Emergency boarding up
Emergency Boarding Up in Normanton
Call with your postcode for a current arrival estimate.
- 24-hour emergency cover
- No call-out charge
- Price agreed before work starts
Window or Door Smashed? We Can Secure It
Martin Locksmiths Normanton boards up smashed windows, forced doors and damaged openings across Normanton, 24 hours a day, so the property stays secure until it can be properly repaired. Boarding is a temporary measure, it is generally completed in one visit, and it stops the building being left open overnight.
No call-out charge applies. If a break-in caused the damage, wait for the police to say work at the entry point may begin before anything is moved or boarded.
What Emergency Boarding Up Actually Is
Emergency boarding up is the temporary covering of a broken or open part of a building, most often a window, a door or a shopfront, using boards cut to the opening and fixed in place so nobody can get in and the weather stays out. While arrangements are made for the appropriate permanent repair, this method can usually make a damaged opening secure. The work always has two objectives, taken in a fixed order:
- Safety first: the area around the damage is made safe from broken glass.
- Security second: the board covers the opening, restricts further access and helps reduce how much weather gets in.
What it is not matters just as much. Boarding is a stopgap rather than a repair, and it does not stand in for new glass or a new door.
Do not move loose glass or attempt to cover a large or unstable opening yourself. When you call, describe the damage as fully as you safely can, because that helps us assess the likely work before attendance.
How We Board Up a Damaged Opening
Every opening is assessed before any boarding goes on. The right method depends on what has been damaged, the condition of the structure around it and where secure fixing points are available, so no two jobs are fitted quite the same way.
Assess the opening.
The technician looks at the opening, the surrounding frame and any visible hazards, which shows whether boarding can be fitted safely and what work is likely to be needed. Anything that could affect safe access or stop the board fitting properly is picked out at this stage.
Make it safe.
Loose glass or unstable material is dealt with only where it is safe and appropriate to do so.
Measure.
Measurements are taken from the damaged opening itself instead of assuming a standard board size will fit.
Check and explain.
After inspecting the boarding in place, the technician explains what visibly needs to happen next, whether locksmith work, a door repair or replacement glazing.
- Fixings matter, because a board held by ordinary screws from outside can simply be unscrewed.
We take a straightforward approach, using emergency boarding to improve safety around the damage and keep the opening temporarily secure. Who should carry out the permanent repair is covered in the next section.
When Emergency Boarding Up Is Needed
Most people assume boarding is a burglary service, but it is not limited to burglary damage. Any time a house, rental or business premises is left exposed and the opening cannot be fixed permanently there and then, boarding is the sensible answer.
Damage from storm or accidental damage
Nothing criminal needs to have happened. High winds, something falling or an accidental impact can break windows, doors and surrounding frames, and a board keeps people and weather out until the repair can be finished.
Is it vandalism or a smashed window?
Criminal damage often leaves an unsecured opening and broken glass behind, even with no entry at all. We board the opening so it stays covered until a glazier can fit new glass.
Following a break-in
A smashed pane or forced door leaves a way back in. With police permission, boarding secures that opening while lasting burglary repairs are assessed or booked.
An empty or between-tenancy property
With nobody living there, a broken opening can invite unauthorised access and let wind or rain in unnoticed. As the landlord, letting agent or property manager organises the permanent work, the property remains secured by boards.
A door that cannot be repaired the same visit
Sometimes a damaged door, frame or locking component cannot be repaired during the first attendance. Boarding secures the opening until then, and a failed locking component may also need an emergency lock repair.
Does Your Insurance Cover Boarding Up?
Often, yes. Many policies treat emergency boarding as reasonable action to prevent further loss, and a home, landlord or commercial policy may cover it where temporary work is needed after an insured incident to prevent further access or damage. Never assume, though: coverage, limits and what a claim requires all vary from one policy to another. Read your wording and get in touch with your insurer as soon as practical.
Where practical, call the insurer's emergency helpline before authorising work. If it is safe, take photos or a short video of the damage before anything is touched, but do not approach loose glass or an unstable opening to obtain evidence. If you reported the incident to the police, hold on to the crime reference number, as the claim will ask for it. Keep all receipts and invoices for the boarding and the permanent repairs.
Where the property cannot safely remain open while you wait for a reply, boarding after a break-in must wait for police permission; document the damage and follow the insurer's claims instructions at the earliest opportunity.
Locksmith pricing
What Does Emergency Boarding Up Cost?
What you pay for boarding up depends on the opening and on what it takes to secure it. One small window that is easy to reach is the least work and the cheapest job; a large doorway, a shopfront or several damaged openings take considerably more. The things that move the price are:
- the size and type of the opening
- how many openings need boarding
- how much damage there is around the frame or structure
- how easily and safely the opening can be reached
- whether the property is residential or commercial
- the time you need us to attend
Pricing is kept clear. Describe the damage when you call and we explain the price from what you tell us, before anyone attends. There is no separate call-out charge. You pay for the work carried out, any parts needed, and VAT. Rates outside Monday to Friday, 7am to 6pm, are higher, but the call-out itself is never charged. If the damage on site turns out to be materially different from what was described, any change to the work or the price is explained to you before any work begins.
What affects the cost?
Service required, time of attendance, lock and door type, labour and parts.
Boarding Up Is Temporary: What Happens After?
A secured opening is a pause, not a repair. The next step turns on one question: does the permanent fix involve the locks, the door or frame, or the glass?
