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

Water inside a St. James 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 St. James

St. James is the old estate country of the Town of Smithtown — big trees, big lots, old houses — and a nor'easter here is what the oaks and tulip trees do to roofs. The hamlet centre along Lake Avenue and the streets off Moriches Road are 1900s to 1930s houses with the trees planted alongside them now a century old, and 1960s and 70s colonials on the streets south toward Route 25 under oaks that were saved when the lots were cut. The ground is high and drains, so water in a house is rain through the roof the wind or a tree opened. The harbour flooding at Stony Brook and the Nissequogue stops short of the hamlet; the villages on its north edge take that.

Water From the Roof Down

Inland here the water comes from above: a tree through the roof, shingles gone from the ridge, and a day of rain running into the attic insulation and down through two floors of ceilings before anyone can get a tarp on. The attic insulation is the sponge; it comes out first, and the ceilings under it are usually a loss.

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 St. James

St. James files with the Town of Smithtown at Town Hall on Main Street in Smithtown; the Village of Head of the Harbor on its north side and the Village of Nissequogue run their own building departments. 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 St. James. 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

A hundred-year-old tree came down on my St. James house. Is it covered?

A tree that falls on a covered structure is the classic covered peril under a standard homeowners policy, whatever its age, and most policies pay something toward removing it, up to a limit that varies. What matters is that it is photographed where it lies before anyone cuts it, and that it comes off in an order that does not drop the roof. Big old trees on old houses are a shoring job before they are a cutting job.

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.