Board-up and tarping to protect a damaged house

An opened roof lets each new rain add water damage to what the fire or storm already did. Open windows also invite theft and weather. Closing the building first stops the loss from growing while bigger decisions get made.

Screws into framing hold better in wind than nails into trim. On older houses, careful fastening can help preserve original window sashes for later repair. Nobody should climb a damaged roof without proper training and gear.

Once the building is secure, the work moves to fire damage restoration or, after a storm, water damage restoration. Keep receipts for this work, and share photos with your adjuster.

The crew measures each opening, cuts plywood to fit and fastens it to solid framing so it will not loosen in wind. Doors may get a hinged panel so workers and owners can enter while the rest stays locked. Glass and debris are cleared from sills to keep edges from cutting the sheet or people.

On roofs, heavy tarps are stretched past the damage and over the ridge, then anchored with battens so wind cannot get beneath them. Sandbags may be used on roofs that should not take fasteners.

Check the house after storms, and keep an eye on tarp edges for flapping. Tell your insurer if the home will be vacant, because vacancy can affect coverage. Have utilities reviewed before anyone turns them back on. Boarded windows also block light and airflow, so damp rooms may need a drying plan.

After hurricanes and hail, roofers may be scarce and people may knock on your door offering help. Check credentials, avoid signing anything under pressure, and call your insurer first. Our Port Charlotte and Louisiana pages discuss storm patterns there.

You likely need this when a window, door or roof section is open to weather or entry. A cracked pane that still seals may wait for a glazier, but a hole in the roof should not wait for the next forecast. Temporary protection is also what insurers commonly expect while a claim is reviewed.

Ask how panels will be attached. Careful placement can protect window frames and siding you want to keep.

See the first 24 hours after a house fire and how to prepare for your adjuster.

A standard window is the easy case: one sheet, cut slightly larger than the opening, fixed into the surrounding framing. Bay windows are harder because each angled face needs its own panel, and the small roof above the bay may be damaged too. Sliding glass doors are wide enough that a single sheet may not span them, so two panels are usually joined over a stud or a backing board.

Skylights belong with roof work rather than window work. Plywood over the curb stops the rain only if the tarp or membrane laps above it, since water running down the slope will otherwise slip underneath. Garage doors that have buckled are often braced from inside and sheeted, because the track and springs can still hold stored tension. Nobody without garage door training should release that tension.

Basement hopper windows get forgotten. They sit low, they are easy to climb through, and rain collects in the window well. Mention them when you call, along with any pet doors, attic vents and crawlspace hatches that were knocked open.

Water moves downhill, so the top edge of the tarp decides whether the job works. A sound installation carries the sheet up and over the ridge and down a little way on the far side, leaving no seam for water to enter from above. Where a damaged area sits low on a long slope, the tarp still normally runs all the way up, even though the hole is far below.

The bottom edge has a different job. It needs to shed water past the eave rather than funnel it into the soffit or the gutter. Slack is the enemy on both slopes, because a loose sheet slaps in the wind and works its fasteners free, and a dip holds a pool heavy enough to stress weakened decking.

Roof covering changes the method. Asphalt shingles accept battens with little fuss. Clay and concrete tile can crack under foot and may need to be lifted or walked on with care. Metal panels are slippery, and fasteners through them create new leak points, so sandbags or clamps are sometimes chosen. A flat roof has no ridge to lap, which is why temporary membrane or a sealed patch is often used in place of a tarp.

Water that has already entered does not leave when the tarp goes on. Wet attic insulation and sagging ceiling drywall keep holding it, and a ceiling leak can continue dripping for a while after the hole is closed.

In a rented home, the building belongs to the landlord, so damage to the structure is usually theirs to close, while your belongings are a matter for your renters policy. If you cannot reach the owner and rain is coming in, write down each attempt and tell the fire department or the city what is happening.

Attached buildings add a complication, since a hole in one unit can let water, cold air or people into the next. Tell the contractor about shared walls, common stairs and shared attics, which often connect units in older buildings.

Business owners have other concerns. A storefront panel has to deal with the sidewalk and with fire exits, because an exit door must not be closed off while people are inside. Ask the local fire marshal if you plan to keep working in part of the building, and keep customers out of any section that has not been cleared.

If you can do it from the ground and without entering an unsafe structure, a few modest steps help. Move furniture away from a broken window, set buckets under drips and pull rugs out of the path of water. Taping a cracked pane can keep the pieces from falling, though it does nothing to secure it.

Do not wait for an adjuster's visit before closing the building. Insurers commonly expect prompt steps to limit further loss, and photographs taken first show what the storm or fire did. Keep any damaged parts you remove, such as a broken sash or torn flashing, until your claim is settled or your adjuster tells you they are not needed. Ready.gov makes a similar point after a home fire: do not throw out damaged goods until they have been inventoried.

After a major storm, local crews may be stretched thin, and out-of-area workers often arrive within days. That does not make them bad, but it does call for care. Ask for the company's full name, a local contact and proof of insurance. Be wary of anyone who wants a signature on a long-term contract just to put a tarp up. A temporary closure and a full roof replacement are separate decisions and do not need to be signed together.

After some declared disasters, the federal government has run a temporary roofing program through the Army Corps of Engineers, known as Operation Blue Roof. It runs only when activated for a specific event, so check with your local emergency management office to see if it applies to you.

You do not need a ladder to judge much of it. From the yard, every panel should sit flat, with no gaps a hand could fit through and no flapping corners. On the roof, look for a tarp that is smooth and that runs over the ridge, with battens that are straight and evenly fastened.

Indoors, check for new drips during the next rain, and look for daylight around panels. Walk the perimeter and try each panel by hand from the ground. A closure you can move is a closure someone else can move. Take dated photographs of the finished work from each side, since those show what condition the property was in if anything changes later.

Temporary work ends in stages. Roofers generally pull tarps section by section as they work, so the structure is never fully exposed. Window panels usually stay until the replacement units are ready to go in, which can take a while when custom sizes or historic sashes are involved.

Ask who will remove the closure and who fills the fastener holes. Those details are easy to leave out of a first conversation. Screw holes in trim are simple to patch, but holes through a tile roof or stucco need proper sealing or they become the next leak. Once the panels are off, walk through the building with fresh eyes, since rooms that were dark may reveal staining or mold that nobody could see earlier.

Where you live changes board-up and tarping. See Oregon, Connecticut, Delaware, Kansas, Louisiana, New Hampshire, Chicago, Dallas, Colorado Springs, Cedar Hill, Lake Stevens, Norcross, Port Charlotte, Prosper, Atlanta, Indianapolis.

Go straight to the first steps: emergency roof leak services, emergency board-up services.