What Is Boarding Up? A Plain Guide for Epsom Properties
Boarding up means fixing strong timber sheet over or into a damaged or vulnerable opening, such as a broken window, a forced door, a smashed shopfront or a hole in a roof, so the building is secure, weather-tight and safe to be around. It’s temporary property securing: it covers the gap between the damage happening and the permanent repair being done. If you own, rent out, manage or run a business from a property in Epsom, this guide explains what boarding up involves, how it protects an opening and what you’re left with afterwards.
What boarding up does
A boarded opening does four practical jobs:
- Keeps people out. A smashed pane or a door that won’t lock leaves the property open. A fixed board closes that route.
- Keeps weather out. Rain, wind and cold through a broken window or damaged roof can quickly cause more damage inside.
- Removes the glass hazard. Loose shards left in a frame are a danger to anyone nearby. Making the opening safe includes dealing with broken glass and debris.
- Buys time. Glaziers, door fitters and roofers often need to measure, order and schedule. Boarding holds the property secure while that happens, and while you speak to your insurer.
Which openings get boarded
Most boarding-up work falls into a few familiar types:
- Windows. Ground-floor windows broken in a break-in, cracked by impact or blown in by a storm. Our window boarding service covers single panes through to large bays.
- Doors. Front, back and side doors where the glass, frame or lock has been damaged, often after forced entry. Sometimes the door or frame needs securing first so the board has something sound to fix to.
- Shopfronts and commercial premises. Wide glazed frontages on shops, offices, restaurants and warehouses. Epsom’s town centre has plenty of these, from the shop terraces along Waterloo Road and the High Street to the restaurants in South Street. Shopfront boarding usually means larger sheets and careful jointing across the width.
- Roofs and skylights. Holes caused by storm damage or falling debris, and broken skylights. Height and access make these jobs more involved.
- Empty and void properties. Landlords and agents often board the windows and doors of vacant buildings to keep them secure between tenants or during a sale.
How boarding protects an opening
The board is cut to suit the opening and fixed so it can’t easily be pulled away or worked loose. On a window, that usually means fixing into the frame or the surrounding structure so the sheet sits tight across the gap. On a door, the aim is a secure closed opening that can’t be pushed in.
The strength comes from three things working together: the right thickness of board, a good fit with no easy edge to lever, and fixings that are hard to remove from outside. Where security matters most, we use security or anti-tamper fixings, which can’t be undone with an ordinary screwdriver.
Plywood or OSB?
These are the two materials you’ll hear about most.
Exterior-grade plywood is the usual choice for most openings. It’s typically 18mm thick, strong, stable and stands up to the weather, so it suits windows, doors and shopfronts that need to stay secure for a while.
OSB (oriented strand board) is made from compressed wood strands. It can be a sensible choice for smaller openings where its strength is enough for the job.
We’ll recommend a material and thickness based on the size of the opening, where it is and how long it’s likely to stay boarded. Not every job needs the heaviest option.
Fixings and damaged frames
Where the frame is sound, we fix in a non-destructive way where the frame allows, to limit extra damage to the frame. That matters to most owners, and particularly in older buildings. Epsom Town Centre Conservation Area takes in the High Street and parts of West Street, South Street, Waterloo Road, Ashley Avenue and Upper High Street, and many of the buildings along those streets are listed, including Regency, Victorian and Edwardian town houses now used as offices. If your property is older or listed, mention it on the call so we can talk through how the board will be fixed.
Sometimes the frame itself is badly damaged: split by a forced entry, rotten, or partly burnt. A board is only as secure as what it’s fixed to, so in that case we explain the options first, before any work starts. That might mean securing the door or frame before boarding, or fixing into the surrounding structure instead. You’ll know what’s proposed and why before we go ahead.
Boarding is the first step, not the last
Boarding up is a make-safe. It secures the property properly for now, and the permanent repair, whether that’s new glazing, a replacement door or roof work, follows once you’ve arranged it with the right trade and, where relevant, your insurer. We don’t carry out glazing replacement ourselves; our job is to get the opening safe and secure so the permanent work can be done without pressure.
What you receive afterwards
When the job’s done you’ll have:
- Openings made safe and secure, with glass and debris dealt with as agreed
- An itemised invoice for the work
- Time-stamped before and after photographs
- A written statement of the work carried out
These are useful if you’re making a claim, though your insurer decides what’s covered. Our guide to insurance claim paperwork explains what each document is for. After a break-in, report it to the police, keep the crime reference number and contact your insurer, and photograph the damage only if it’s safe to do so.
How the quote works
You’ll get a free, clear quote on the phone before any work starts. The main things that affect it are:
- How many openings there are and how big they are
- Height and access, such as upper floors, roofs, skylights or ladder work
- The material and board thickness
- The fixing method, including security fixings
- Whether a damaged door or frame needs securing first
- How much glass or debris needs making safe
There’s more on how these factors work in our pricing guide. We’ll also work out an arrival time on the call from your postcode.
About Boarding Up Epsom
We’re an independent local boarding-up service with over 10 years’ experience. We’re fully insured (certificate on request) and DBS-checked, and our van carries boarding stock and fixings. A person answers the phone 24 hours a day, and we attend at any hour, including nights, weekends and bank holidays.
Talk it through with us
If you’ve got an opening that needs securing, or you just want to know whether boarding is the right step, get in touch. Tell us your postcode, what’s damaged (window, door, shopfront, roof or skylight) and roughly how big it is. If you can take photographs safely, without going near broken glass or unsafe structures, send them over and we’ll use them to discuss access and your quote.