What to do when shutters break

Roller shutters can break for a variety of reasons. Sometimes it’s just down to wear and tear. Other times it’s because of an accident, such as an employee accidentally hitting the shutter with a van or a truck.

When roller shutters break, it can be a bit of an emergency, especially if the door is in heavy use. A broken shutter can cause downtime for your business, and ultimately, damage your profits. Staff might be unable to move goods into and out of the building, for example, effectively bringing your business to a halt.

What should you do when a roller shutter breaks down? Don’t panic – in this article, we will go over the steps you need to take to get your shutter repaired.

Step 1: Cordon off the area

When a shutter breaks, the priority should be to keep your workers and other people safe. So, if necessary, cordon off the area to prevent people from getting too close to the broken shutter. It might be a good idea to use tape to do this.

Cordoning off the area might seem a bit extreme. However, even though shutters are designed to be safe, it’s best to take no chances.

Step 2: Tell your staff not to use the shutter

Again, the number one priority when a shutter breaks is the safety of the people in the building. So your next step should be to inform your workers about the broken shutter so that they don’t try to use it. You might need to call a quick meeting if you have a lot of staff.

Step 3: Organise a repair

The third step is to contact a shutter repair company to get your shutters repaired. If your shutters are still within warranty, then you should contact the company who sold you the shutters. It may be that you can get a free repair if your warranty is still valid and the damage wasn’t your fault.

Step 4: Test the repaired shutters

Once the repairs are done, you will want to give the shutters a quick test to make sure everything is okay. You can do this by simply opening the shutters all the way and then closing them all the way.

Need an emergency shutter repair service? Call Norton Industrial Doors

Here at Norton, we offer a 24/7 emergency call-out service for any broken shutters you might have.

We aim to respond to all emergency calls within two hours of the request. A lot of the time, we can repair the shutter there and then. However, if we need to order parts, we will make a temporary repair or temporarily secure the shutters in the meantime.

We pride ourselves on our fast response to emergency callouts and we are also proud that our emergency shutter repair service is available every day of the year, including Christmas Day.

So the next time your shutters break, make sure to give our team here at Norton a call. You will have your shutters back up and running before you know it!

If you would like to know more about our emergency shutter repairs service, then simply visit or give us a call.