Outdoor Wellness
The hot tub on the back patio that has been a tarp-covered eyesore since the new neighbors built a two-story addition with a clear sight-line into it. The cold plunge tub from Plunge or BlueCube the homeowner bought and has been running in the garage on an extension cord, knowing it should be on a concrete pad with proper electrical and proper drainage. The outdoor shower the homeowner has been daydreaming about for the muddy bike ride back from Discovery Park, the post-beach wash-off coming back from Alki, the post-trail rinse before walking into the house. Outdoor wellness is the carpentry trade for the Pacific Northwest outdoor-wellness stack — three services Handis builds end-to-end, each with an honest licensed-sub handoff named on the quote. Cold plunge pad and enclosure ($2,000 to $7,000). Hot tub privacy enclosure ($2,000 to $6,000). Outdoor shower ($3,000 to $8,000). Handis owns the carpentry — pad prep, framing, cedar enclosure construction, decking around the tub, privacy screens, pergola overhead, drainage planning. The 240V GFCI circuits for the hot tub and the cold-plunge chiller route to a licensed Washington L&I electrician under NEC 680; the hot and cold water supply and drain for the outdoor shower route to a licensed Washington L&I plumber. We name every sub on the quote line by line and coordinate their visits inside the project timeline. Permits, where required by Seattle DCI or your city, go through the licensed party.
Services
What Outdoor Wellness Covers
Outdoor wellness is the carpentry trade for three Pacific Northwest outdoor-wellness services Handis builds end-to-end. Each service has its own page below with the pricing, the install steps, the licensed-trade handoff, and the FAQs. Every regulated electrical circuit (240V GFCI for the hot tub or cold-plunge chiller — NEC 680) routes to a licensed Washington L&I electrician; every water supply and drain (outdoor shower hot and cold supply, shower drain to French drain or sewer) routes to a licensed Washington L&I plumber. Handis owns the carpentry — pad prep, framing, cedar enclosure construction, decking around the tub, privacy screens, pergola overhead, drainage planning, finishes. We name every sub on the quote and coordinate the scheduled visits inside the project timeline. Permits, where required by Seattle DCI or your city, go through the licensed party.
Cold Plunge Pad and Enclosure
The cold-plunge homeowner who bought a Plunge, BlueCube, Penguin Chillers, or Ice Barrel — and is now running it on an extension cord in the garage — needs three things to set it up properly outside. A level concrete pad (or pavers on compacted base) sized for the tub footprint plus the access space. Drainage to a drywell or a French drain (a cold plunge holds 80 to 150 gallons that has to go somewhere when the tub is drained for cleaning). A privacy enclosure (cedar slat screen, pergola, or full three-sided enclosure depending on the property and the neighbors). The licensed Washington L&I electrician handles the 240V GFCI sub-panel and circuit run for the chiller. From $2,000 for a paver pad with a basic three-sided cedar screen to $7,000 for a concrete pad with a full cedar enclosure, pergola overhead, and a built-in bench.
Cold Plunge Pad & Enclosure — pad, drainage, cedar enclosure, electrical handoff
Hot Tub Privacy Enclosure
The Pacific Northwest hot tub is genuinely useful — the soak after a wet bike ride, the steaming water on a 38-degree drizzly January Saturday, the social hub year-round. What kills the use is exposure — neighbors with a clear sight-line, wind funneling between two houses, the rain hitting the face during a soak. Handis builds the carpentry around an existing or new hot tub — cedar slat privacy screens on the sides where neighbors see in, a pergola overhead for partial rain coverage, a decking surround that steps up around the tub for easy entry, an enclosure that makes the tub feel like a destination rather than an eyesore on the patio. The electrical (240V GFCI to NEC 680) is already in place from the original tub install or routes to a licensed Washington L&I electrician on a new install. From $2,000 for a three-sided cedar screen to $6,000 for a full pergola with decking surround and cedar privacy on all sides.
