Emergency Board Up in Miami, FL

How Much Does Emergency Board Up Cost in Miami?

Emergency board up in Miami typically costs $190 to $970 to cover one to a few broken windows or a door with plywood.

Height moves the price most here. About 4 in 10 Miami homes are in buildings of 50 or more units^[7], where tower windows are boarded from inside. Boards can also stay up a while: after Hurricane Wilma in 2005, broken high-rise glass needed special-order replacements, and plywood held the openings meanwhile^[8].

See what else changes the price on our cost page.

When Does the City of Miami Require a Building to Be Boarded Up?

The City treats a vacant, open and abandoned structure as unsafe^[3]. Once a building is cited, depending on the violation, it must be boarded to prevent further damage or illegal entry, with windows and doors covered in at least 1/2-inch plywood using approved securing methods^[3].

Boarding does not close the case. The City says securing only starts the compliance process, and lien charges must be paid before the case is closed^[3]. Failing to secure a structure the Unsafe Structures Panel ordered secured breaches its order under City Code Section 10-101^[9].

An empty building also has to be registered with the City each year, with a No Trespassing sign posted^[10]. In unincorporated Miami-Dade, county Chapter 17A applies instead, and a vacant building may not stay secured with block or storm shutters past 180 days unless extended^[11].

Is Plywood Enough for Hurricane Protection in Miami-Dade?

As temporary cover, yes. As code storm protection, no. Miami-Dade is in the High Velocity Hurricane Zone^[2], where buildings follow Sections 1616 through 1626 of the Florida Building Code^[12]. The statewide rule letting 7/16-inch wood panels protect openings on smaller homes is in Section 1609.1.2, outside that path^[12]. Here glazing must meet impact test criteria or be protected by a device that does, and the design wind speed for an ordinary building is 175 mph^[12].

Miami-Dade still advises approved shutters or 5/8-inch plywood before a storm, and warns that a boarded house is harder to get out of^[4]. Leave one usable exit.

Permanent shutters are a separate permitted job, needing each product's current Notice of Acceptance and a licensed contractor to pull the permit^[13]. More on our Florida board-up rules page.

What Miami's Storms and Older Buildings Mean for a Broken Window

Wind-borne debris protection on every building has been required since the 1994 South Florida Building Code^[8], two years after Andrew.

Half of Miami's housing was built before 1980^[1], well before those rules. Wilma showed what that means: many buildings that lost glass predated any impact test requirement^[8], so older homes and towers are the likeliest to need boards after strong wind.

Boarding Up a Broken Condo or High-Rise Window in Miami

About 7 in 10 occupied Miami homes are rented^[1], so an owner, landlord or condo association usually approves the work. Tell us the floor, whether the window can be reached from inside, and who manages the building.

After Wilma, Brickell's glazing damage was mostly in four buildings, which waited on special-order glass with plywood in place meanwhile^[8]. If the frame is damaged too, the Florida Existing Building Code requires a full replacement meeting current code^[8]. After a storm, the City aims to issue critical repair permits within a few business days^[16].

Miami Neighborhoods We Cover

We take requests across the city, from Brickell, Downtown and Edgewater to Wynwood, Midtown and the Upper Eastside, inland to Little Havana, Allapattah, Overtown, Liberty City, Little Haiti and Flagami, and south to Coconut Grove and The Roads^[17].

Nearby we also cover Miami Beach, Coral Gables, Hialeah, Doral, Key Biscayne, West Miami, South Miami and Miami Springs^[18]. Elsewhere in Florida, see Tampa and Lakeland.

ZIP codes: 33125, 33133, 33127, 33142, 33145, 33126, 33135, 33137, 33138, 33132, 33136, 33129, 33149, 33150, 33134, 33130, 33144, 33131, 33128, 33101

Near Miami

We also cover Hialeah, Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, West Palm Beach, Boca Raton in the South Florida area. See all areas, the price table and Florida rules.