Emergency tarp over a damaged roof section on a Long Island house

A tree on a house in Centereach is not a tree job and it is not a roof job. It is one job with an order to it, and the order is what keeps a crushed roof from becoming a collapsed one. Alec's Construction coordinates the removal, does the structural repair, the roofing and the interior, and writes it as one scope for your adjuster, working out of the yard on Barton Avenue in East Patchogue. If a tree is on your house right now, stay out of the rooms under it, photograph it from the ground, and call.

What a Storm Does in Centereach

Centereach is the geographic middle of Brookhaven, inland on the sandy plain between Middle Country Road and the Expressway, and a nor'easter here is a wind and tree event on one of the biggest concentrations of 1960s and 70s tract housing in the town. Ranches, splits and high ranches on quarter-acre lots under pitch pine and oak that were left standing when the streets were cut; after a saturated week the pines come over with the root ball attached, onto attached garages, sheds and one-storey wings. The Middle Country Road strip takes the wind on flat roofs and signage. Basements are common and a long rain after the wind fills the ones that lost power.

Pitch Pine Root Plates

The pitch pine that covers this part of the island has a shallow root plate on sandy ground and a tall thin trunk, and after a day of rain it comes over whole, roots and all, onto splits and ranches with attached garages. A pine on a roof is lighter than an oak but it comes down with the root ball still attached and a second one often follows the first.

The Order the Tree Comes Off

A tree on a roof is under load in ways you cannot see from the driveway. Part of it may be holding the roof up as much as crushing it. Cut the wrong section first and the weight shifts onto framing that is already broken. The sequence is: structural check from inside and out, photographs of everything as it lies, the crown and limbs off in an order that unloads the roof evenly, the roof supported and covered as the weight comes off, then the trunk, then the tarp goes on properly.

What Comes Next

Once the tree is off and the roof is dry, the damage is usually rafters or trusses, sheathing, shingles, and whatever the water did inside in the hours before the tarp. Sometimes a ridge or a wall top plate. We shore what needs shoring the same day, and the permanent repair — framing, sheathing, roofing, ceilings — goes on one scope with the tree removal, photographed step by step.

The Claim

A tree that falls on a covered structure is the classic covered peril under a standard homeowners policy, and most policies also pay something toward removing that tree, up to a limit that varies. What the adjuster pays on is the photographs of the tree where it lay and the damage as found, before anyone cut anything. We take those first, every time. Wind damage is kept separate from wear on the scope, and we meet the adjuster at the house.

Fallen tree on a Long Island cape with the roof being tarped after a storm

What We Do Not Touch Until the Utility Clears It

Anything near a downed line, and any tree that is on or tangled with a service drop. PSEG Long Island clears the line first; then we go to work. Assume every wire on the ground is live.

Building Department in Centereach

Centereach files with the Town of Brookhaven at Independence Hill in Farmingville. Emergency work to make the house safe and dry does not wait for a permit; the permanent repair is filed once the scope is agreed.

Free walkthrough in Centereach. Call or text (631) 312-7441. Tell us whether the roof is open, whether a tree is on the structure and whether there is water inside, and we bring the right equipment on the first trip.

Frequently Asked Questions

How fast can you get to Centereach after a storm?

It is about fifteen minutes north of the yard in East Patchogue up the Nicolls Road corridor. After a storm we run the list in the order the calls came in, roof-open houses first. Tell us whether the roof is open, whether a tree is on the house and whether there is water inside, and we bring the right equipment on the first trip.

Is removing the tree covered by insurance?

When the tree fell on the house, the garage or another covered structure, most homeowners policies pay for the damage and pay something toward removing the tree, up to a limit that varies by policy. A tree that fell in the yard and hit nothing is usually not covered. Photograph it where it lies before anyone cuts it.

Can I stay in the house with a tree on the roof?

Not in the rooms under it, and often not at all until it is off and the structure has been checked. A roof that is holding a tree can move when the tree is cut, or in the next wind. We tell you honestly on the first visit whether the house is safe to sleep in.

My neighbour's tree fell on my house. Whose claim is it?

Generally yours. A tree that falls in a storm is an act of nature and the damage is claimed under the policy on the house it hit, unless the tree was visibly dead or dangerous and the neighbour had been told. Your carrier may pursue theirs afterwards; that is between the carriers. Your job is to photograph it and get it off.

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Work With Alec's Construction

This guide is written by the crew that does the work. See Alec's Hurricane & Storm Damage Repair service — fallen trees, flooding, roof and siding damage, cleanup and the rebuild. Licensed and insured on Long Island, one crew start to finish, free walkthrough and a written estimate inside 48 hours.

Booking the cold months now: we also handle Roofing and Storm Damage & Insurance Restoration.

Get a Free Estimate from Alec's Construction

Licensed and insured, working across Nassau and Suffolk County since 2018. We come out, look at the actual job, and put a written number in your hand — no pressure, no obligation.

Or call (631) 312-7441

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