Storm Prep & Plywood Service
Handis storm prep and plywood service is the same-week pre-storm visit when the National Weather Service forecast turns serious — a bomb cyclone, an atmospheric river chain, or a high wind warning above 60 mph pointed at Puget Sound. Plywood cut, labeled, and installed over exposed windows; overhanging tree branches trimmed back from the roofline; patio and yard furniture stowed in a hurry; gutters and downspouts cleared; sump pump and battery-backup verified; generator fuel and oil topped; emergency tarp pre-staged. From $400 for a quick prep on a small home with no tree work; up to $1,500 for a full pre-storm walk on a larger home with eight window cuts of plywood, branch trimming, and a comprehensive equipment check. Seattle does not get hurricanes, but the bomb cyclones that sit off the coast every few seasons hit hard enough to bring trees down on rooflines, blow out unprotected glass, and take power down for a week. The visit prevents the predictable failures before the worst weather lands.
Service
What Does Storm Prep & Plywood Service Include?
The visit is a same-week pre-storm run across the windows, the roofline, the drainage, the backup power, and the emergency-response gear. The tech works from a fixed pre-storm checklist; every exposed window gets a plywood call (cut and labeled in advance if there is time, installed on the day), every overhanging branch gets a trim call, every gutter and sump and generator gets a function check. The standard package covers seven work categories sized to the specific forecast.
Plywood Window Panels — Cut, Label, and Install
The plywood call is the centerpiece of the visit. We use 1/2-inch CDX for standard residential windows up to roughly 32 inches across and 3/4-inch CDX for larger spans or wind-exposed first-floor glass. Each panel is cut to the window dimension, labeled with the room and orientation in permanent marker (master bedroom east, living room west, garage side), and either installed on the day or pre-staged in the garage for you or us to install in the hour before landfall. Mounting hardware depends on the wall — 2-1/2-inch decking screws into wood-frame siding, masonry screws into stucco or brick. Pre-cut panels can be reused for future storms; we label storage location on the report.
Overhanging Tree Branch Trim
The tech walks the perimeter with you and identifies any branches overhanging the roofline, the driveway, the deck, or parked vehicles that are at real risk in the forecast. Branches we can reach safely from a 12-foot ladder get trimmed; larger limbs requiring a chainsaw at height or a tree-service climber route to a licensed arborist with a bucket truck — we name the issue and recommend who to call. Douglas fir and western red cedar in saturated soil are the most common root-failure trees in a Pacific Northwest wind event; if a whole tree is at risk, that conversation is also routed to the arborist.
Patio & Yard Furniture Emergency Stow
Any patio or yard furniture still out gets stowed in a hurry — into the garage if access exists, into the house if not, or stacked and tied to a fixed anchor on the deck. Umbrellas come down. Glass tabletops come inside. Planters move under eaves or against a wall. Yard ornaments (lawn flamingos, garden gnomes, decorative spheres) become projectiles in a 70-mph gust and get gathered into a single pile under cover. The stow is faster than the full deck-and-patio winterizing visit and is sized to whatever has not already been put away for the season.
Gutter & Downspout Last-Minute Clear
Any gutter run that has not been cleared for the season gets a quick clearing — late-fall debris removed, downspouts flow-tested. Splash blocks reset. Downspout extensions reattached and pointed away from the foundation. This is not the full late-fall winterization clean (that is a separate visit), but it is the pre-storm catch for whatever the leaf-drop has left in place. Saves the foundation drainage during the atmospheric-river event.
Sump Pump & Battery-Backup Verify
Sump pump gets a manual run-cycle test (basin filled with a gallon or two, float watched, motor confirmed, discharge verified). Battery-backup sumps get a tested transition to battery — pump cycles on battery power per the manufacturer spec, the alarm fires when it should. Battery age is logged; batteries past the manufacturer service life (typically 3 to 5 years on a standard marine deep-cycle) get flagged for replacement. A failed sump or a dead backup battery before a multi-day power outage is the most common preventable basement-flood cause.
