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Emergency Board-Up in California

Making a fire-damaged building secure and weather-tight before anything else. It is the first visit, it happens at any hour, and it is what stops the loss growing overnight.

Call (805) 250-5710 How urgent is it?

Call about Emergency Board-Up

(805) 250-5710

No charge to you, and you are never committed to going ahead.

What happens when you call

  1. You describe the problem and where you are.
  2. We put you in touch with a licensed local company covering that area.
  3. They arrange the visit and agree the price with you directly.

Worth having ready

  • When the fire was, and whether the building has been released
  • Which rooms burned, and how far the smoke reached
  • Whether you have opened a claim yet
  • Your ZIP code
  • Licensed & insured Every company we put you through to holds current licensing and insurance.
  • Know what to ask You are told what actually decides the price, so you can judge a quote.
  • Someone local You are put through to a technician who works your area, not a call center three states away.
  • Calls answered 7 days Someone picks up seven days a week, weekends included.

Is it urgent?

Call today

An open building gets wetter and gets entered. Most policies also expect you to prevent further loss, so leaving it open can affect what is paid.

One thing overrides everything on this page. Do not go back inside until the fire service has released the building — structure and air can both still be unsafe long after the flames are out, and a floor that looks intact may not be.

Signs to look for

  • Windows, doors or walls open to the outside after a fire
  • A roof opened by the fire service for ventilation
  • A property that cannot be locked
  • Rain forecast on a building that is already open
  • A commercial frontage that has to be secured before morning

How the work is done

  1. Secure openings and tarp the roof before any assessment begins
  2. Document what was covered and when, because it is a claim line of its own
  3. Leave the property lockable and hand over the means to do it
  4. Flag anything structurally unsafe rather than working around it

In California specifically

California's Mediterranean on the coast, hot and dry inland climate and its housing stock — stucco ranch and bungalow, tile or composition roofs, slab in the south and raised crawlspace through the Bay Area and the north — decide what is worth doing first. California is also the one state where duct leakage is routinely tested: Title 24 requires a HERS-verified duct test on most furnace or air-conditioner changeouts, so a duct problem here often surfaces as a failed test rather than as a complaint.

Before the technician arrives

Four things worth doing — and the first one is usually the thing people get wrong.

  1. Do not go back inside until the fire service has released the building. The structure and the air can both still be unsafe once the flames are out.
  2. Call your insurer before anything is moved. Most policies require the loss to be seen as it is.
  3. Take everything you need for the next few days out in one trip, and photograph as you go.
  4. Ask for the board-up to be documented — it is a separate line on most claims.

What the work looks like

Photographs of emergency board-up being carried out, so you know what to expect on the day.

How it works

Three steps, and you decide at the end of them.

  1. 1

    You call and describe the problem

    Tell us what you have noticed and where — the room, the smell, the noise, how long it has been going on. Give us your ZIP code and we will match you to a licensed company covering your area. There is no form to fill in.

  2. 2

    A local company takes it from there

    They discuss the problem with you directly, arrange a time to inspect, and agree the work and the price with you before anything starts. That conversation is between you and them.

  3. 3

    You decide whether to go ahead

    You are under no obligation. If the quote or the approach is not what you wanted, you are free to say no and call someone else.

Emergency Board-Up — FAQs

Do I actually need Emergency Board-Up done?

An open building gets wetter and gets entered. Most policies also expect you to prevent further loss, so leaving it open can affect what is paid.

What does Emergency Board-Up involve?

Making a fire-damaged building secure and weather-tight before anything else. It is the first visit, it happens at any hour, and it is what stops the loss growing overnight.

What makes this different in California?

California's Mediterranean on the coast, hot and dry inland climate and its housing stock — stucco ranch and bungalow, tile or composition roofs, slab in the south and raised crawlspace through the Bay Area and the north — decide what is worth doing first. California is also the one state where duct leakage is routinely tested: Title 24 requires a HERS-verified duct test on most furnace or air-conditioner changeouts, so a duct problem here often surfaces as a failed test rather than as a complaint.

Are the companies licensed and insured?

Yes. We only pass calls to licensed, insured operators working in California, and you are welcome to ask to see a license number on arrival.

What does Emergency Board-Up cost?

It depends on the property, the size of the system and what the inspection finds, so we do not publish a price — a figure quoted on a web page is not one the attending company has agreed to. You get a price before any work starts.

Emergency Board-Up near you

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