Board-Up Services
A board-up closes the openings that leave a property exposed — broken windows, forced doors, storm damage, fire damage — with plywood or clear polycarbonate cut and fastened to the opening, and every board photographed before and after. Ethreon boards up residential, commercial, and institutional property for owners, servicers, insurance carriers, receivers, and municipalities, and re-secures the building each time it is opened again.
Same-day where scope demands it, scoped to the client's specification or the local ordinance, and documented to the standard an insurer or a code officer expects. Board up services are dispatched from local Ethreon crews in every metro we cover.
Securing Openings
Which material and method a board-up needs depends on who is asking. Investor programs price boarding per united inch and specify plywood thickness by opening; several cities — Ohio statewide, under Revised Code 2308.031 — prohibit plywood on vacant and abandoned property and require polycarbonate; insurers want the opening closed and the protective expense documented for the claim. Ethreon boards to the specification in the work order and records the measurements, materials, and photos the reimbursement or the inspection will ask for.
Board-ups are the first step of a securing visit, not the last: the same crew changes locks, secures the remaining entry points, and returns for the re-secure when a board is pulled or a window is broken again.
Board-Up Scenarios
Board-ups are ordered by different people for different reasons; the crew work is the same, the documentation changes with the client.
Boarding openings on vacant, REO, and pre-foreclosure property to the servicer's or investor's specification — plywood per united inch where allowed, polycarbonate where the city requires it — as part of the initial secure or after a break-in.
After hail, wind, or hurricane damage: openings boarded and roofs tarped so the building is protected from further damage, with the photos and receipts the policy's protect-from-further-damage condition requires.
Board-up of fire-damaged structures once the fire department has released the scene, closing every opening and documenting the condition for the owner and the carrier before restoration begins.
Storefront and commercial window board-up, vacant building securing for receivers and lenders, and board-up services under municipal code-enforcement programs — the same product cities buy as 'board-up services' and 'securing of structures.'
Field Capabilities
A boarded window on an unlocked house is not a secured property. Board-ups are delivered with the rest of the securing scope.
Openings measured, cut, and fastened; plywood or polycarbonate to specification.
Lock change, padlocks, and hasps on the same visit so every entry is closed.
Return to re-board or re-lock after a break-in, with a new photo set each time.
United-inch measurements, materials, and dated photos of every opening for the claim or the work order.
Board-Up Process
Openings are counted and measured, the specification is confirmed, the building is closed, and the photo set is sent the same day the work is done.
Openings and specification confirmed
Materials cut to measurement
Windows, doors, and openings boarded
Remaining entry points secured
Photos and completion report submitted
Plywood or polycarbonate, per united inch or per opening — boarded to the program, ordinance, or carrier requirement that applies.
Before-and-after photos of every opening, with measurements, so the board-up is reimbursable and defensible.
Locks, hasps, and re-secure visits under the same work order as the boarding.
Common Questions
A board-up is the securing of a building's openings — broken or missing windows, doors, and other access points — with plywood or clear polycarbonate cut to the opening and fastened to the frame. It is ordered after a break-in, a fire, a storm, or when a property becomes vacant, to keep the building closed to weather and unauthorized entry until it is repaired or reopened.
Board-ups are priced by the size and number of openings and by material. Investor programs publish per-united-inch allowables — HUD at $0.90 per united inch for plywood, for example — while clear polycarbonate costs more per opening. Ethreon quotes from the opening count and measurements; our 2026 price list post has the published allowables side by side.
Board-ups are dispatched same-day where scope demands it, including after storms, fires, and break-ins. Send the property address and what happened; Ethreon confirms the crew and the timing on the request. The board-up is documented so the protective expense can be submitted to the carrier.
Whichever the specification requires. Plywood is standard where the investor or owner allows it; clear polycarbonate is used where a city prohibits plywood on vacant property (Ohio does statewide under Revised Code 2308.031) or where the client prefers a boarded building that does not look boarded. Both are photographed and measured the same way.
Yes. Storefront glass, office and warehouse openings, and vacant commercial buildings held by lenders or receivers are boarded to the same standard, and Ethreon performs board-up and securing of structures for municipal code-enforcement programs where contracted.
Standard property policies require the insured to protect the property from further damage after a loss and to keep records of the expense. Ethreon's board-up report — dated photos of each opening before and after, measurements, and materials — is built to support that requirement. Whether a specific claim is paid is the carrier's decision.
The building is re-inspected on the client's schedule, re-secured if a board is pulled or another window is broken, and the boards are removed when the property is repaired, sold, or reoccupied. Each visit produces a new photo set.
If the property is in Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Ohio, or Pennsylvania, yes. The crews are local in each metro — Houston, Dallas–Fort Worth, San Antonio, Austin, New Orleans, Birmingham, Little Rock, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh — so an emergency board up, a window board up, or a commercial board up is dispatched from nearby rather than routed through a national call center.
Yes. Cities and housing authorities buy this work as Board-Up Services, Emergency Board Up Service (rotating call list), and Securing of Structures. Ethreon responds under those solicitation names; send the solicitation number and due date.
Across Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, with crews in the major metros. Use the coverage checker for a county-level answer or request coverage for a property outside the listed areas.
Related Guides
Start a Board-Up Request
Send the address, what happened, and the number of openings if you know it. Ethreon confirms the specification, the crew, and the timing.
Other Ethreon Services
Service Areas
Ethreon provides structured field operations across 7 states with dedicated regional coverage teams.