Generator Fuel, Oil, and Run-Test
For homes with a portable generator (Honda EU2200, Champion 3500, Generac 5500, Westinghouse 7500), the tech checks fuel level, oil level, air filter visual, spark plug visual, and runs a brief start-test to confirm the unit starts cold and holds idle. Fuel gets topped if a can is on site (we do not transport gasoline). Stabilizer added if the generator has been sitting. Standby (whole-home) automatic-transfer generators get a visual on the enclosure and a self-test confirmation; full standby generator service routes to a licensed installer.
Emergency Tarp Pre-Stage
A 20-by-30 emergency tarp gets staged in the garage or attic, with rope and roofing nails or sandbag weights, ready for a roof leak after a tree limb strike or a missing shingle from wind. The tech walks you through the basic tarp install (or schedules a same-day post-storm follow-up if the budget exists for it). Most insurance carriers cover emergency tarp install as a preventive cost; we include the receipt on the report.
How the Storm Prep & Plywood Visit Works
Five steps every Handis storm-prep visit runs through — confirm the forecast threshold, pre-cut plywood and walk the perimeter, install plywood and stow yard pieces, verify sump and generator, and pre-stage the emergency tarp.
Confirm the Forecast Threshold and Schedule the Visit
The visit triggers on a National Weather Service threshold: a high wind warning above 60 mph, a bomb cyclone forecast (rapid pressure drop with central pressure below 970 mb), an atmospheric river forecast above category three, or a specific wind advisory pointed at Puget Sound. Maintenance-plan members get front-of-line scheduling; non-members get whatever capacity is left. We tell you on the call whether we can fit you before landfall.
Pre-Cut Plywood and Walk the Perimeter
If there is more than a day of lead time, plywood gets cut, labeled with room and orientation, and pre-staged in the garage. We walk the perimeter with you and identify every exposed window that needs a panel, every overhanging branch that needs a trim call, every piece of yard furniture or ornament that needs to come in. Decisions made together; tech executes.
Install Plywood and Stow Yard Pieces
Plywood panels mounted over the windows on the day, with appropriate hardware (decking screws into wood frame, masonry screws into stucco or brick). Yard furniture and ornaments stowed in the garage, in the house, or tied to fixed anchors. Branches we can reach safely trimmed and hauled to the curb; larger limbs flagged for an arborist.
Verify the Sump and the Generator
Sump pump run-cycle test (fill, float, motor, discharge). Battery-backup sump tested on battery power. Generator fuel level, oil level, start-test, and stabilizer if it has been sitting. Standby generator visual and self-test confirmation. Anything that does not pass gets flagged for emergency service before landfall when possible.
Pre-Stage the Emergency Tarp and Send the Photo Report
A 20-by-30 emergency tarp staged in the garage with rope and weights. Same-day dated photo report with every installed panel, every trimmed branch, sump and generator status, and any flags that need a specialty contractor before landfall (arborist for a major tree, electrician for a failed generator transfer switch, plumber for a failed sump). The report stays with you for the next storm.
Storm Prep & Plywood Service Pricing
Final pricing depends on the home size, the number of plywood window panels needed, whether tree branch trim is in scope, and how much lead time the forecast allows. Maintenance-plan members get priority scheduling and member labor rates; non-members get whatever capacity is left. Request a free estimate for an accurate quote.
Forecast just turned serious — tell us the home size and what is most exposed. We will get there before landfall.
Why Seattle Homeowners Book Handis for Storm Prep & Plywood
A Pacific Northwest storm fails in the same predictable ways every time. The exposed west-facing window takes a branch and the living room floods. The fir at the corner of the lot roots out in saturated soil and lands across the driveway and the roof. The sump pump that nobody tested in two years does not run when the power-outage backup needed it. The portable generator sits in the garage with old fuel and will not start cold. The visit prevents the failures that are predictable from the forecast. We can not stop a storm; we can stop the part of the damage that did not have to happen.
