Waterbury LEAP leads effort to tackle drafty windows before winter

July 22, 2025  |  By Lisa Scagliotti

WindowDressers train volunteers to assemble the window inserts. Photo by Kit Walker

It may be July, but Waterbury LEAP members are already making plans for their second fall building effort to create energy-efficient, low-cost window inserts to help make drafty houses more comfortable this winter.

Project organizers are fielding inquiries now to take orders for production. They also are recruiting volunteers willing to learn the building process that will produce the custom-made window inserts that take the place of traditional and more expensive storm windows.

For the second year, Waterbury LEAP will spend a week in early November working with other local teams in Waitsfield to construct the inserts under the direction of a regional nonprofit called WindowDressers, according to LEAP Chair Duncan McDougall. 

Based in Rockland, Maine, WindowDressers is a volunteer-driven nonprofit that trains, supplies, and supports teams of community volunteers who conduct community workshops that create insulating window inserts for homeowners and renters.

The WindowDressers inserts come with either pine or white wooden frames. They are priced in three size categories that range from about $40 to $80 each. Approximately one-third of the project’s customers are low-income, and their inserts are provided at no cost or on a sliding scale. 

Once a potential customer expresses interest and orders inserts, a WindowDresser representative visits their home to take exact measurements. The resulting inserts are custom-made to fit snugly. 

Waterbury LEAP volunteer Kit Walker noted that the WindowDresser design uses two layers of plastic. “It creates an air gap of extra protection. This provides most of the insulation,” she said. 

The inserts are reusable for multiple years and could be re-wrapped in fresh plastic if needed. Their design makes them more attractive, efficient, and quicker to install and remove than typical do-it-yourself plastic window insulation sheets.

The production effort – called a Community Build – takes place over 5-7 days and can involve more than 100 volunteers who learn the construction process for assembling the inserts, McDougall explained. In that time, the volunteer teams can build around 250 inserts for 30-40 households who have ordered them.

WindowDressers was founded in 2010 from a project to insulate windows in a church. Since then, it's grown and expanded across Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire, involving thousands of volunteers. According to its website, its projects built 10,560 inserts in 2024 and over 78,000 since 2010. The organization estimates that the inserts have saved nearly 4 million gallons of heating oil and prevented more than 44,000 tons of carbon dioxide pollution.

Taking orders, recruiting volunteers

Volunteers at the 2024 WindowDressers workshop in Waitsfield. Photo by Kit Walker

LEAP organizers for the WindowDressers effort say they are taking orders from potential customers now. 

As part of the process, customers are asked to pitch in on the construction effort if possible. “The low cost of our inserts is made possible by your participation in the Community Workshop where your inserts are built,” the website’s ordering page explains. It recommends that customers volunteer for one 4-hour shift for every 3-5 inserts they order, stressing that no experience is needed. “There are many different ways to participate for all levels of ability and mobility,” it notes. 

The building effort is also looking to recruit volunteers in addition to the buyers. Everyone signing up to work will get training, and all materials and tools will be provided. The building event will take place Nov. 13-19 at the Waitsfield United Church of Christ in collaboration with a Mad River Valley team of volunteers who have participated in past WindowDresser Community Builds as well. 

Those interested in ordering window inserts can learn more and place an order here. Those wishing to volunteer to help with the Community Build can sign up here. 

For more information, contact Kit Walker with Waterbury LEAP at rr1box8282@gmail.com.