Door Boarding in Epsom

If a door has been forced, split or left unable to lock, door boarding in Epsom closes the gap properly until a permanent repair can be fitted. Boarding Up Epsom secures damaged doors, frames and locks for homes, shops, offices and rented properties. A person answers the phone 24 hours a day, so you can call 01372 656234 now and we’ll talk through the door, the access and a quote before any work starts.

When a door needs boarding

Doors fail in different ways, and the fix depends on what’s actually wrong. Typical reasons people call us:

• Forced entry. The lock has been snapped, the keep torn out or the door kicked in, so it no longer holds shut.
• A split or loose frame. The door itself may be fine, but the frame around it has cracked or pulled away from the wall.
• Broken glass in the door. A glazed panel or side light has been smashed, leaving a hole someone could reach through.
• A door that won’t close. It may have dropped, twisted or been damaged by weather, so it can’t be locked.

If this follows a break-in, our page on what to do after a burglary covers the police report and crime reference number alongside the making-safe.

How we board up a door

On the call we’ll ask what you can see so we can plan the right approach. Some doors only need part of the job; others need the whole doorway covered.

Boarding a glazed panel

When the door still closes and locks but a glass panel is broken, we can often board just that panel. The door stays in use and the opening is covered. Broken glass and debris around the doorway are made safe as part of the agreed work.

Boarding the whole doorway

When the door can’t be secured, we board over the full opening from the outside. We typically use exterior-grade plywood around 18mm thick for doors, because it’s strong enough to resist being pushed or levered. It’s held with security or anti-tamper fixings that are hard to remove with ordinary tools.

Securing the door or frame first

Sometimes the door and frame need securing before the board goes on, or the boarding has nothing solid to hold onto. That’s why we ask about the frame on the call, and it’s one of the things that affects the quote.

When the frame is badly damaged

Where the frame is sound, we use non-destructive fixing where possible, so the frame isn’t left with extra damage for whoever does the permanent repair. If the frame has split, rotted or come away from the brickwork, there may be nothing reliable to fix into. In that case we’ll explain the options before starting and agree with you what will be done. You won’t arrive to find work carried out that you didn’t expect.

This matters more with older doors. Parts of Epsom town centre, including the High Street and stretches of West Street, South Street and Waterloo Road, sit within a conservation area, and many of the buildings there are listed. If your property is one of these, or has an original period door, tell us on the call so we can discuss the most suitable fixing approach.

Think about which doors you still need

Boarding your only working door is rarely the answer if you still need to get in and out. Before we start, we’ll talk through how many entrances the property has, which one you’ll use, and which ones can be closed off completely. For a house with a front and back door, that conversation usually settles the plan quickly. For a shop or office, we’ll consider customer access, deliveries and staff entry.

What happens on the visit

1. The call. We take your postcode, ask about the door, frame, glazing and access, and work out an arrival time for your address. You get a free, clear quote before any work starts.
2. Arrival. The van carries boarding stock and fixings, so most doors can be dealt with on the first visit.
3. Making safe. Loose glass and debris are cleared from the doorway, and the door, frame or lock is secured as agreed.
4. Boarding. The board is cut to size and fixed, and we check it’s firm.
5. Paperwork. You receive the documents described below.

If the door has been forced overnight or at the weekend, our 24-hour emergency boarding-up service explains what to do while you wait.

What you receive

• A secured doorway or panel, as agreed on the call
• An itemised invoice
• Time-stamped before and after photographs
• A written statement of the work done

These are the records insurers usually ask for. Your insurer decides what’s covered; we’re not loss adjusters. Our guide to boarding-up paperwork for insurance claims explains how to use them.

What affects the quote

Every door is priced on the call, after we understand the job. The main factors are:

• The number and size of doors or panels to board
• Access, such as steps, tight passageways or an upper-floor door
• Materials and board thickness
• The fixing method, including anti-tamper fixings
• Whether the damaged door, frame or lock needs securing first
• How much glass and debris needs making safe

There’s more detail on how we price boarding-up work.

After the boarding

Boarding keeps the property secure while you arrange the permanent fix. That might be a new door, a replacement frame, a lock repair or new glazing from a door or glazing specialist. Once that’s booked, the boarding comes down and the doorway is back in normal use.

Door boarding questions

Can you board the door from the outside if it’s stuck open? Usually, yes. We’ll ask whether anyone needs to get in through it afterwards and whether there’s another way in.

Will boarding damage my door or frame? Where the frame is sound, we fix as carefully as the job allows. If it’s badly damaged, we’ll explain that and agree the approach with you first.

Do you board shop and office doors? Yes. Commercial entrances, including glazed shop doors, are covered, and we’ll consider how customers and staff will get in.

Who are you? Boarding Up Epsom is an independent local boarding-up service with over 10 years’ experience. We’re fully insured (certificate on request) and DBS-checked.

Get your door secured

Call 01372 656234 or email us. Give us your postcode, tell us whether it’s the door, the frame, the lock or a glass panel, and roughly how big the opening is. If it’s safe, send a photograph or two from outside. We’ll talk through access, explain your options and give you a free quote before anything is fixed.