Emergency Board Up Services in Ansonia, CT

We cover broken windows, doors and wall openings with plywood and lumber after a break-in, fire, storm or vehicle strike, so the building is closed to weather and entry until glass or framing can be replaced.

• Shattered storefront glass after a smash-and-grab break-in
• Kicked-in entry doors with split jambs and strike plates
• Fire-damaged windows left open after firefighters vented them
• Sliding glass doors blown out by storm debris
• Wall openings where a vehicle drove into the building
• Second-story windows reachable only by extension ladder
• Vacant houses with broken basement and ground-floor windows

Loose shards still hanging in the frame get knocked out with a hammer and swept up, so nothing drops on someone later or cuts through a tarp. The opening is measured edge to edge with a tape, and sheets of 1/2-inch or 5/8-inch CDX plywood are ripped to size with a circular saw, usually lapping a couple of inches past the trim on every side. On a wood-framed house, we fasten the panel straight into the framing with 3-inch exterior screws driven by a cordless impact driver, spaced every 8 to 12 inches. On masonry or a storefront where screws won't bite, 2x4 strongbacks go across the inside and outside faces, tied through the opening with carriage bolts so the plywood clamps tight without drilling the brick. A kicked-in door gets a full sheet over the frame, or a new lockable hasp if the owner still needs access. Large holes in walls or roofs get poly sheeting under the plywood to keep rain out. The finished panels are checked for gaps by hand, and leftover glass and offcuts are bagged and hauled away.

Emergency board up usually takes one to three hours for a typical home with a few broken windows or a single damaged door. A storefront with tall plate glass panels or a building with a dozen openings after a fire can run most of a day. Upper-story windows, masonry walls that need strongbacks, and nighttime work under portable lights each add time.

A single cracked ground-floor window is a board up most handy homeowners can manage with a sheet of plywood, a drill and exterior screws. The job turns into pro work once glass is still falling from a large frame, the opening is on a second story, or the wall is brick or block. Fire-damaged framing can also be weaker than it looks, so screws may not hold where the wood is charred.

A plywood board up is temporary, but a well-fastened panel typically holds for several weeks to a few months while glass is ordered or an insurance claim moves forward. Untreated CDX plywood starts to delaminate and stain after long exposure to rain and sun. For a vacant building sitting boarded through a whole season, painting the plywood or switching to thicker panels with bolted strongbacks helps it hold up longer.