You'll spend about $250 to board a window with plywood, or between $100 and $400 for windows of different sizes.
Boarding up a window with plywood costs $250 on average, with a typical range of $100 to $400 per window. Whether you're trying to prevent intruders from entering an abandoned house or are preparing for a big tropical storm, boarding up your windows with plywood is a good way to protect your home.
It costs about $1 to $3 per square foot for plywood to board up a window, although typically, you will need to buy plywood in a pre-cut sheet for your window, so the square footage may not actually matter.
For example, you may pay $65 for a plywood sheet that measures 4-by-8 feet even though your window is only 2-by-3 feet. You may be able to cut the panel in half and use it for two windows if it is large enough.
The cost for materials will be about $50 to $100 for the plywood sheet to cover the window. OSB board costs $32 to $77 per 4-by-8-foot sheet. You can get less expensive plywood, but if you are boarding up a window to protect your home, you want thick, high-quality plywood that is at least 5/8-inch to 3/4-inch thick. As a result, you should expect to pay on the higher end for plywood that will meet your needs.
You may also pay a few dollars more for items like a hammer, nails, fasteners, and such if you don't already have these supplies. Some people also install window film for hurricane protection, but they don’t offer as much protection as plywood.
| Material | Average Cost |
|---|---|
| Plywood sheet | $50 – $100 |
| OSB board | $32 – $77 |
Keep in mind that a handyperson has the experience to do the job right and can make some other recommendations to ensure the window is secure. Contact a handyperson in your area for a quote before you make your decision.
You may spend as little as $50 per window if you do this job yourself, assuming you have additional supplies on hand needed to do the job. If not, you may pay up to $100 per window.
If you don't want to do the job yourself, you can hire a local window contractor to do it for you for about $50 to $100 per hour. How much you actually end up paying for labor depends on whether you just want a window boarded up quickly to protect from storm damage, or if this is a more permanent installation that will require more work.
| Job Time | Average Cost |
|---|---|
| 1 hour | $50 – $100 |
| 2 hours | $100 – $200 |
| 3 hours | $150 – $300 |
If it's the former, you may pay only about $50 per window, since all they'll be doing is installing the plywood over the window. If it's the latter, you may pay $250 or more. That's because the handyperson will have to do additional things like install insulation, a vapor barrier, mudding, drywall, and even painting it over.
You should board up windows when you need to protect your home either from intruders or from a strong tropical storm. In the former case, this is more of a permanent solution, versus a temporary installation in the latter case.
Use plywood that is 5/8 inch or 3/4 inch thick to protect your home from a hurricane. If the plywood is thinner than that, it may not protect your home from flying debris.
With sustained winds of at least 74 miles per hour, even Category 1 hurricanes can send projectiles flying at a damaging speed, so you should start boarding up once a storm strengthens into a hurricane.
You can act proactively to protect your home, such as by installing impact-resistant windows for hurricane season. You could also install storm windows.
