.
“What we’re really trying to do,” said Salsgiver, “is give people a simple way – at a good cost – to live a more comfortable life, and use less energy. And, that’s all tied together.”
Both Salsgiver and Jenkins encourage people to find out more about the Window Dressers Builds in their areas.
Additional builds in Southern Vermont are also scheduled.
A Windham County Build covering the towns of Windham, Londonderry, and Wardsboro will be held Oct. 31 to Nov. 6 at the Windham Elementary School in Windham.
A second Windham County Build covering the towns of Brattleboro and Guilford will be held Nov. 10-14 at the Winston Prouty Center in Brattleboro.
To find out more about the community-driven scheduled Window Dressers Builds in Vermont – or to get inserts for your home, business, or local non-profit – visit https://windowdressers.org/vermont-community-builds/.