Plywood, hardware, fuel stabilizer, and tarps on the truck
1/2-inch and 3/4-inch CDX plywood in 4-by-8 sheets, 2-1/2-inch decking screws for wood-frame mounting, masonry screws in two lengths for stucco or brick, 20-by-30 emergency tarps in two sizes, rope, sandbags, fuel stabilizer in the two common dosing sizes, and a heavy-duty marker for labeling. Whatever the forecast calls for, the visit does not stall because the right size CDX is not on the truck.
Same-week scheduling triggered by the forecast
Storm prep is not a routine visit. It triggers when the National Weather Service forecast crosses a specific threshold — a high wind warning above 60 mph, a bomb cyclone with central pressure forecast below 970 mb, or an atmospheric river above category three. The phone tree opens at that point and members get front-of-line; non-members get whatever capacity is left. We tell you on the call whether the math works.
Pre-cut, labeled, reusable plywood panels
The panels we cut for this storm are labeled with the room and orientation and stay with the house — master bedroom east, living room west, garage side. Future storms reuse the same panels; the second visit is faster and cheaper because the cutting is already done. Storage location is logged on the photo report so the next visit knows where to find them.
Honest scope — arborist handoff for large trees, electrician for standby generators
The visit trims branches we can reach safely from a 12-foot ladder. Larger limbs requiring a chainsaw at height or a tree-service climber route to a licensed arborist with a bucket truck. Standby generator service (the whole-home automatic-transfer kind on a concrete pad) routes to the licensed installer; we visual the enclosure and confirm the self-test passed. We do what fits the handyman scope and name the rest in the report.
Insured, background-checked, 30-day workmanship guarantee
Every Handis handyman carries liability insurance and has cleared a background screening before the first job. The 30-day workmanship guarantee applies to the visit — if a plywood panel works loose at a screw we set, a branch we trimmed lands somewhere we did not warn you about, a sump we tested fails on the second cycle within 30 days, or an emergency tarp we staged tears at a grommet, we come back and fix it at no extra charge. Guarantee covers our work, not storm damage beyond the prep scope we recommended.
Estimate
Tell us the home size, the number of exposed windows that worry you (especially first-floor and west-facing), whether there are overhanging branches over the roof or driveway, whether there is a sump pump and a backup battery, and whether there is a portable or standby generator. We send back a clear estimate for the visit.
Customer Reviews
Recent storm prep and plywood service reviews from verified Seattle-area customers.
November bomb cyclone forecast hit on a Tuesday for a Thursday landfall. Handis was at the house Wednesday morning. Two big windows on the west elevation got plywood, the maple branch that had been a worry all summer got trimmed back, the patio got stowed in twenty minutes. Power went out for three days. House came through clean. Worth ten times what we paid.
Magnolia bluff home, west-facing glass and exposed to every storm that comes off the Sound. The first time we used Handis was the night before a major atmospheric river. They had pre-cut panels labeled by window and reused them for the next two storms. Saves us hours every time we know one is coming.
Sammamish ridge home with two big Douglas firs at the corner of the lot. The tech walked them with us, said the bigger one needed a real arborist, called one and got him out the next day. The smaller branches he trimmed himself. The arborist took two hundred-pound limbs off the bigger fir. That tree did not come down in the storm.
Maple Leaf craftsman with a Generac 5500 in the garage. We had the generator for two years and never tested it. Storm prep visit included a start-test, oil top-up, stabilizer in the tank. Started on the first pull. Used it for four days during the December outage. Without that test we would have been sitting in the dark with a dead generator.
Vacation home on Whidbey, we are off-island October to April. Atmospheric river chain forecast for the second week of December. Handis drove out, cleared the gutters, verified the sump, tarped a known weak spot on the roof, and stowed everything off the front porch. House came through with no damage. We never had to make the trip.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Handis storm prep and plywood service — pricing, scope, forecast triggers, plywood reuse, and what routes to an arborist or electrician.