Storm-damaged Long Island roof being tarped for an insurance claim

Water inside a Selden house after a storm has a clock on it. Mould can start on wet sheetrock and insulation within a day or two, and a house that sits wet while it waits for an adjuster becomes a mould job on top of a storm job. Alec's Construction gets the wet material out, the drying equipment in and the moisture metered, then rebuilds to the agreed scope, working out of the yard on Barton Avenue in East Patchogue. If there is water in the house now, call rather than fill in the form.

What a Storm Does in Selden

Selden is inland on the flat sandy plain in the middle of Brookhaven, between Middle Country Road and the Long Island Expressway, with no tidal water, so a storm is what the wind and the pitch pine do. The housing is 1960s and 70s ranches, splits and high ranches on quarter and half-acre lots, and the pines and oaks left standing when the tracts were cut are now over the roofs and the attached garages. A day of rain loosens the pine root plates in the sand and a northeast gust brings them over whole. The flat commercial roofs along Middle Country Road and around Suffolk Community College take the wind. Basements are common and a long rain fills the ones without power to the sump.

Rain Through the Roof, Water in the Basement

There is no tidal water here, so the water in a house after a storm came down — through the roof a tree opened, around a window the wind broke — or up through a basement that the sump could not keep ahead of when the power went out. Both are fresh water; the first is a homeowners claim and the second usually is not unless the policy carries a sump endorsement.

Two Kinds of Water, Two Claims

Water that came down — through a roof the wind opened, around a window it broke, behind siding it peeled — is wind-driven rain and a homeowners claim. Water that came up — from the bay, a canal, a creek, the ground — is flood, excluded from the homeowners policy and covered only by a separate flood policy. Most storm-damaged houses have some of both, and the two have to be documented separately from the first visit or the claims fight each other. We keep them separate on the scope.

What Comes Out

Wet carpet and pad. Insulation that took water, all of it. Sheetrock cut back above the water line to the next joint. Laminate and engineered floors that swelled. Cabinet boxes that sat in water. Soaked contents that cannot be cleaned. Everything photographed in place, photographed as it comes out, and kept where the adjuster can see it. Emergency mitigation is expected of you under the policy; it does not wait for the adjuster.

Drying Is Measured, Not Guessed

Commercial dehumidifiers and air movers, moisture readings on the framing every day, and nothing closed up until the numbers say dry. Where the water was salt — surge from the bay or a canal — the rules change: electrical that went under is replaced, not dried, and the framing gets washed down before it is dried, because salt keeps pulling moisture out of the air for years.

Long Island waterfront street after a coastal storm

The Rebuild

Insulation, sheetrock, trim, floors, cabinets, paint, and the electrical or mechanical that had to be replaced, on one scope with the cleanup. Where the water came in through the roof or the siding, the cause is fixed first so the new work does not get wet again.

Building Department in Selden

Selden files with the Town of Brookhaven at Independence Hill in Farmingville, a few minutes south. 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 Selden. 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

Why do the pines in Selden come down so easily in a storm?

Pitch pine has a shallow root plate and a tall thin trunk, and the sandy ground here saturates and loosens after a day of rain. Once the ground lets go, a full crown in a gust levers the whole tree over, roots and all. A pine is lighter than an oak when it lands on a roof, but it usually comes down across an attached garage or a one-storey wing and often a second one follows the first.

How long before mould starts after storm water gets in?

A day or two on wet building material, faster in a warm closed house. That is why the wet material comes out and the drying starts immediately rather than after the adjuster's visit. Photographs of what was removed protect the claim; leaving it in place grows mould and makes the claim worse.

Is the flooding covered by my homeowners policy?

Water that rose from the bay, a canal, a creek or the ground is flood damage, and a standard homeowners policy excludes it; it is covered only by a separate flood policy. Rain that came in through wind damage to the roof or siding is a homeowners claim. Where a house has both, they are documented separately from the first visit.

Can you pump out my basement today?

Where we can reach you, yes, once the water outside has gone down. Pumping a basement while the ground around it is still saturated can push the walls in. After that the wet material comes out and the drying starts the same visit.

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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

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