Accidental Breakage Boarding South East London
Accidental breakage boarding South East London is for those moments when something sudden and unexpected leaves your property exposed – a car clipping your shopfront, a ladder through a window, a cracked door after a heavy slam, or glass shattered by a stray football. Our boarding up specialists work across South East London’s SE postcodes to make your property safe and secure again, 24/7.
Need urgent help right now? Call 020 4538 1506 for immediate accident damage boarding and securing.
We provide fast, non-destructive securing wherever possible, with over 10 years’ experience, public liability insurance and DBS-checked technicians. You’ll get time-stamped photos and an itemised invoice to support any insurance claim.
When You Need This
Accidental breakage boarding in South East London is typically needed when there’s been a sudden incident, but no deliberate criminal damage.
Common situations include:
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Vehicular impact to shopfront boarding
- Car or van clipping your glazing on Walworth Road, Old Kent Road, Deptford High Street or Peckham Rye
- Delivery vehicle hitting a roller shutter or frame
- Minor structural movement around a glazed shopfront
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Accidental broken windows at home or work
- Stray football smashing a front room window in Catford or Crystal Palace
- DIY accident with ladders or tools
- Moving furniture that cracks a patio door or balcony pane
- Office window damaged during maintenance
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Doors and access points compromised
- Heavy slam splitting a timber entrance door
- Impact that knocks a communal door off its hinges in a block in Lewisham or Greenwich
- Fire exit door bent or unable to lock after being struck
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Glazed shopfront and commercial damage
- Cracked or shattered display windows in cafés, salons and bars across Bermondsey, Bankside or Vauxhall
- Accident with stock trolleys or equipment inside the shop, pushing through the glass
- Internal glazed partitions smashed in offices or schools
If the glass or frame is:
- Cracked or shattered
- No longer able to lock
- Leaving a sharp, exposed edge
- Creating an easy entry point to the property
…you likely need accidental breakage boarding South East London to make the area safe and to secure your home or business.
If you’re unsure whether you need a full boarding service or just minor securing work, call us and we’ll talk you through it and recommend the safest option.
How We Secure Your Property
Our priority is simple: make the area safe, then secure the opening, using non-destructive securing wherever possible so permanent repairs are straightforward.
1. On-site assessment and safety cordon
When we arrive, we:
- Check for immediate hazards (loose glass, unstable frames, trip hazards)
- Set up a simple safety cordon, especially for vehicular impact to shopfront boarding on busy pavements in places like New Cross, Camberwell or Sidcup
- Make sure you, your staff, customers and neighbours can move safely around the site
Where there is any sign of serious structural damage, we’ll explain this clearly and may advise bringing in a structural engineer or your insurer’s contractor. We’ll still secure what we safely can.
2. Glass removal and clean-up
For windows or doors with shattered or loose panes, we:
- Carefully remove loose and hanging glass
- Bag and remove broken glass where agreed, or stack safely for your glazier/insurer
- Sweep and clear accessible glass fragments from floors, pavements and approach paths
This safety clean-up is especially important in public-facing locations and around children or pets.
3. Choosing the right boarding materials
We use quality plywood boarding and OSB boarding in South East London, typically:
- 11–18mm structural plywood or OSB (thicker boards for large shopfronts or exposed positions)
- Cut to size on site for a snug, secure fit
- Positioned to allow doors to open where possible, or to maintain safe emergency exits while still securing the property
Where vandalism or repeat access is a concern (e.g. exposed, vacant or poorly lit areas), we may recommend beefier materials or additional fixings, which we’ll discuss with you on arrival.
4. Fixings and non-destructive securing
We focus on non-destructive securing South East London wherever we can, using methods such as:
- Anti-tamper fixings designed so they can’t easily be removed from the outside
- Internal bracing timbers where appropriate, to avoid unnecessary drilling into frames
- Carefully located fixings into solid substrate (brick, concrete, sound timber) rather than fragile uPVC where possible
In most accidental breakage boarding jobs we can:
- Protect the remaining frame so a glazier can repair or replace later without costly extra carpentry
- Secure the opening in a way that satisfies typical insurer expectations for temporary boarding
We’ll always explain what we intend to fix into and why, and in the few cases where a destructive method is unavoidable (for example, a severely damaged frame that’s already beyond repair), we’ll talk this through with you first.
5. Temporary secure doors and access
If a door has been damaged so that it will not lock, or must be removed for safety, we can:
- Board over the opening completely, or
- Fit a temporary secure door (steel or timber temporary door set, depending on the situation)
This is particularly useful for:
- Commercial properties needing secure staff access after an impact
- Residential front doors broken by accident but requiring access for occupants
- Shared entrances in flats around areas like Woolwich, Thamesmead or Dulwich
For more door-specific information, see our dedicated door boarding up service.
6. Coordinating with glaziers, builders and insurers
We’re not emergency glaziers ourselves, but our work is designed to make their job easier:
- Straight, square boarding layout so glass replacement is simple
- Clear access left for surveyors and repair teams
- Time-stamped photos before, during and after the boarding
- Simple, itemised invoice and brief work statement to support any insurance claim
If you’re planning follow-up glazing or repairs, we can board with that in mind, including leaving inspection gaps if requested.
