Burglary Repairs in Barnet: Making Your Property Secure After a Break-In

If you’ve been broken into, the first job for burglary repairs in Barnet is getting the damaged door or window secure so nobody can walk back in. Boarding Up Barnet can board and secure forced doors, frames and smashed windows at any hour, including nights, weekends and bank holidays. A person answers the phone around the clock. We’ll work out arrival from your postcode and give you a free, clear quote before any work starts.

Call 020 4652 1801 or Email us. If it’s late and you can’t leave the property open overnight, our 24-hour emergency boarding-up service covers that.

What to do first after a burglary

Before you think about the door or the glass, get these sorted:

• Make sure everyone is safe. If you think someone could still be inside, leave and wait for the police.
• Report it to the police and keep the crime reference number. Your insurer will ask for it.
• Keep clear of broken glass. Don’t try to pick shards out of a frame or sweep up in the dark. Keep children and pets away from the area.
• Photograph the damage if it’s safe to do so. Take wide shots and close-ups of the forced door, damaged lock or broken pane. Don’t move anything you don’t need to.
• Contact your insurer to tell them what’s happened and ask what they need from you.

Then call us to get the opening secured. You don’t need to wait for an insurer’s decision before making the property safe. Just keep records of what was done.

Which kind of securing you’re likely to need

Most break-ins leave one of two problems: a door that won’t close or lock properly, or a window that’s been smashed or forced. Sometimes it’s both.

Forced doors, frames and locks

A kicked or jemmied door often looks worse than it is, or better than it is. The lock may have torn out of the frame, the frame may have split along its length, or the door itself may have cracked. Our door boarding and forced-entry securing deals with all of these. Where the frame is still sound, we can board over the opening with exterior-grade plywood and security fixings. If the frame is badly split or pulled away from the wall, we’ll explain the options to you first, because boarding onto a frame that won’t hold isn’t secure. That conversation happens before we fix anything, and before any change to the quote.

Smashed or forced windows

For broken glass, window boarding covers the opening with board cut to size, typically 18mm exterior-grade plywood, or OSB for smaller openings. Where the frame allows, we use non-destructive fixing so there’s less damage to put right later. On ground-floor windows that are easy to reach from outside, anti-tamper fixings make the board much harder to prise off.

What happens when you call

We’ll ask for:

1. Your postcode, so we can work out when we can get to you.
2. What’s been damaged: a front door, back door, patio door, sash window, shop door and so on.
3. Roughly how big the opening is, and which floor it’s on.
4. Access: whether we can reach it from the street, through a side gate, or only from inside.
5. Photos, if you can take them safely. Send them by email and we can give you a clearer quote.

From that we’ll give you a free, clear quote on the call. The price depends on things like the number and size of openings, height and access, the board thickness and fixings needed, whether the door or frame has to be secured before boarding, and whether there’s broken glass or debris to make safe. Nothing starts until you’ve agreed it. Our pricing page explains these factors in more detail.

On the visit

The van carries boarding stock and fixings. We’ll make broken glass safe around the opening, secure any loose door or frame where needed, then cut and fix the board. Before we leave, you’ll be able to check that the opening is closed and secure from outside.

We offer boarding for houses, flats, shops and restaurants across Barnet. For shops and other businesses, the approach is the same: secure the forced entry point first so you can lock up and deal with the rest in daylight.

The paperwork you’ll get

After the work, we supply:

• An itemised invoice showing what was done and the materials used
• Time-stamped before and after photographs of each opening
• A written statement of the work carried out

These are the documents most insurers ask for when you claim for emergency securing. Your insurer decides what’s covered. We aren’t loss adjusters or legal advisers, but we’ll give you clear records to send them. Our insurance claims guide has more on what to keep together.

What comes next

Boarding is the make-safe that keeps the property secure while you arrange permanent repairs. That means a glazier for the window or a new door or frame fitted by the right trade. With the opening secured, you’ve got time to get proper quotes rather than accepting the first person who can come out.

About us

Boarding Up Barnet is an independent local boarding-up service with over 10 years’ experience. We’re fully insured, with a certificate available on request, and DBS-checked, which matters when someone’s working in your home just after it’s been broken into. As well as Barnet, we also cover Whetstone, Totteridge and Cockfosters, subject to confirming your address on the call.

Common questions after a break-in

Can you secure the door if the lock has been ripped out? Usually, yes. If the frame is intact, we can board the doorway securely. If the frame is badly damaged, we’ll explain the options before starting.

Should I clean up before you arrive? No. Keep away from the glass and leave things as they are, apart from taking photos if it’s safe. That helps the police, your insurer and us.

Will the boarding damage my window frame? We use non-destructive fixing where the frame allows. If it doesn’t, we’ll tell you before we fix anything.

Do I need my crime reference number before you come out? No, but keep it safe. Your insurer will want it alongside our invoice, photographs and work statement.

Get your property secured

If your door or window has been forced, Call 020 4652 1801 or Email us. Tell us your postcode, which door or window is damaged and roughly how big it is, and send safe photographs if you can. We’ll talk through access, give you a free, clear quote and agree the work before anything starts.