Lots of homes, particularly older ones, have leaky windows, increasing heating costs. They can also be expensive to replace.

WindowDressers has found an alternative to replacing windows, developing window inserts that stop leaks, save on  heating costs and reduce CO2 emissions. WindowDressers was founded in October 2010 in Rockford, Maine. It has since expanded to Vermont and New Hampshire, focusing on community builds in which volunteers conduct the measurements and construct the inserts for customers.

According to WindowDressers’ website, windowdressers.org, as of 2023, 68,044 inserts had been built, saving a total of 455,473 MMBtu of natural gas, 3.28 million gallons of heating oil and 36,715 tons of carbon dioxide. Annual savings was estimated at $1.99 million.

One of WindowDressers’ builds last year was in Peterborough, where Jonathan Gourlay of Peterborough, regional coordinator of Monadnock WindowDressers, was in charge of assembly at the Noone Falls Mill. It was a six-day effort in October, with close to 30 people building 141 inserts for 17 households. 

The next build will be Oct. 16 to 22, but Gourlay is already recruiting volunteers, and would like eight to 10 more. Informational meetings are scheduled for Thursday, March 27, at 5:30 and 6 p.m. in the Eben Jones Classroom on the ground floor of Peterborough Town Library. Anyone interested in volunteering for the assembling of inserts or in ordering inserts can attend. In case of a weather postponement, the meeting will move to April 6 at the same time. People interested in volunteering, or who are looking for information, should send email to windowdressersmonad.com.

Looking back at last year, one thing Gourlay said he realized is how much fun it was.

“That’s something that I’m going to make clear to people,” he said. “Aside from being a good service, it was quite a bit of fun to get together with folks to put these things together.”

The work begins during the summer, as teams of two or three people are needed to measure window sizes at people’s homes. The effort also needs a volunteer coordinator to make sure there are enough people to fill shifts and take on tasks.

“People don’t have to come with skills. We can teach people pretty easily doing the assembly part,” Gourlay said, adding that online training is also available. “They make it pretty simple for all the tasks that need to be completed.”

The build will be in a new location this year, as it is moving from Noone Falls to Peterborough Unitarian Universalist Church.

“We definitely needed a little bit more elbow room this time around,” he said.

The build is broken into a pair of four-hour shifts each day. Gourlay said some people may only work one shift, or come back for multiple shifts, but it is “totally up to the individual.” He was at the site every day last year and hopes to have some additional support this time.

“It was tiring, so I’d like to hand off a couple of shifts to somebody,” he said.

This year’s goal is 200 inserts, and each wrap is $35 to $80, depending on size. Monadnock WindowDressers received a $1,000 grant last year from the Grand Monadnock Rotary, and between the Rotary and other donors, including the Peterborough Unitarian Universalist Congregation, the build was able to provide approximately $1,500 to cover the cost of inserts for people who could not afford them. Last year, the group donated 28% of the window inserts built.

“We’d like to donate up to 35% this year,” Gourlay said.

Volunteers from the Peterborough Unitarian Universalist Congregation and the Church of the Latter Day Saints also made lunches for volunteers during the build.

Getting involved

According to Gourlay, he and Anne Fischer, the marketing and communications coordinator for the project, are members of the Peterborough Unitarian Universalist Congregation's Social Justice Ministry and its Green Sanctuary group, and were looking for a project that could involve the entire community

Their minister came to Peterborough from Maine, where Gourlay stated she had been involved in a WindowDressers project and suggested that it might be a good idea for the Monadnock region.

“We've committed to do this for at least three years,” Gourlay stated. “For my part, I was approaching retirement and wanted to expand my volunteer chops and saw this as a way to try and do some good for my community.”

Building the inserts

After receiving orders and measurements, Gourlay said WindowDressers designs the windows, cuts everything to measure and ships the components in labeled, unwrapped packages. Volunteers use screws and glue to put the inserts together, and after overnight curing, volunteers wrap each side with shrink-wrapped plastic. The window then goes under a heat gun to remove the wrinkles.

Gourlay said inserts have been lasting five to 10 years, and if they rip or get a hole, WindowDressers can arrange to rewrap them. One word of caution from Gourlay, however, is that although volunteers put the inserts together, it is up to the homeowner to install them, and they are tight fits.

As for how well they have worked, Gourlay said three or four of last year’s customers have told them they noticed a difference, but there turned out to be another, accidental benefit.

“A couple folks have also said it blocks road noise entering the room,” he said. “It’s a benefit we hadn’t thought of.”