Roof and Skylight Boarding in Bracknell

Roof boarding in Bracknell covers a broken skylight, roof light or opening in the roof and makes it safe until a roofer or glazier can carry out the permanent repair. It closes the exposed gap to help protect the property from weather and unwanted entry. A person answers the phone 24 hours a day. The fastest way to get things moving is to tell us the postcode and what you can see from the ground or from inside.

Call 01344 951 955 or Email us

When roof boarding is the right step

Roof and skylight boarding suits jobs where the opening is overhead or at height rather than at ground level. Typical examples include:

A smashed skylight or roof light, often after a fallen branch, debris in high wind or an attempted break-in through a flat roof.
A broken roof lantern or glazed panel on an extension, where glass is cracked or missing.
A small hole or exposed section where a damaged area needs covering so it isn’t open to the weather or to entry.
Commercial roof lights on warehouses, units or offices, where a broken panel leaves the building open from above.

If the damage came from wind or a falling tree, our storm damage guidance explains what to do first. If the window or door at ground level is the problem, window boarding is the more relevant service.

Stay off the roof

Please don’t climb onto a roof, a flat roof or a ladder to look at the damage, especially in wind, rain or the dark. Skylights and roof lights can give way, and broken glass sitting in a frame can drop without warning.

What helps from a safe position:

Keep everyone, including children and pets, out of the room below and away from any glass on the floor.
Move valuables and electrical items away from where water could come in, if you can do it safely.
Take photographs from the ground, or from inside the room, if it’s safe to stand there.
Note roughly how big the opening is and what kind of roof it’s on (pitched, flat, lantern, commercial roof light).

That’s enough for us to start the conversation.

Boarding materials and fixings for roof openings

Roof openings need a slightly different approach from a ground-floor window, because the boarding has to cope with weather and sit securely at height.

Board choice. We usually use exterior-grade plywood, typically 18mm, for skylights and larger roof openings because it’s stiff and handles wet weather well. OSB can suit a small opening where the load is light. Thickness depends on the size of the opening and how exposed it is.

Fixing method. Where the frame or upstand around a skylight is sound, we fix to it in a way that limits damage. That makes life easier for whoever fits the replacement. Where a roof light can be reached from a flat roof or an adjoining building, security and anti-tamper fixings make the boarding much harder to remove from outside.

Clearing loose glass. Broken glass left in a skylight frame is a hazard to the room below and to anyone working on the roof later. Making that safe is part of the job when it’s needed.

Not every roof job needs every one of these. We’ll talk through what fits your opening on the call and again on site.

When the frame or roof structure is badly damaged

Sometimes the problem goes beyond the glass. The skylight kerb may be split, the frame rotten or the surrounding timbers broken. Boarding needs something solid to fix to. If the frame can’t hold a fixing safely, we’ll explain the options before doing anything rather than screwing boards into something that won’t hold.

Depending on what we find, that might mean securing the opening a different way, boarding a wider area onto sound structure or telling you plainly that the roof needs a roofer’s attention first. You’ll know what we’re proposing and why before work starts.

Access and height

Height and access matter more for roof work than for almost anything else we do. On the call we’ll ask:

Which floor or roof level the opening is on.
Whether it’s reachable from inside, from a flat roof or only from outside.
Whether ladders can be footed safely on the ground below.
Whether there are conservatories, extensions, gates or parked cars in the way.

Bracknell has a real mix of buildings. There are pockets of Victorian houses, New Town estates of different ages and office developments, so roof shapes and access vary a lot from street to street. Safe photographs from the ground or inside save time and help us give you an accurate quote.

What happens on the visit

You call. We take the postcode, the type and size of opening and the access details. We work out the arrival time from the postcode and give you a free, clear quote before any work starts.
We assess on arrival. We check the frame, the surrounding roof and any loose glass, and confirm the plan with you.
We make it safe. Loose glass and debris at the opening are dealt with, the board is cut to size from the stock in the van and it’s fixed using the agreed method.
We record it. We take time-stamped photographs before and after the work.

We attend at any hour, including nights, weekends and bank holidays. If the job is urgent tonight, our 24-hour emergency boarding page covers what to do while you wait.

What you receive

A covered, made-safe roof opening, fixed to suit the frame and the exposure.
An itemised invoice.
Time-stamped before and after photographs.
A written statement of the work done.

That paperwork is designed to support an insurance claim. Your insurer decides what is covered, and our insurance claims guide explains how to use it. Roof boarding is the make-safe stage. A roofer or glazier then carries out the permanent repair at a sensible pace, with the building already secure.

What affects the quote

There are no prices on this page because roof jobs vary so much. The quote depends on:

How many openings there are and how large they are.
Height and access, including roof level, skylights and ladder work.
Materials and board thickness.
The fixing method, including security or anti-tamper fixings.
Whether a damaged frame or kerb needs securing first.
How much glass and debris needs making safe.

The pricing page explains each factor in more detail.

Who we are

Boarding Up Bracknell is an independent local boarding-up service with over 10 years’ experience. We’re fully insured, and the certificate is available on request. Everyone who attends is DBS-checked. We cover Bracknell and can also travel to Crowthorne, Ascot, Winkfield and Sandhurst, subject to confirming on the call.

Get a quote for roof or skylight boarding

Call us with the postcode, what kind of roof opening it is, roughly how big it is and how it can be reached. Safe photographs taken from the ground or from inside help us plan access and give you a clear quote.