Locks, doors, frames and mechanisms. These fall within our trade. We can repair or replace the damaged parts, and where parts need sourcing this is often done on a return visit.
Glass and sealed units. This is a glazier's job. We secure the opening with boarding, but reglazing it needs a glazier, and we will tell you so at the time rather than leave it vague.
Boarding is built to last days or a few weeks rather than months. Leave it up for much longer and weather will start finding its way in around the fixings, so arrange the permanent repair as soon as you can.
For the lock and door side, see lock replacement and burglary repairs.
Locksmith pricing
Before Anyone Attends, Agree the Price
Before anyone boards your property, you should have agreed to it and you should know the price. That sounds obvious, but in this trade it is not always what happens. Some operators attend damaged premises uninvited, occasionally prompted by a police or council report, fit boards that nobody requested and then invoice at a multiple of the job's real worth, pursuing payment aggressively.
You are entitled to authorise the work yourself, to hear a price before anyone sets off, and to ask three questions: what is the board, how is it fixed, and what happens when you want it removed.
Here is how we work. We give you the price over the phone. We only attend when you ask us to. The price stays the same on arrival unless the damage is materially different from your description, and if it is, we tell you before any work starts.
What affects the cost?
Service required, time of attendance, lock and door type, labour and parts.
Emergency Boarding Up Across Normanton
Damaged doors, windows and shopfronts are boarded for homeowners, landlords, letting agents and businesses across Normanton, because an open building cannot wait for morning.
Call-outs reach Ashfield, Hopetown, Ellentrees, Lower Altofts, Altofts and Woodhouse, the whole of WF6, and the parts of WF10 and WF7 around Normanton. The built-up area has around 22,000 usual residents (Census 2021, ONS), and Altofts, Lower Altofts, Ellentrees and Hopetown are mostly houses, so the opening to be covered is typically a household's own window or door.
After a break-in, report it to West Yorkshire Police on 101 or at https://www.westyorkshire.police.uk. If someone may still be inside, stay out and call 999. If the police cannot attend tonight, ring 101 and ask whether the property may be secured now.
See all areas we cover.
What Happens Once You Call
When you ring, the process runs like this. It is straightforward, and the more information you can safely give, the better we can understand the damage, explain the likely work and estimate when we can arrive.
- Our purpose is to make the exposed opening secure for the time being.
We can evaluate locks, cylinders, handles and locking mechanisms to determine whether they need repairing or replacing. Resolving damage to doors and frames may involve a locksmith, replacement components or the services of a door-repair specialist. Where entry has been forced, deciding what to do next is something our burglary repair service can help with.
Boarding is a temporary protection. Arrange the permanent repair as soon as practical, and do not treat the board as a long-term substitute.
Your description.
Let us know what is damaged, the approximate size of the opening and whether there is any broken glass. That detail makes the phone quote more accurate, because size and number of openings set the price.
Our quote.
A price, plus an honest arrival estimate.
The handover.
We tell you what the permanent repair will involve and which trade it falls to.
Emergency and planned locksmith services
Call Martin Locksmiths Normanton Now
Phone 01924 658041 at any hour. Calls are answered 24 hours a day, nothing is charged for the call-out, and the price is agreed on the call before anyone travels.
- Phone: 01924 658041
01924 658041
Frequently Asked Questions
How quickly can you board up my property?
Boarding call-outs are taken 24 hours a day, including nights, weekends and bank holidays. How long it takes depends on where in Normanton you are, the time of day and whether a technician is already on a job, and you are given an honest estimate on the call.
Do you replace the glass as well?
We do not. Glass and sealed units are reglazed by a glazier, not a locksmith. What we do is secure the broken opening with boarding and, where the lock, door, frame or mechanism has been damaged, repair or replace that. Before we leave, you will know exactly which work falls to us and which to a glazier.
How long can boarding stay up?
A few weeks at most is the sensible expectation, and often only days. The board keeps the opening secure and weather tight in the meantime. It is not designed to stay for months: over time, weather gets in around the fixings, and the opening will still need a permanent repair.
Will my insurance pay for it?
Many home and business policies can cover this work, though payment is not automatic. The cover often concerns emergency boarding after a storm, vandalism or forced entry, as a measure against further loss. Check the limits in your policy and tell the insurer about the incident promptly.
Can I just board it up myself?
Yes, a small window is a manageable job with the right materials. Two things usually go wrong: the board is not cut to fit, or it is fixed with ordinary screws from the outside, which anyone can remove in a minute. Stay away from broken glass and from work at height. Leave forced entry or large openings to a professional; after forced entry, police permission must come before boarding.
Someone turned up and boarded my property without being asked. Do I have to pay?
Not without taking advice first. Work on your property should only happen when you have authorised it, and you should be given a price before anyone sets off. An invoice from a company that turned up uninstructed is something to get advice about, not something to pay automatically. We only attend when asked, and we quote on the call.
Do you board up shops and commercial premises?
Yes, commercial premises are boarded just like homes. That includes shopfronts, office doors, industrial units and vacant premises. A commercial opening is usually larger and can need more than one board or access at height, both of which affect the price. Describing the opening when you call means the price you hear is accurate.
What do you use to board up with?
Fitting to the measured opening rather than a standard size makes the finished job more secure and more weather tight.
Still have a question or need urgent assistance? Call 01924 658041, tell us what has happened and receive a current arrival estimate.