What Actually Happens When You Call for Emergency Board-Up? Your Questions, Answered

Nearly a quarter of the calls that come into All-Brite mention the words “emergency” or “board up” — which tells us this is one of the most common (and most stressful) reasons people reach out. When glass breaks unexpectedly, most people don’t know what to expect from the call, so here’s exactly how it works, in plain language.

Is Emergency Board-Up Really Available 24/7?

Short answer: Yes, for homes and businesses across Kitchener, Waterloo, Guelph, Woodstock, and Calgary.

Regular service hours are Monday to Friday, 8am–5pm, with Saturday by appointment — but emergency board-up runs around the clock, every day of the week, because broken glass doesn’t wait for business hours.

Does Emergency Service Cover a Broken Car Window Too?

Short answer: No — emergency board-up is a property service, for homes and businesses. If your vehicle’s glass breaks outside business hours, our team will get back to you as soon as we reopen rather than dispatching an emergency crew.

This is one of the most common mix-ups on the phone, so it’s worth saying clearly upfront: if it’s your house or your business, we can secure it tonight. If it’s your car, we’ll schedule you in during regular hours — and for most vehicle glass, that’s still often same-day.

What Situations Actually Qualify for Board-Up?

Short answer: Break-ins, vandalism, storm or weather damage, and accidental breakage — basically anything that leaves an opening in your home or business that needs to be secured right away.

Real examples from calls we’ve fielded this year: a break-in through a storefront’s front door glass, a window broken during a storm, and a business window broken by an animal. In every case, the priority is the same — secure the opening fast, then sort out the permanent glass afterward.

What Happens When You Call?

Short answer: We’ll ask what happened, where you’re located, and whether the opening is currently exposed — then get a crew or a live team member moving on it.

Have this ready when you call: your city and postal code, whether it’s a home or a business, and a callback number. If it’s urgent, say so clearly — calls that sound time-sensitive get prioritized straight to a live team member instead of a callback queue.

Does Board-Up Help With My Insurance Claim?

Short answer: Yes — our team documents the damage with photos and notes while we’re on-site, and provides a free estimate for the glass replacement, both of which are useful when you file a claim.

We’re not your insurance adjuster and can’t make coverage decisions for you (check your policy or ask your insurer directly about what’s covered), but having professional documentation from the board-up visit tends to make the claims conversation easier.

Is This a Home Service, a Business Service, or Both?

Both. We handle residential break-ins and storm damage the same way we handle a smashed storefront door or a broken office window — the crew and the process are the same, just the setting changes.

What Happens After the Board-Up?

Boarding up is the emergency fix, not the permanent one. Once your property is secure, we follow up to schedule the actual glass replacement — and because we already have measurements and photos from the board-up visit, that second appointment tends to move faster than starting from scratch.

Quick Answers (For Anyone Skimming or Asking Google)

Is emergency glass board-up available at night or on weekends? Yes — 24/7, for home and business properties, across all five All-Brite locations.

Does emergency board-up cover vehicles? No — vehicle glass is handled during regular business hours, not through the emergency board-up line.

What number do I call for emergency board-up? 1 (877) 776-6996 — this line is monitored for urgent property glass situations.

Does All-Brite serve my area? Yes — Kitchener, Waterloo, Guelph, Woodstock, and Calgary all have emergency board-up coverage.

Will board-up help my insurance claim? It can — we provide a free estimate and document the damage while we’re on-site, which you can pass along to your insurer.

Reach Us

If you’re dealing with broken glass at your home or business right now, call 1 (877) 776-6996 — that line covers emergency board-up for all five All-Brite locations. For anything that isn’t an emergency, your nearest location can help during regular hours.

We’re family owned and operated, which means the person answering that emergency line at 2am takes it just as seriously as we do during the day.

— Terry & Jordan