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Emergency Boarding Up in Canterbury
When a break-in or storm damage leaves a property exposed, whether a terraced house near Church Street or a period cottage in Chilham, we attend at any hour to make safe the affected doors and windows. Our temporary boarding secures the property properly while frame repair or glazing is arranged, and we photograph the scene thoroughly to support your insurance evidence.
- Fixed quotes
- DBS-checked
- Insured work
- Local engineer
The local picture
Emergency Boarding Up for Canterbury properties
Kingston and the villages beyond the CT4 boundary see their share of break-ins and storm damage alike, and when a door or window gives way, temporary boarding restores a property to a make-safe condition within hours rather than days. Rural properties in this area often stand some distance from neighbours, so a secure, weatherproof boarding solution matters as much for deterring further entry as for keeping out the elements. Our vans carry ply and fixings suited to varying frame depths, since older cottages nearby rarely share standard dimensions.
Church Street presents a different challenge entirely. Within the conservation area, listed status means boarding must be carried out with care for surrounding stonework and timber, and any frame repair has to anticipate eventual reinstatement of period glazing rather than treating the opening as a standard replacement job. We photograph and document the damage thoroughly, providing insurance evidence that satisfies loss adjusters familiar with heritage claims.
Harbledown's Victorian terraces and semi-detached houses, set along the hillside above the city, typically have timber sash frames that split or splinter under forced entry. Boarding here needs to account for the narrow proportions of these window openings, and where glazing has failed completely, we assess whether frame repair can proceed before reglazing or whether temporary boarding must remain in place until a joiner attends. Either way, the property is left secure and watertight.
Good to know
Emergency Boarding Up — your questions
If a window is broken in one of the listed terraces on Church Street, can a standard timber board be fitted straightaway or does the conservation overlay affect this?
A temporary boarding fitted as a make-safe measure is normally acceptable even on listed or conservation-area properties, since it is not a permanent alteration. We photograph the damage and the frame before boarding for insurance evidence, and where the property sits within the city centre's conservation zone we use fixings that do not mark or penetrate original masonry, so any later frame repair by a specialist can proceed without complication.
What should I do before your locksmith arrives after a break-in at my property in Northgate?
Avoid touching broken glazing or disturbing the door frame, and take photographs of the damage from several angles for your own insurance evidence before anything is cleared. Where a shared HMO entrance is affected, let other occupants know a make-safe board will be fitted so access is not attempted through the damaged opening. Keep any dislodged glass or timber fragments in place if possible, as this can help establish how entry was forced.
What determines whether boarding up counts as a simple make-safe job or something more involved, cost-wise?
The main factors are the extent of frame damage and whether the glazing itself needs replacing rather than just boarding over. A cracked pane with an intact frame is typically a straightforward make-safe using plywood over the opening, whereas a forced door with a split or splintered frame, common after break-ins in older Victorian terraces around Harbledown, requires frame repair work before any new lock or glazing unit can be fitted properly.
Where we work
Covering Canterbury
Our engineers are local, so response times stay short across these neighbourhoods:
- Swalecliffe
- Wentworth Park
- Hersden
- Bramling
- Woolage Green
- Hillborough
- Stowting
- Upstreet
- Ickham
Postcode districts: CT1 · CT2 · CT3 · CT4 · CT5 · CT6
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