Hot Tub Privacy Enclosure — privacy screen, pergola, decking surround
Outdoor Shower
The outdoor shower is the Pacific Northwest practical luxury — the muddy bike ride from Burke-Gilman, the post-beach wash-off at Alki or Golden Gardens, the gardening cleanup, the wet-dog rinse, the post-trail-run quick rinse before walking into the house. Handis builds the cedar enclosure (three-sided, typically 4 by 4 to 5 by 5 feet of floor area), the concrete base or cedar slat decking with a grated drain, the mixing valve and shower head positioning, the privacy detail. The hot and cold water supply (tee from indoor plumbing or new exterior supply) and the drain (to a French drain, drywell, or sewer connection — Seattle DCI permits the route) route to a licensed Washington L&I plumber. From $3,000 for a cold-only basic cedar enclosure on a drywell to $8,000 for a top-end build with hot/cold mixer, premium fixture, and pergola overhead.
Outdoor Shower — cedar enclosure, plumbing handoff, drainage planning
Outdoor Wellness Pricing
Final pricing depends on the project scope, the pad type (pavers vs concrete), the enclosure scope (three-sided screen vs full pergola), the licensed-sub portions (electrical for hot tub or chiller, plumbing for outdoor shower), and the existing site conditions (level vs sloped, existing pad vs new). Each sub-category page lists detailed pricing for that service family. Licensed-sub fees pass through transparently with the line item named. Request a free in-home estimate for an accurate quote.
Tell us the outdoor-wellness scope (plunge, hot tub, shower, or a combination) and the site — we will quote the carpentry with the licensed-sub portions named line by line.
Why Seattle Homeowners Book Handis for Outdoor Wellness
Outdoor wellness is a category that lives in the gap between the licensed trades and the homeowner who wants the install done right. The licensed electrician will not build the cedar enclosure around the hot tub. The licensed plumber will not pour the concrete pad for the cold plunge. The deck builder will not pull the 240V GFCI circuit to NEC 680. The result is a homeowner who hires three trades, watches the gaps eat three extra weeks while the project sits half-done, and pays a coordination tax on every visit. Handis runs the carpentry top-to-bottom and coordinates the licensed electrical and plumbing visits inside the project timeline — one project manager, one schedule, one walk-through at the end. The licensed Washington L&I electrician and plumber each carry their own insurance, pull their own permits where required, and stand behind their portion under their own license. The fees pass through transparently — every line item named on the quote so you see exactly what Handis is doing and what the licensed trade is doing.
One project lead — carpentry self-performed, licensed trades coordinated
Handis owns the carpentry on every outdoor-wellness project — pad prep, framing, cedar enclosure construction, decking around the tub, privacy screens, pergola overhead, drainage planning, finishes. The licensed Washington L&I electrician handles the 240V GFCI circuits for the hot tub and the cold-plunge chiller under NEC 680. The licensed Washington L&I plumber handles the outdoor shower water supply and drain. We coordinate every visit inside the project timeline and name every sub on the quote line by line — no surprise line items in the middle of the build, no scheduling gaps where the homeowner is left coordinating two trades.
NEC 680 compliance — hot tub and chiller electrical done by licensed electrician
The National Electrical Code Article 680 governs all permanently-installed electrical equipment in or near a pool, spa, hot tub, or fountain. The requirements are specific — GFCI protection on the entire 240V circuit, equipotential bonding of all metal parts, proper grounding, depth of buried conductors, and bonding-grid requirements around the tub footprint. The licensed Washington L&I electrician handles every NEC 680 requirement under their license, schedules the inspection with the AHJ, and provides the permit copy at project close. Handis builds the pad and the enclosure; we do not pretend to do the electrical.
Drainage planning — cold plunge and outdoor shower water has to go somewhere
A cold plunge holds 80 to 150 gallons that gets drained for cleaning every 2 to 4 weeks. An outdoor shower at 2 gallons per minute over a 5-minute rinse is 10 gallons per use. That water has to go somewhere — French drain to gravel-and-fabric drywell, surface drain to landscape drainage, or a permitted connection to the sewer (Seattle DCI permits sewer-connected outdoor showers and plunges). We plan the drainage at the estimate visit based on the soil type at the property (clay soil in many Seattle neighborhoods needs a sized drywell; sandy soil drains naturally), confirm any AHJ permit requirements with the licensed plumber, and build to the plan.
