Board-Up After a Fire: First Steps in Coachella

A fire-damaged house is an open house: broken windows, damaged doors, holes in the roof. Every opening lets in rain, animals and intruders, and every day it stays open the loss grows. The provider boards up windows and doors and tarps damaged roof sections, usually on the first visit, so the home is weathertight while the rest of the job is planned. This post explains what the board-up covers, what it does not cover, and what to do first.

The second thing to understand is that the board-up is not the repair. It is the temporary securing that stops the second wave of damage — the rain, the animals, the intruders — while the rest of the job is planned. The provider photographs the openings before they are covered, and keeps a record of what was boarded and when, so the file shows the home was protected promptly. Insurers expect a homeowner to take reasonable steps to prevent further damage after a fire, and an unsecured property is a problem for the claim as well as for the house.

What the Board-Up Covers

The board-up covers the openings: broken windows, damaged doors, and any other opening the fire left behind. The boards are fixed from the outside, so the inside of the house is not entered, and they are fixed so the rain cannot get in and the animals cannot get in either. The provider photographs the openings before they are covered, and keeps a record of what was boarded and when.

The tarping covers the roof: damaged sections, holes, and any part of the roof where the fire or the firefighters left it open. The tarp is fixed so the rain runs off it, not under it, and it is fixed so the wind cannot lift it. In the Coachella Valley the next rainstorm is often the same week as the fire, and a roof that is left open is a roof that lets the rain in on top of the fire damage.

The board-up also covers the security: a house that is boarded up is a house that cannot be entered, and a house that cannot be entered is a house that cannot be stripped or squatted in. The provider will say plainly if the damage is extensive and temporary fencing or extra securing is needed, and will talk through what that costs before it is done.

What the Board-Up Does Not Cover

The board-up does not repair the house. It does not clean the soot, it does not dry the water, and it does not replace the framing. It is the temporary securing that stops the second wave of damage while the rest of the job is planned, and it is removed when the repair starts. The provider will tell you what the board-up covers and what it does not, before any work starts.

The board-up does not make the house safe to live in. A boarded-up house is still a fire-damaged house, with weakened floors, damaged wiring and air that is full of soot particles, and it should not be lived in until the provider and the officials say it is safe. The board-up is the first step, not the last one, and the rest of the job — the cleaning, the drying, the repair — follows it.

The board-up does not settle the claim. The photographs taken before the board-up are the record the insurer reads, and the record of what was boarded and when is part of that file. The provider will give you copies of everything — the photographs, the record, the scope — so the file is complete, and the claim is decided on the file.

What to Do First

Photograph the openings before anything is covered, where it is safe to do so. Photograph every broken window, every damaged door, and every hole in the roof, from outside the house, and photograph the rooms that look untouched too, because smoke travels further than flames. The photographs are the record your insurer will read, and the record the provider works from.

Call (561) 566-7293 and describe the openings — which windows are broken, which doors are damaged, whether the roof has holes, and whether the house can be entered. The provider will tell you whether the job needs a visit, and what the visit will cover, before any work starts. The provider will not quote a price over the phone, because a price without a walk-through would be a guess, but the provider will tell you what the board-up is, what it does, and what the job needs.

If the provider has not arrived yet and you can safely cover an opening from outside, do so — but do not climb on a damaged roof, and do not enter a room with a sagging ceiling to reach a window. Do not go back inside for belongings before the fire department clears the home, and do not try to board up a window from inside a room that is not safe to enter. The board-up is the provider's job, and the provider will do it on the first visit.

The Record the Board-Up Leaves

The provider photographs the openings before they are covered, and keeps a record of what was boarded and when, so the file shows the home was protected promptly. The record goes to you for your files and your insurance claim, and it is what the claim is built on. The provider will give you copies of everything — the photographs, the record, the scope — so the file is complete.

The record also shows what was not boarded, and why. If a window was not boarded because it was not broken, the record says so. If a door was not boarded because it was still secure, the record says so. The record is the damage as it was, not as it was after the board-up started, and the record is what the insurer reads. A complete record is what makes a claim move, and the board-up is the first entry in it.

Keep the record with the photographs, the inventory, the claim number, and every receipt, and keep the originals and a backup copy. Do not throw anything away without photographing it first, and do not start cleaning before the adjuster has seen the damage, unless the provider tells you the cleaning cannot wait. The file you keep is what makes the claim go smoothly.

When the Board-Up Comes Down

The board-up comes down when the repair starts, and the repair starts when the cleaning and the drying are done. The boards are removed, the windows are replaced, the doors are replaced, and the roof is repaired. The provider will tell you when the board-up is coming down, and what the repair will need, before the work starts. The boards are removed, the windows are replaced, the doors are replaced, and the roof is repaired, and the provider will walk the property with you at the end to show you the work and the readings before the job is called done.

The board-up does not come down before the repair is ready, because a house that is unboarded before the repair is a house that is open again, and an open house lets in the rain, the animals and the intruders. The provider will keep the house secured until the repair is ready, and will say plainly what the repair needs and how long it will take.

The provider will walk the property with you at the end, room by room, and the job is not finished until you have seen it and the readings say the moisture is normal. The board-up is the first step, and the walkthrough is the last one, and between them is the cleaning, the drying and the repair.

Board-Up After a Fire, in Order

1. Photograph the openings — Photograph every broken window, damaged door and roof hole from outside, before anything is covered.
2. Call the provider — Call (561) 566-7293 and describe the openings — which windows, which doors, whether the roof has holes.
3. Board up and tarp — The provider boards the windows and doors and tarps the roof, usually on the first visit.
4. Keep the record — The photographs and the record of what was boarded go into the claim file.
5. Repair follows — The board-up comes down when the cleaning and drying are done and the repair starts.

Mistakes That Leave a House Open

• Waiting for an insurance decision while the house stays open
• Climbing on a damaged roof to reach a hole
• Entering a room with a sagging ceiling to board a window
• Boarding up before photographing the openings
• Removing the boards before the repair is ready

For help with this in Coachella, see Emergency Board-Up & Roof Tarping in Coachella — or go back to the Coachella fire damage restoration home page.