Emergency Board-Up and Tarping After a Storm — Windows, Doors, Roof
The storm is over, there is a window out, a door hanging open or daylight through the roof, and rain is coming again. We close the house up and leave you the photos and the receipt the adjuster will ask for.
Emergency board up and tarping is the first job after a storm: broken windows and doors covered with plywood, holes in the roof or a wall covered with a tarp fastened to battens, so the house stays dry and closed until the claim is settled. JMB Builders does it across the Twin Cities metro. Photograph the damage before we cover it; the board-up invoice goes on your claim as its own line. Priced per opening, call or text.
- Priced per opening boarded or tarped
- Photograph everything before it is covered
- Keep the board-up receipt for the claim
- Emergency board-up and tarping, call or text
- Licensed MN contractor BC809005
Send photos and hear back within one business day — or book a free in-home estimate.
A board-up is temporary work done right. Plywood cut to the opening, screwed to the framing or clamped through the window with cleats so there are no new holes in the siding, the edges sealed so wind-driven rain stays out. A tarp on a roof or wall is fastened to wood battens screwed through the tarp into the rafters or studs, not held down with bricks, run from above the ridge or the top of the damage down past the bottom so water sheds off instead of under. Done that way it holds through the next storm and comes off cleanly when the repair starts.
Before we cover anything, photograph it. Wide shots of each side of the house, then close shots of every broken pane, split jamb, missing shingle and hole, with something for scale in the frame. Keep the pieces that came off: the sash, the chunk of trim, the shingles in the yard. The adjuster wants to see the damage, not plywood over it, and photos taken before the board-up are how they see it.
Most homeowner policies expect you to protect the house from further damage after a loss and treat the reasonable cost of doing it as part of the claim. Keep our invoice; it goes in with the other receipts. What your policy covers is between you and your insurer, so ask your agent if you are unsure. We close the house and document it. You file the claim.
What you supply
- A call or text with your address and what is open: how many windows, which doors, whether the roof or a wall is breached
- Photos of each opening before we arrive if you can take them safely from the ground or inside
- Access to the inside of the house for interior board-ups and to the attic if the roof is open
- Your claim number once you have one, so the invoice and photos go in under it
What JMB supplies
- Plywood or OSB cut to each opening, fastened with screws into framing or clamped through the opening so the siding is not damaged
- Heavy tarps on roof and wall openings, battened with wood strips screwed to the structure and run to shed water
- Loose glass, broken sash and hanging trim removed and bagged so nobody is cut and the pieces are kept for the adjuster
- A temporary latch or a screwed-shut board on a door that will not close, so the house locks
- Photos of each opening before and after the board-up, in your job folder, dated
- An itemized invoice, one line per opening, written so it drops into the claim as a mitigation line
- The permanent repair quoted as a separate scope once you have the adjuster's estimate
How it is priced: per opening
Quoted in writing from your photos, with a reply within one business day. What moves the number:
- How many windows and doors are open and how large each one is
- A tarp on a roof vs. a tarp on a wall; roof pitch and height
- Glass and debris that has to be cleared before the opening can be covered
- Whether a door needs a temporary lock or a full sheet over it
- Night, weekend or holiday call-outs
- Travel outside the north metro
Call or text with the address and a count of the openings. We tell you what we can get to and when. The board-up is invoiced on its own so you can submit it right away, before the repair scope is written.
How long it takes
Two or three windows and a door: two to three hours on site. A roof tarp over one slope: half a day, weather permitting. We come when you call, not on a schedule.
How your project works
- 1
Send photos, get a written quote
Send three photos of the space and a sentence about what you want. You get a clear, itemized reply within one business day. Prefer a look in person? A free in-home estimate is always an option.
- 2
Pick materials, or bring your own
We help you choose profiles and materials that fit the house and the budget, or match your existing millwork exactly — or you buy the door or trim yourself and we install it. Everything is confirmed before the crew is scheduled.
- 3
Clean, precise installation
The crew shows up on time, protects floors and furniture, and installs with tight joints and consistent reveals. Photos of the finished work go in your job folder.
- 4
Walkthrough and invoice
We walk the finished work with you. If anything is not right, we fix it before we call the job done. Then one invoice, paid by check or direct deposit — no card fees, no payment links.
Situations and options
Window board-up
Broken glass cleared, the opening measured and sheeted with plywood. On vinyl or wood windows we clamp the sheet through the opening with cleats where we can, so there are no screw holes in the frame or siding to patch later.
Door board-up and temporary lock
A door that blew open, split at the jamb or lost its glass is either screwed shut and sheeted, or fitted with a temporary slide bolt so you can still use it. The jamb repair or new door is quoted as the permanent fix.
Roof tarp
A tarp run from above the damage over the ridge where we can, battened with 1x3 strips screwed through into rafters, with the bottom edge lapped out over the eave. Shingles in the yard are bagged for the adjuster. The reroof or patch comes from the roofing side.
Wall opening tarp or sheeting
Where a tree or debris opened a wall, the loose siding and sheathing are cleared back to solid, the hole is sheeted with OSB or tarped and battened, and the inside is checked for wet insulation that should come out before the rebuild.
Emergency Board-Up and Tarping After a Storm — Windows, Doors, Roof: questions, answered
Does homeowners insurance pay for emergency board-up and tarping?
Most policies expect you to protect the house from further damage after a storm and treat the reasonable cost of board-up and tarping as part of the claim. Keep the invoice and the before-and-after photos and submit them with the rest. Whether a given policy pays it, and how, is a question for your agent. We write the invoice one line per opening so it is easy to file.
Should I take photos before the windows are boarded up?
Yes, and before anyone moves anything. Shoot each side of the house wide, then every broken pane, torn screen, split jamb and hole close up with a tape measure or a hand in the frame for scale. Photograph the shingles and trim lying in the yard where they landed. We photograph again when we arrive, but the adjuster will want to see the damage uncovered, and the first photos are yours.
How long can a tarp stay on a roof?
A battened tarp will hold for weeks if it is fastened to the structure and run to shed water. Sun and wind wear it out over a season, and snow load will tear a loose one. It is a bridge to the repair, not a repair. If the claim is taking a long time, have us check it after a windstorm and replace it before winter if the roof is still open.
Do you board up from the inside or the outside?
Outside when we can, because that is where the weather is. On a window we prefer to clamp the sheet through the opening with cleats so the siding and frame are not screwed into. Where the outside is not reachable, a second-story window with no ladder access, for example, we sheet the inside of the opening and seal the glass side with plastic.
Can you board up a sliding patio door that shattered?
Yes. The broken panel is cleared, the frame is checked, and the opening is sheeted with a full sheet screwed to a cleat frame so the fixed panel and the track are not damaged. The replacement panel or door is a separate quote once you know what the adjuster allows.
Will you remove the board-up when the window is replaced?
Yes. When we do the permanent repair the plywood comes down when the new unit goes in. If another contractor does the repair, the sheets unscrew; the cleats are inside the opening and come out with the old window. Nothing we fastened needs a patch afterward unless we had to screw into siding to make a roof or wall tarp hold, and we tell you where that is.
Recent JMB work, from our job log
59 installs recorded across 30 Twin Cities communities since Dec 2025. Window and door installs for homeowners, builders and dealers. Counts come straight from our job log; no customer names.
Get a written quote for this job
Three photos and a sentence is enough: a reply within one business day, or ask for a free in-home estimate. Or text the photos to 763-204-2099.
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Read morePage reviewed October 1, 2026 · JMB Builders LLC, MN license BC809005 · All insurance repairs pages
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