Cedar built for PNW weather — proper finish or deliberate silver
Cedar enclosures hold up in PNW rain for 15 to 20 years if built correctly and either left to silver naturally (the most popular choice — looks Pacific Northwest authentic and asks for nothing) or oiled annually with a quality penetrating finish (Penofin, TWP, Cabot Australian Timber Oil). We use kiln-dried Western red cedar from a local supplier (Dunn Lumber, McLendon, Crosscut Hardwoods) — big-box-store cedar is sometimes wet-stacked and twists or checks within months in the PNW climate. Cedar slats spaced for the privacy detail desired (3/4-inch gap for full privacy with airflow, 1/4-inch gap for screen-only privacy with maximum airflow).
Insured, background-checked, written project warranty
Handis carries general liability and workers' compensation; every technician has cleared a background screening. The project warranty covers our carpentry workmanship for one year — cedar framing, enclosure construction, decking, pergola structure, and finishes. The licensed-sub portion (electrical and plumbing) carries its own Washington L&I-trade warranty, named on the quote so you know whom to call for what.
Estimate
Tell us the outdoor-wellness scope (cold plunge, hot tub, outdoor shower, or a combination), the site (existing patio vs new pad needed, side yard vs back yard), the tub or chiller you have (or plan to purchase), any neighbor sight-line constraints (which sides need privacy screens), and any drainage or permit questions you already have. We send back a clear estimate with the licensed-sub portions named line by line and a project timeline.
What Our Customers Say
Recent outdoor-wellness reviews from verified Seattle-area Handis customers across all three service families.
Cold plunge pad and full cedar enclosure in our Capitol Hill back yard. We had bought a Plunge tub six months earlier and were running it on an extension cord in the garage. Handis poured a 5 by 7 concrete pad, built a three-sided cedar slat enclosure with a pergola overhead, ran the drainage to a permitted drywell. The licensed electrician came in for two visits to run the 240V GFCI circuit and the NEC 680 bonding to the pad — all named on the quote and inspected. Five working days. The tub finally feels like it belongs in the back yard rather than hiding in the garage.
Hot tub privacy enclosure in our Wallingford back yard — neighbors built a tall fence and a second-story window that looked directly into our tub. Handis built a cedar slat privacy screen on three sides (the side facing the house stayed open for the view) and a small pergola overhead so the rain does not hit the face during a soak. Three working days. The tub is usable again year-round and the cedar will silver naturally over the next year.
Outdoor shower with hot and cold mixer on the side of our Magnolia home for post-Discovery Park trail runs and Golden Gardens beach days. Handis built a cedar enclosure with slat decking and a grated drain, the licensed plumber tee'd into our existing hot and cold supply lines (no new water heater needed) and ran the drain to a French drain. Four working days. The first hot rinse after a 38-degree January trail run made the whole project worth it.
Combined cold plunge and hot tub side-by-side install on a new concrete pad in Bellevue. Handis poured a 10 by 12 pad sized for both tubs with the chiller equipment in a small cedar utility closet at one end. Licensed electrician ran two 240V GFCI circuits (one for the hot tub, one for the chiller) and did the NEC 680 bonding for the whole pad. Cedar privacy screens on three sides and a pergola overhead. Seven working days total. The Norse-style contrast hot-then-cold routine has become a daily thing.
Outdoor shower and a small bench area off our master bedroom in West Seattle. Cold-only initially (the hot supply would have required a longer plumbing run and was over our budget for this phase), built on a drywell so the plumber portion was minimal. Cedar enclosure with a slat bench, planted screening on the open side. Three working days. We can upgrade to hot/cold next year and the plumbing rough-in was left ready for that.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Handis outdoor-wellness builds — scope, licensed-sub handoff, drainage, permits, scheduling, and what fits a Handis carpentry project versus a multi-trade build.