Before and After a Crisis – Emergency Boarding Up

Before and After a Crisis: When faced with a crisis, such as a natural disaster, vandalism, or other property damage, one of the immediate concerns is securing your property. Emergency boarding up is critical in protecting your property from further damage and maintaining security. This guide provides a step-by-step approach to emergency boarding up, offering practical advice before and after a crisis.

Before a Crisis: Preparing for Emergencies

1. Understand the Risks: Know the common emergencies in your area, be it storms, wildfires, or potential vandalism hotspots.
2. Identify Vulnerable Areas: Assess your property for vulnerable points like windows, glass doors, or weak walls.
3. Gather Necessary Supplies: Keep supplies such as plywood, nails, screws, and tools readily available for quick boarding up.
4. Know Your Resources: Identify local emergency boarding services, like Edwards Building Services, and keep their contact information handy.
5. Plan Your Approach: Develop a boarding-up plan, considering how to cover each vulnerable point quickly and effectively.

After a Crisis: Implementing Emergency Boarding Up

1. Assess the Damage: Once it’s safe, evaluate the damage to your property, noting which areas need immediate boarding up.
2. Prioritize Safety: Before starting work, inspect the area for potential hazards such as broken glass, unstable structures, and live electrical wires to ensure safety.
3. Measure and Cut Plywood: Measure each opening that needs to be covered. Cut the plywood to size, ensuring it extends beyond the frame for a secure fit.
4. Secure the Boards: Use screws instead of nails for a more secure hold. Screw the plywood into the frames or exterior walls, ensuring it’s flush and leaves no gaps.
5. Check for Adequate Coverage: After boarding up, inspect your work to ensure no vulnerabilities are left.
6. Seek Professional Assistance: For large-scale damage, complex structures, or if you need clarification on doing it yourself, contact professional services. Experienced teams can ensure the boarding up is done correctly and safely.
7. Document Everything: For insurance purposes, it is important to take photos or videos of the damage before and after boarding up.
8. Plan for Repairs: Start planning for repairs to restore your property fully as soon as possible.

Conclusion:

Emergency boarding up is a crucial response to protect your property after a crisis. You can secure your property effectively by preparing in advance and following these steps after an emergency. Remember, the priority is always safety – both yours and that of your property. 

In situations beyond your expertise, feel free to call professional services like Edwards Building Services, who are equipped to handle emergency boarding up quickly and efficiently.