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

A tree on a house in Riverhead 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 Riverhead

Riverhead sits at the head of the Peconic Bay where the Peconic River comes in, and an east or northeast wind pushes the bay up the river into the downtown waterfront — the riverfront blocks along East Main Street and the parking fields behind them take water at high tide in a strong storm. Beyond the downtown the town is farm country and pine barrens: farmhouses and 1950s to 80s ranches and colonials on big lots along the county roads, under pitch pine and oak, with the wind coming across open fields with nothing to slow it. The barns, greenhouses and farm stands along Sound Avenue and Route 58 take the wind on big light roofs, and the pines come over whole on the sandy ground after a week of rain.

Trees Along the Bay

Along the bay here the trees that go over are the big old ones on the older streets — oaks and maples over houses built before the trees were tall — and after a day of rain on ground that is already wet from the tide they come over whole, root plate and all. A tree that falls toward the water side of a house often takes a porch or a deck with it.

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.

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

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 Riverhead

Riverhead files with the Town of Riverhead at Town Hall on Howell Avenue; the downtown waterfront along the Peconic River and the streets around it are in the mapped flood zone. 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 Riverhead. 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

Do you come out as far as Riverhead after a storm?

Yes, and we tell you honestly where you are on the list. Riverhead is about forty minutes east of the yard in East Patchogue on the Expressway, and after a storm we run the calls in the order they 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 come with the right equipment the first trip.

Do I call a tree company or a contractor when a tree is on the house?

One call, if you call the right one. A tree company takes trees off the ground; a tree on a structure has to come off in an order that does not drop the roof, with the roof supported and covered as the weight comes off, and then the roof has to be repaired. We coordinate the removal, do the structural repair, the roofing and the interior, and write it as one scope for the carrier.

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.

Related Guides

Also Serving Riverhead

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

No cost, no obligation. We reply the same day.