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Boarding Up A Broken Window
The glass is out and you need the opening secure tonight, before any replacement glass can arrive.
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What's happening?
Boarding up is a deliberate two-stage approach, not a bodge. Replacement glass for most domestic openings has to be manufactured to the measured size — toughened glass cannot be cut after treatment, and sealed units are made to order — so there is nearly always a gap between the break and the glaze. A proper board-up closes that gap: the frame is de-glazed so no shards remain, the opening is closed with sheet material fixed to bear on the frame or the reveal, and the fixing method is chosen so it does not damage the frame it is screwed to. Done well it is weathertight, secure enough to leave overnight, and comes off cleanly when the glass arrives.
What usually causes it?
- Break-in or attempted break-in leaving an open pane at ground level
- Storm or impact damage where the replacement glass has to be made to size
- Toughened or laminated glass ordered in, with a lead time before it can be glazed
- A large or awkward pane needing more than one person and access equipment to glaze
- Break discovered late in the day, outside the hours a unit can be supplied
- An empty or unoccupied property that has to be left secure between visits
- A pane broken during other building work, where glazing waits for the rest of the job
Is it dangerous?
The hazard is the glass still in the frame and the height you have to work at to close the opening. Nearly all serious DIY injuries here come from one of two things: pulling shards out of a rebate by hand, and boarding an upper-floor window from a ladder while holding a sheet of ply. A badly fixed board is its own hazard — a panel that drops out of a first-floor opening in the wind is heavier and travels further than people expect.
Can I fix it myself?
Boarding a ground-floor opening you can reach with both feet on the ground is within reach: clear the loose glass, cut the board oversize so it laps onto the frame or reveal, and fix it so it cannot be levered off. Two limits worth respecting. Do not work at height to board a window — that is what makes it a call-out rather than a DIY job. And do not fix through the window frame itself where you can avoid it; screw holes in a uPVC frame stay there after the glass is in.
When should you call a glazier?
Call a glazier for any opening above ground level, any door pane, and any opening you cannot make secure to your own satisfaction. Emergency glazing is a standing service rather than a favour — the Glass and Glazing Federation maintains a register of firms offering it. Call rather than improvise if the property will be empty, because an insurer's expectation is usually that a broken opening is properly secured.
What will the glazier actually do?
- De-glaze the frame completely, removing shards bedded in putty, beads or gaskets
- Cut and fix a board that bears on sound structure and cannot be levered out
- Weather the board so water is not driven into the reveal, floor or plaster behind it
- Take the measurements and glass specification for the replacement at the same visit
- Order the correct glass for the location, including safety glass where the position requires it
- Return to remove the board and glaze the opening, making good the frame
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