Empowerment Via Storm Windows

I just got a quote for new storm windows for our 100 year old house that came in at over $4,000 and that was with a 10% discount. GASP! Of course our windows have to be bigger than standard sizes, which prevents us from going to the local box store and picking windows off the shelf. 

Needless to say, I don’t want to spend $4,000 on storm windows nor do I have that kind of money to put into storm windows. This is leading me to break out the table saw and make my own old school wooden framed storm windows. I probably should have considered this in the first place. 

In the process of coming to the conclusion that I would just consider making them myself, I had a couple of thoughts. 

1. Saving energy is in old homes is pretty tough and in the midwest is desperately necessary for anyone with winter coming. It made me think of all the folks who can’t afford to do it. 
2. YouTube & Google are the go-to sources for do-it-yourself anything. There has to be something there for me to learn this process. And, there was. 

Here’s where is get’s good. 

I actually discovered a really cool program that a church, Ellsworth Assembly of God, in Maine is doing for the residents of their city that can’t afford the rising energy bills and/or the needed improvements to their house. 

They have created an inexpensive in-between solution for reducing the cool air draftiness in old windows. It’s a tension based window insert for the inside of the window. Here’s part one of the 8-part video series they’ve created to teach others in the world wide web, like me, how to make them. 

I really think this is a great concept of a church listening to the community to understand the needs, focusing on what they can do given their specific skills and resources, and then mobilizing their mens ministry to get involved. 

It looks like the men saw the program, analyzed it, and then discovered the most economical way to solve the problem. They know how to make them and make them fast. 

Reminds me of the crew in Fort Wayne that builds wheelchair ramps for Turnstone. They’ve been at it for years and have it down to an art. Best of all, they’ve built a solid community around helping others.