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

Alec's Construction handles hurricane and storm damage in Bay Shore, Suffolk County — fallen trees, flooding and water damage, roofs and siding torn open, the cleanup and the rebuild — as one job from the first tarp to the finished repair, working out of the yard in East Patchogue. If the roof is open, a tree is on the house or there is water inside, call or text (631) 312-7441 rather than fill in the form, and tell us what you are looking at.

What a Hurricane Does in Bay Shore

Bay Shore has one of the longest bay frontages in the Town of Islip, with Penataquit Creek, Awixa Creek and the canal streets running up into the residential blocks south of Montauk Highway. In a surge the creeks and canals are the way in: the water rises in every canal at once and comes over the bulkheads into the yards and crawl spaces and slab-on-grade rooms of the ranches and capes along them. Bay Shore also has a lot of two-storey waterfront houses that were elevated or rebuilt after 2012, and those do well in the water but take the wind on a tall, exposed face — siding, windows and the roof edge on the bay side. North of Montauk Highway, the older village-style blocks are on higher ground and the damage is trees and roofs.

Canal Houses: Water Below, Wind Above

The canal grids here are 1950s and 60s capes and ranches built at grade a few feet above the water, and a surge fills every canal and every one of those crawl spaces, dens and garages at the same time. A lot of them were rebuilt quickly after 2012, and a second wetting finds the walls that were closed before the framing was dry. The houses that were elevated afterward take the storm differently: the surge goes under them and the damage moves up to the siding, windows and roof edge on the exposed face, and to the enclosure and stairs below. Water damage is the flood claim; wind damage is the homeowners claim; both get their own scope.

What We Handle After a Storm

  • Fallen or damaged trees — the tree on the roof, the limb through the porch, the leaner against the wall. Structural check first, then removal in the right order, then the repair.
  • Flooding and water damage — surge, rain that came in through the roof, the basement that filled. Wet material out, real drying equipment in, moisture measured before anything is closed.
  • Interior and exterior storm damage — roofing, siding, windows, soffits, gutters, ceilings, walls, floors and insulation.
  • Storm cleanup and debris removal — cut, haul and clear, so the repair crew can get to the house.
  • Repairs to damaged areas — from a tarp on the first day to the finished rebuild, one crew, one scope, one point of contact.

The Order of Work

  • Make it safe. Nobody goes under a tree on a roof or into a room with a sagging ceiling until it has been looked at. Downed lines are the utility's, and they get called first.
  • Photograph everything as found. Before a limb is cut or a wet carpet is pulled. This is what both claims rest on.
  • Stop the water. Tarp the roof, board the openings, pump and pull the wet material that will grow mould if it stays.
  • Dry and document. Drying equipment in, moisture readings taken and kept.
  • Write the scope line by line with the photographs attached, storm damage kept separate from wear, wind damage kept separate from flood damage.
  • Rebuild to the agreed scope, and correct what let the storm in so it does not repeat.
Restoration crew at a storm-damaged Long Island house

Homeowners Policy, Flood Policy and the Hurricane Deductible

Wind damage, and the rain that came in through it, is a homeowners claim. A tree on the house is a homeowners claim, and most policies pay something toward removing that tree, up to a limit that varies by policy. Water that rose — from the bay, a canal, a creek or a river — is a flood claim under a separate flood policy, whether National Flood Insurance Program or private, and the homeowners policy generally excludes it. Many coastal New York policies also carry a hurricane deductible that is a percentage of the dwelling coverage rather than a flat figure, and it applies when a named hurricane triggers it. We do not adjust claims; we document and scope the damage so the adjuster sees what the storm did, and we tell you which of the three buckets each item belongs in before you file.

Building Department in Bay Shore

Bay Shore files with the Town of Islip. Emergency repairs to make the house safe and dry do not wait for a permit. The permanent repair that follows — structural work, re-roofing, electrical — is permitted work like any other, and we file it once the scope is agreed.

Free walkthrough in Bay Shore. Call or text (631) 312-7441.

By the job in Bay Shore: Tree Removal · Flood Cleanup · Storm Debris · Storm Roof & Siding

Frequently Asked Questions

My Bay Shore house was elevated after Sandy. What does a hurricane do to it now?

Mostly wind. Once the living floor is above the flood elevation the surge goes under the house rather than through it, and the damage moves to the parts that stand up in the wind — the siding and trim on the bay side, the windows, the roof edge and ridge, and the open space below the house where wind and water take the enclosure, the stairs and anything stored. Those are homeowners-policy items, not flood items, and we scope them that way.

Do you remove the tree and repair the house, or do I need two companies?

One call. Where a tree is on a structure the removal and the repair are the same job — the tree has to come off in an order that does not drop the roof, and the roof has to be supported and covered as the weight comes off. We coordinate the removal, do the structural repair, the roofing, the interior and the cleanup, and write it as one scope.

Is a fallen tree covered by insurance?

A tree that falls on the house, the garage or another 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 by policy. A tree that fell in the yard and hit nothing usually is not covered. We photograph the tree where it lies before anyone cuts it.

Can you tarp my roof the same day?

Where we can reach you safely and the roof can be walked, yes — that is what the first visit is for. A tarp is a temporary measure to stop the water while the damage is documented and the permanent repair is scoped. Where a tree is on the roof, the tree comes off first, in the right order, and the tarp goes on after.

Related Guides

Also Serving Bay Shore

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. 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

Working across Suffolk County since 2018, one crew from start to finish. 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.