Weatherization effort seeks to seal 100 homes

Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

Auburn electrician Steve Charest installs a reusable window sealer in a home Thursday morning as part of Winterize L/A, a new collaboration of municipalities, nonprofits, local businesses and community volunteers organized to help winterize 100 homes in Lewiston and Auburn. Charest showed homeowner Casey Knight, and sons Rain, 2, in her arms, and Attigan, 4, how to install the plastic seal so she could use it again next year.

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- Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

AUBURN — As men in green shirts spread out around her house, Adele Delmonico fluttered around the front door.

Volunteer Charles Turgeon worked with her grandson Jeremy Chapman to fit an insulating blanket around her basement water heater. Brad Dupile and Chuck Enos measured, cut and fit new weatherstripping for her front and back doors.

It was part of an effort to winterize 100 homes in Lewiston-Auburn this fall, sponsored by the cities of Lewiston and Auburn, Dead River Oil Co. and Community Concepts.

"It's a nice improvement, so it should help," Delmonico said.

"Oh, it should help," Enos said. "It should help a lot. You should see a big improvement."

Organizers kicked off a long weekend of work Thursday morning to make homes more energy-efficient. Three teams of four volunteers met Thursday morning at Pineland Lumber to pick up supplies and get their assignments. From there, they fanned out across Lewiston and Auburn.

Community Concepts' Sandy Albert said the teams expected to winterize 16 homes Thursday, many belonging to seniors such as Delmonico. More volunteers were expected Friday and Saturday, including a group of 20 student volunteers from Bates College.

Supplies included weather-stripping, sheets of window-sealing plastic, crack-sealing foam, caulk, insulating blankets for water heaters and energy-efficient light bulbs. Bates students and local Girl Scouts stitched together cloth snakes to block drafts around doors.

It's an expanded version of Auburn's weatherization effort from last winter.

"Last year, we just did as many as we could, and we wound up doing it all winter long," said City of Auburn Rehab Coordinator Hal Barter. "This year, we're trying to do more of a push early on."

The service is available to low-income Twin Cities' homeowners, those with incomes of less than $36,335 for a family of four.

"Of course, we have a long-term goal of getting to every home in the community over the course of 10 years," Barter said. "As we do more and start doing some of the more well-off residents, we hope they'll volunteer their own time and efforts."

The effort will continue Friday. Local volunteers will be joined by Gov. John Baldacci and officials from the U.S. Department of Energy. Those dignitaries are scheduled to mark National Weatherization Day at 2 p.m. at 19 Forest St., a home receiving some of the volunteer work.

staylor@sunjournal.com