The group likened its work at a Charles Street home on Saturday to a New England tradition, a barn raising, in which neighbors helped a farmer erect the simple structure in a day, free of charge.
Instead of raising a barn, volunteers for the Waltham Alliance to Create Housing, or WATCH, did some simple work to make the home more energy efficient.
At the end, event coordinator Sarah Levy said air flow tests indicated about a 30 percent reduction in warm air leaving the house and a potential savings of $400 in the next year.
For nearly six hours, the 11 volunteers, led by Levy and weatherization specialist Jason Taylor of Cambridge, taped, caulked, sealed, and insulated the home of Ruth and Jorge Ramirez and their two children, Jorge Jr. and Alejandra.
Beginning at 10 a.m. the volunteers worked throughout the home following instructions from Taylor and a few others with experience in weather-proofing.
Also in the tradition of a barn raising, the Ramirez family provided a meal of rice, vegetables, and chicken for the volunteers.
Ruth Ramirez said she was "excited" by the event.
Levy talked about what a weatherization project should focus on.
"Places that generally require attention are the band joist, which is where the foundation meets the house's wood frame, windows and doors that don't close tightly, uninsulated pipes, and the chimney flue as well as the space immediately around the outside of the chimney," she said.
A Brandeis University junior, Levy first heard of WATCH through the Home Energy Efficiency Team, or HEET, a Cambridge-based nonprofit involved in such projects throughout Massachusetts.
She said this is WATCH's third weatherization this year in Waltham.
"WATCH is always looking for volunteers regardless of their skill level. Everyone learns at these events," Levy said.
Six of the volunteers were her Brandeis friends.
WATCH volunteer and Brandeis sophomore Hanna Wellish is taking a class on environmental sustainability.
"I see this volunteer work as an ideal opportunity to see the practical uses of my classroom studies," Wellish said.
Shanna Rifkin, a Brandeis junior, said "I see it as a great way to get involved in helping the community of Waltham while at the same time helping the environment."
Forbes Little, a member of HEET participating in the event, said, "Most of what we do is common sense and can be easily learned by any homeowner."
Taylor, a HEET board member, agrees that aside from the obvious focus of improving home heating efficiency, the other key part of the work is educating the public.
Lorraine Halgas, another participant, is on the Waltham Recycling Committee. "It's a good hands-on way to learn about energy efficiency and to help the Waltham Community one house at a time," she said.
Her husband, Steve Wolff, said he found the event instructive. "I never knew there were so many potential heat loss points in a house," he said.
Waltham's Home Depot donated many of the supplies used at the event with other supplies were purchased using donated WATCH funds.
