When requests for inserts in the Dexter and Dover-Foxcroft area exceeded the capacity of the Maine Highlands Community Build, Local Coordinator Lesley Fernow decided to get creative. She reached out to the Tri County Technical Center in Dexter with the idea of engaging students to help to build some of the inserts.

Fernow contacted Nick Mullins, the Energy Systems Technology instructor at TCTC, and he enthusiastically embraced the idea. As a result, Mullins invited WindowDressers to set up a takeover of the class, and students completed 129 inserts for 20 families, 60% of whom were low-income and who qualified for our Special Rate program, which offers up to 10 pine inserts free of charge per year. 

In a news segment produced by WABI – Channel 5 in Bangor, Mullins said, “Making sure we’re keeping the heat inside the house is extremely important. By building these window inserts, it is helping to reduce air leaks and adding that extra insulating barrier for windows.” For the full WindowDressers experience, a few of the students took part in measuring visits under the guidance of Fernow. They met the homeowners whose inserts they would build, and even came back to a few of the homes to install the inserts, ensuring a good fit.

WindowDressers would like to thank the students, instructors, and Administrative staff at TCTC for partnering to help expand the capacity of our Maine Highlands Community Build team. 

Click here to see a segment about this unique and creative program that recently aired on WABI – Channel 5 in Bangor.