A break-in, a storm-blown window, a car through the garage door, a fire. You need the house closed up tonight — properly, not a sheet of plywood nailed into your siding. We board it, brace it, lock it and weatherproof it the same day, photograph everything for the police and the adjuster, and come back with the new door or window. Price approved first, even at 3am.
Call or text us a photo of the opening · same-day, 24/7
Licensed & insured · 2,000+ NJ projects · 7 years · a real person answers 24/7
A break-in, a storm-blown window, a car through the garage door, a fire. Typical price: $250 – $1.5K. Licensed & insured, written itemized price before work starts, no deposit, one dedicated crew. Serving all 21 New Jersey counties from Paramus. Call (201) 676-3099 or book a free estimate.
After a break-in, don't go inside until the police have cleared the house — call 911 from the car or a neighbor's. If a storm took the window and rain is coming in near outlets or a light, flip the breaker for that room. Keep kids and pets out of the room with the glass.
Take pictures of the door, the window, the frame and anything disturbed before anyone touches it — the police report and your insurance claim both need them. Then move valuables away from the opening and, if it's raining, tape a trash bag or cardboard over the hole from inside. Don't pull broken glass out of the frame; leave it for us.
Text a photo of the opening so we bring the right materials and the right size door. A real person answers and gives you an honest arrival time. Someone will stay on the line if you want.
We clear the glass and the splinters, measure the opening, and cut plywood to fit it — not a sheet leaning against the house. On a wood-framed window the board is screwed through into the framing behind the trim. On brick or a storefront we use the bolt-and-bar method: a board outside, a bar inside, bolted together through the opening so there are no holes in your masonry or your frame. It comes off clean when the new glass goes in.
A kicked-in door is a different job. The jamb is usually split where the strike plate was. We reset or sister the jamb, brace it from inside, and either re-hang your door with a new deadbolt or set a temporary door with a working lock so you can actually leave the house in the morning. You get keys before we go.
Everything gets weatherproofed — plastic behind the board, the gaps sealed — so the wind and rain stay out until the permanent fix. Then you get our photos and an itemized invoice for the police report and the adjuster, and a written price for the replacement window, door or glass. The carpenters who board it tonight are the ones who install the new door next week.
Board-up companies board up. Then you're searching for a window company, a door company and a locksmith. We're all three. Replacement glass for the window you have, a new insulated window if the frame is done, a new entry door and jamb, a new garage door, deadbolts and re-keying, the trim and the paint. One written price, one crew, and you hold the final payment until you've walked it with us.
After a break-in we'll also walk the house with you and point out the cheap fixes: a longer strike plate with 3-inch screws, a bar on the slider, a light on the side door. Most of it costs less than the insurance deductible.
Vandalism, break-in and storm damage are usually covered. The adjuster wants the police report number, dated photos of the damage before it was touched, and an itemized invoice for the securing and the repair. You get all of it from us on the night. We don't inflate the scope, and we don't need to — a clean file gets approved faster.
Based in Paramus, serving all 21 New Jersey counties — 219+ towns. Often within the hour in Bergen, Passaic, Hudson, Essex and Morris; same-day dispatch with an honest arrival window everywhere else. Plywood, a temporary door and locks on the truck.
typical fixed-price range — your exact number goes in writing after a free visit
Boarding a single broken window sits at the low end. Securing a kicked-in entry door with bracing and a temporary lock runs $300 – $600; a full temporary door with a working deadbolt runs $350 – $900. Several openings after a storm, or a garage wall after a car, land toward the top. The follow-up is its own written line: replacement glass runs $350 – $1.2K per window, a new entry door installed $1.8K – $5K, a new window $800 – $2.5K each. Same prices at 3am.
How we beat the big chains: The national board-up outfits charge a flat emergency fee before the truck moves and send a franchise crew that leaves the day the plywood's up. No franchise fees, no commissioned salesmen, no rented subcontractors — that's typically 15–30% under national-brand quotes for the same or better spec. Bring us any written quote and we'll match the scope line by line.
“They screwed the plywood straight through my vinyl siding and the window trim. Now I need the trim replaced too.”
“Board-up at midnight, then three weeks trying to find somebody to actually replace the door.”
“The 'temporary door' was a piece of plywood. We couldn't leave the house for two days.”
You found a crew that is actually near you. First Call Contracting is based in Paramus, in Bergen County, and our own licensed techs handle board-up in all 21 New Jersey counties — no call center, no subcontractor sent from two states away. Most of Bergen, Passaic, Hudson and Essex is 15 to 30 minutes from our shop, and emergencies go to the nearest crew, 24/7.
Closest to us: Bergen CountyPassaic CountyHudson CountyEssex CountyMorris CountyUnion CountyAll 21 counties & 219+ towns →
Call (201) 676-3099, text us a photo, or book a free in-home estimate — you get a written price before any work starts.
Same day, 24/7. In Bergen, Passaic, Hudson, Essex and Morris we're often there within the hour; elsewhere in New Jersey, same-day dispatch with an honest arrival window. Most single openings are secured within an hour of arriving.
Not the way we do it. Screws go into the framing behind the trim, or the board is bolted to an interior bar through the opening with nothing touching the siding or masonry. When the new window or door goes in, there's nothing to patch.
Yes — that's most of what we do. Replacement glass, new insulated windows, new entry doors and jambs, patio sliders, garage doors, locks and deadbolts, plus the trim and paint. The board-up crew prices it the same night and installs it.
Yes. Estates, houses between tenants, and properties in foreclosure or renovation. We board the openings, secure the doors, and can check on the property on a schedule. Landlords and property managers get one number and straight per-visit pricing.
Call the police first for a break-in, and the fire department for anything fire-related. Once they've cleared it, call us. If a storm or a car damaged a wall or the roof structure, we'll shore it before anyone spends the night under it — see our structural damage page.
If you're anywhere in New Jersey, yes. First Call Contracting is based in Paramus and handles board-up across all 21 counties with our own licensed crew. Most of Bergen, Passaic, Hudson and Essex is 15 to 30 minutes from our shop, and emergencies are dispatched to the nearest crew 24/7. Call (201) 676-3099 or book a free in-home estimate.
Same-day board-up · working locks before we leave · new door or window by the same crew
Or call Alex direct: (201) 676-3099