Property Damage Boarding Up in Bracknell
When a window, door, shopfront or roof opening has been damaged, the priority is to make it safe and secure. Boarding Up Bracknell provides property damage boarding up across Bracknell for householders, shop owners, landlords and letting agents. This page sets out the right next step for the three events that most often leave a property open: a break-in, a fire and a storm.
A person answers our phone 24 hours a day, so you can talk the situation through at any hour. If the property is open right now and needs securing tonight, our 24-hour emergency boarding up page covers urgent call-outs.
First steps after any damage
Before you think about boards and fixings, take a few simple steps:
- Keep people and pets well away from broken glass, splintered frames and anything that could fall.
- Don’t go back into a building that might be unsafe, and don’t climb a ladder or onto a roof to take a closer look.
- If you can do it safely, photograph the damage from where you’re standing.
- Note the postcode and how the damaged opening can be reached, such as a ground-floor window, an upper floor, rear access or a locked side gate.
That information is all we need to start planning.
After a burglary
Report the break-in to the police and keep the crime reference number, because your insurer will ask for it. Contact your insurer, photograph the damage if it’s safe to do so, and then call us to secure the way in.
Forced entry usually leaves a smashed window or a damaged door, frame or lock. A broken pane is often a straightforward board-over. A forced door can be more involved, because the frame or lock may need securing before a board will hold properly. Our burglary repairs guide walks through what happens next, and our door boarding page explains how we deal with damaged doors and frames.
After a fire
Nothing can happen until the fire service has handed the site back. Once they have, we can board windows, doors and other openings to keep out the weather and anyone who shouldn’t be there.
Our job is securing the openings. Cleaning up smoke and odour damage is specialist work outside what we do, so you’ll want to arrange that separately. Read more on our fire damage page.
After a storm
High winds can break glass, damage a door, or crack a skylight or roof light. Please don’t go up to inspect roof damage yourself. Tell us what you can see safely from the ground or from inside, and send photographs if you can take them without risk.
Height and access make a real difference to how a storm-damaged opening is secured, so the more we know on the call, the better we can plan. See our storm damage guide and the detail on roof and skylight boarding.
What to tell us on the call
You’ll speak to a person, not a recorded message. It helps to have ready:
- The postcode of the property
- How many openings are damaged, and roughly how big they are
- What type they are: window, door, shopfront glazing, skylight or roof light
- Which floor they’re on and how they can be reached
- Whether a door, frame or lock has been damaged as well as the glass
- Whether there’s broken glass or debris that needs making safe
If you can, email safe photographs as well. We’ll work out an arrival time from your postcode during the call, and give you a free, clear quote before any work starts.
How we make an opening safe
Most windows and doors are boarded with exterior-grade plywood, typically 18mm. OSB can suit smaller openings. We use security or anti-tamper fixings where the situation calls for them, and fix without causing further damage to the frame wherever it allows. The van carries boarding stock and fixings, so the work can usually be carried out on the visit.
If a frame is too badly damaged to hold a board securely, we’ll explain the options before starting rather than fixing to something that won’t hold.
Boarding is the make-safe stage. It keeps the property secure and weathertight so your glazier, joiner or roofer can carry out permanent repairs properly, without rushing.
We have over 10 years’ experience, we’re fully insured (certificate available on request) and we’re DBS-checked.
Paperwork for your insurer
Once the openings are secure, you’ll receive:
- An itemised invoice
- Time-stamped photographs from before and after the work
- A written statement of the work carried out
Your insurer decides what’s covered. We aren’t loss adjusters or legal advisers, but clear documentation makes it easier to show what was done and why. Our insurance claims guide explains how to use it.
Properties we help across Bracknell
Bracknell has a real mix of buildings, from pockets of Victorian housing to the New Town estates in neighbourhoods such as Easthampstead, plus office developments and the shops around Braccan Walk. Market Street alone combines flats, offices and retail units. Each type of property brings its own openings, frames and access, which is why we ask questions on the call rather than assuming.
We also cover Crowthorne, Ascot, Winkfield and Sandhurst, subject to confirming your address on the call.
Talk to us about your damaged property
Tell us your postcode, what’s been damaged and how it can be reached, and we’ll talk you through the next step and give you a clear quote before anything starts. Safe photographs help us plan the access and materials.