Emergency Boarding Up Oxford Break In Repairs 24 Hour

1. Do not tidy up yet. Officers or a forensic team may want to see the scene as it was found, so ask them before moving anything.
2. Take your own photos. Wide shots of each room, then close ups of the forced lock, the split frame, the broken glass and any tool marks.
3. Ring us once the police are happy. Tell us which doors or windows are damaged and roughly how big the openings are, so we load the right size boarding.
4. Keep everyone away from glass. Shut pets in another room and leave large shards where they are for us to remove safely.

If the police have not yet attended and you cannot stay in the house, we can still secure it. We simply photograph everything first and leave the evidence undisturbed where possible.

Most break-in jobs happen in two stages. Splitting it this way keeps the first bill down, gives your insurer time to approve the work, and avoids buying the wrong door or lock in a rush at 2am.

When the cylinder was snapped, the long term answer is a rated one. Our anti snap lock upgrade page explains the ratings, and the multipoint lock replacement page covers a damaged uPVC gearbox.

Burglars often pick up spare keys left in kitchen drawers, coat pockets or on hooks. If any keys are missing, assume they could be used and change every lock they fit, not only the one that was damaged. Our door lock change service handles this on the same visit when we carry the right cylinders.

If the cars on your drive are keyless or the car keys were taken, tell the police and your insurer, and keep the vehicle out of reach until the keys are dealt with.

Once the dust settles, it is worth looking at the whole house rather than the one door that failed:

• Ground floor windows without key-locking handles, see window lock replacement.
• Back doors facing alleyways or gardens, which are less visible from the street.
• Timber front doors with only a nightlatch and no BS3621 deadlock.
• Sheds and garages that store ladders or tools.

Our home security checklist for Oxford houses walks through each of these room by room.

Break-ins are often discovered late: coming home from a night out, returning from holiday, or opening the shop in the morning. We answer 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, including bank holidays. Home jobs after 8pm carry a £20 supplement, and £30 after 11pm and on bank holidays, which we include in the price agreed on the phone.

From our base on Woodstock Road in North Oxford, homes within 5 miles pay no travel charge. Towns such as Kidlington, Abingdon and Witney usually see us in 20 to 45 minutes, with a £10 travel charge up to 15 miles. We give you an honest arrival time when you call, so you know whether to wait in the car or with a neighbour.