Why Choose Us for Accident Damage Boarding?
Choosing a local boarding up company you can trust is essential when something unexpected happens.
Local to South East London
- We’re based in South East London and work daily across SE1–SE28, including areas like Greenwich, Lewisham, Camberwell, Peckham, Sydenham, Abbey Wood and Woolwich
- Familiar with high streets, estates and residential streets, meaning efficient dispatch and sensible parking/working practices
- We regularly support homeowners, tenants, landlords, shop owners and facilities managers with emergency boarding up after accidents
You can see the full list of areas we cover across South East London.
10+ years’ experience
- Over a decade handling everything from small broken bathroom windows to full vehicular impact to shopfront boarding
- Used to working around crowds, narrow pavements and busy roads safely
- Calm, reassuring approach when you’re stressed and unsure what to do next
Insured, DBS-checked technicians
- Public liability insurance in place for your peace of mind
- All attending technicians are DBS-checked, which is especially important for residential properties and sensitive commercial settings (schools, healthcare, childcare)
Non-destructive first approach
- We always aim for non-destructive securing South East London, only drilling or altering frames where absolutely necessary
- Clear explanation before we make any irreversible changes
- Workmanship warranty on our boarding – if something we’ve fitted works loose prematurely in normal conditions, we’ll come back and put it right
Insurer-friendly paperwork
If you’re claiming on insurance for accidental damage, we can help by providing:
- Time-stamped photos of damage and completed boarding
- Itemised invoice showing labour and materials separately
- Short work description mentioning “temporary securing / boarding following accidental damage”
For more about this, see our dedicated page on insurance support for boarding up in South East London.
What Happens Next
We keep the process simple, especially when you’re dealing with the shock of sudden damage.
Step 1 – Get in touch
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For emergencies (exposed property, unsafe glass, can’t lock up):
Call 020 4538 1506 – 24/7 availability for emergency boarding up after accidents. -
For non-urgent, planned work (e.g. scheduled shopfront replacement, void properties):
Contact our South East London team with photos and a brief description for a no-obligation quote.
You can also learn more about the general process on our page, what is boarding up.
Step 2 – Assessment & quote
We’ll discuss:
- What happened and when
- Location (full address and any access notes)
- What’s damaged (window size, door type, shopfront span, height above ground)
- Any special requirements (alarm sensors, shutters, fire exits, customer access)
Where time allows, we can give an indication of boarding up prices South East London based on the information you provide, but we do not list fixed prices because every opening and situation is different. You can read more about how we price work on our boarding up prices page.
Step 3 – Attendance & securing
On site we will:
- Make the area safe (safety cordon, remove loose glass)
- Install plywood or OSB boarding and, if needed, a temporary secure door
- Use anti-tamper fixings and best-practice methods to keep the property secure until permanent repairs
We tidy up before leaving and make sure you know how to operate any temporary doors or shutters we’ve installed.
Step 4 – Documentation for your records
Afterwards, you’ll receive:
- Your invoice (showing labour and materials)
- Photos on request
- Brief work notes suitable for sharing with insurers or property managers
If your accident damage is part of a larger issue (e.g. storm or flood), our other pages on storm damage boarding and flood damage boarding may also be relevant.
FAQs
What do I do immediately after my window is smashed by accident?
First, keep people away from the area and avoid touching broken glass. If the window or door won’t lock or has a large opening, you need to secure it. Call us for emergency window boarding near me style support in South East London and we’ll advise you on the spot and arrange attendance if needed.
Can you board up my shopfront tonight after an accident?
Yes, we provide same day boarding up South East London and out-of-hours coverage for shops, cafés, salons and offices. If you’re thinking “someone to board up my shop now”, call us on 020 4538 1506 and we’ll organise shopfront boarding so you can lock up safely.
Will my insurance cover accidental breakage boarding?
Many policies do, but it varies. We can’t give legal or policy advice, but we can provide insurance-ready paperwork – photos, itemised invoice and a short statement of what we did and why. For more detail on how we help, see our insurance support for boarding up page.
How long does it take to board up a property after accident damage?
Most single windows or doors can be boarded the same visit, often within an hour or two on site once we’ve arrived. Larger shopfronts, upper floors or complex access can take longer. We work efficiently, but we won’t rush safety checks or cut corners.
I’ve had a small crack only – do I still need boarding?
If the crack is minor and the glass is still stable, you may be able to wait for a glazier. However, if the crack is spreading, the pane is bowed, or the window is at risk of shattering (for example, from impact or stress), boarding is the safest option. We’re happy to look at photos and advise honestly; we won’t recommend boarding if it isn’t needed.
Can you help with vacant or empty properties damaged by accident?
Yes. If a void or empty property has suffered accidental breakage, we can provide vacant property boarding South East London with longer-term solutions like Sitex-style steel screens and temporary steel doors. See more on our vacant property boarding page.
Need help now? Call 020 4538 1506 for fast, professional accidental breakage boarding in South East London, or Email us with details and photos for a free, no-obligation quote.
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