Workshop teaches how to cut down on drafts with homemade storm windows
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Gusting winds and frigid temperatures are making everyone more aware of drafty windows. Many homeowners who consider investing in modern replacement windows are staggered by the cost and look for alternatives.
"I was shocked by the payback on replacement windows," said Bob Bologna of Easthampton. "The payback is 30 years and they cost $25,000 to $30,000." He added, "Oil prices keep going up. We're looking for ways to get more efficiency."
Instead of investing in new windows for his 30-year-old home, Bologna enrolled in a workshop to craft interior storm windows, at a cost of $25 per window instead of $300 or more for a full replacement.
CET, the Center for EcoTechnology in Northampton, offers workshops in building "winserts," simple interior storm windows with plastic film instead of glass or Plexiglas. After a two-hour hands-on workshop, called "Alternatives to Replacing Your Windows," participants take home one or two finished storm windows, each custom-made to fit the window.
Brenda Valle of Northampton and Nancy and Alfred Haskins of Sunderland attended their second workshop in mid-January, a special session designed for senior citizens held at Smith Vocational Agricultural High School in Northampton.
Valle reported that the winsert she made in the fall at Leeds Elementary School makes an incredible difference in her bathroom.
"I never even put the heat on in that bath," she marveled. Valle was especially pleased to be at Smith Voke where sophomore carpentry students were helping build the windows. Valle has rheumatoid arthritis and wears a splint on her hand. She was working on a window for a neighbor who was having cataract surgery that day.
Nancy Haskins said she and her husband made winserts for two of their draftiest windows in the fall, and were amazed with the results. "The northwest wind is pretty brutal on that side. ... It was unbelievable the amount of cold air it blocked out." Their success made them eager to attend another workshop.
At Smith, a dozen students gathered with their teachers to get instructions from Laura Biddulph, community outreach specialist at CET who organized the workshops. Then in pairs they worked with a senior citizen to build the windows.
Biddulph handed out sets of wooden frame pieces, each marked with a participant's name. The wooden pieces were cut with precision to the window measurements provided by the participant and specially grooved at Florence Casket as a public service project by the local business.
After using wood sealant on the outer edges of the pieces because foam weather-stripping won't adhere to raw wood, the teams started to assemble the frames. Soon the room echoed with the squeal of electric drills. Using a corner jig to hold two angled pieces in place, the students helped the seniors use the drills.
"Start off slow with the drilling," student Zachary West of Hadley cautioned Debbie Nuttelman of Easthampton. "Get a little pressure on the two pieces," Biddulph advised the students. Suddenly the tip of one piece Nuttelman was drilling broke off. "We've had five of these workshops and this is the first piece to split," Biddulph lamented. West quickly measured the broken piece and headed to a table saw to cut a replacement.
Soon Nuttelman's frame was completed, including a cross bar for stability, all the screws coated with a thin layer of glue for permanence.
Instructors Pat Ryan and Scott Baronas supervised the students. At one point Ryan tightened up a screw that had been drilled. At another station he emphasized the need for constant rechecking of measurements. He gave a quick refresher lesson on fractions because even an eighth of an inch difference can be critical.
'Teaching moment'
Framing the window took little time, but the next step was trickier. Plastic film had to be affixed to each side of the window. Biddulph called everyone together for what she called "a teaching moment." Laying a window frame down on a workbench, she placed a roll of heavy-duty plastic film next to one frame end and slowly unrolled the plastic. She held the clingy material in place with spring clips as Ryan stood like a statue holding the piece for the other side so it wouldn't wrinkle or get dusty.
With the plastic firmly in place, Biddulph started to demonstrate securing the film to the window frame with pre-cut pieces of foam spline, which looks like thick rubbery twine. Using a tool that resembles a dull-bladed pizza cutter she drove the spline into the groove to hold the plastic.
Suddenly there was a problem. The spline wouldn't stay in place. "It shouldn't pop right out," she said, puzzled. "The channel is a little bit big," she decided. Student Matt Dean of Leeds explained to a senior participant: "The groove needs to be thinner but we can't cut it thinner."
Biddulph was distressed to find that all of the routed grooves were a tiny bit wider than needed and not quite deep enough. She and the teachers went into a huddle to brainstorm. "We are going to make it work," she vowed. "I don't do 'can't.' "
Biddulph says she later learned that the manufacturer from which Florence Casket had ordered a new saw blade to rout the grooves "changed the specs by just a smidge over 1/32 inches and that changed everything." It highlighted the fact that precision is critical, Biddulph said. She added that Florence Casket is committed to continuing with the program. "Their work in the partnership should be highlighted for all the good that is coming about from it," she said.
That day at the workshop, Ryan told the students, "This is a real-world situation," the kind they could expect to challenge them when they are out on future jobs.
The solution was to buy thicker spline and recut the grooves just a bit deeper. The teachers supervised disassembling the frames so the pieces could be reused.
"We need to do it before the glue sets," West told Nuttelman with whom he was working. She used the drill in reverse mode to remove the screws.
The next day started with another demonstration on applying the plastic film. With new spline purchased from Florence Hardware and the regrooved frames, work progressed.
The spline worked well and once it held all the plastic in place, Biddulph cut away the excess plastic from the groove using a snap blade or box cutter. Next she demonstrated making the plastic film taut using a hair dryer to shrink the plastic.
"Start by focusing on the wrinkles," she advised. "Start at the edges and keep this moving a few inches above the plastic." Slowly the film became as smooth as a mirror.
Biddulph said the plastic film, made by Clearmount Plastics in Worcester, is quite sturdy. Tests have shown that baseballs launched at a finished window at 60 mph don't penetrate the plastic. However, if a rip does occur, the plastic is easily replaced.
"Rather than take the frame apart, you can remove the spline and the plastic and replace it," she said. The plastic film is recyclable at supermarkets and the spline can be reused.
Once the first side was completed, Biddulph flipped the window over and did the second side. It was a time-consuming process requiring patience and care. In comparison, screwing the frame together had taken no time at all.
As the clock neared the end of the workshop - and the end of the school day - the teachers pitched in to help with the last touches.
The final step was gluing foam weather stripping to the outside edges of the frame. Emma Kerr, an Ecofellow at CET who was assisting Biddulph with the workshops, showed how to affix two small rectangles of webbing to the frames before the weather stripping.
"When you want to take off the window you can pop it out easily," she said.
The students were enthusiastic helpers in the workshop. Kelsey Basak of Middlefield, one of two girls in the class, said she is happy to be learning carpentry.
"This gives you a range of opportunities. You experience different things and you are proud of what you accomplish."
Zachary West commented, "The stuff we have here is out of this world." He eagerly demonstrated a table saw they used to recut the grooves. Smith Voke students come from all over the region. James Poulton of Hinsdale said the quality of the program makes his hour-long commute to Smith worthwhile.
The senior citizens who took the workshops said they were pleased with the results.
"Having it down here with the help of the students who know what they are doing is wonderful," Brenda Valle said. "More people should do this."
Cheryl B. Wilson can be reached at valleygardens@comcast.net.
