Restoration crew at a storm-damaged Long Island house

Alec's Construction handles hurricane and storm damage in Commack, 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 Commack

Commack is inland on the high ground between Huntington and Smithtown, with no tidal water and some of the biggest residential oaks in western Suffolk. The hamlet was built out in the 1960s and 70s with colonials, splits and ranches on generous lots, and the oaks that were saplings or saved trees then are now standing directly over two-storey roofs. A hurricane in Commack is those oaks: whole crowns and major limbs onto roofs, garages and cars, and across the overhead service drops that run through them. The houses take wind at the gable ends and along the ridge, and the two-storey colonials with their long, straight roof planes lose shingles in sheets from the windward side. Commack straddles the Town of Huntington and the Town of Smithtown, which matters for the permit that follows.

Mature Oaks Over Two-Storey Roofs

The damage here is the trees. The colonials, splits and ranches went in during the 1960s and 70s under oaks and tulip trees that were saplings or saved trees at the time and are now standing directly over two-storey roofs. When the ground is saturated and the wind turns after the eye passes they come down whole — a crown across the ridge, a trunk through the garage, a limb the size of a tree through the second-floor ceiling — and across the overhead service drops that run through them, which is why these hamlets stay dark for days. A whole tree on a roof is a structural event, and the order in which it comes off decides whether the roof survives the removal.

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

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 Commack

Commack straddles the Town of Huntington and the Town of Smithtown, and the two do not file the same way. Huntington requires plans sealed by a licensed architect or professional engineer for alterations over ten thousand dollars; Smithtown does not have the same threshold. 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 Commack. Call or text (631) 312-7441.

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

Frequently Asked Questions

Commack is split between Huntington and Smithtown. Does that change the storm repair?

It changes the paperwork for the permanent repair, not the emergency work. The Town of Huntington requires plans sealed by a licensed architect or professional engineer for alterations over ten thousand dollars, and a structural repair after a tree strike often crosses that line; the Town of Smithtown does not have the same threshold. We identify the town from the address first and build the schedule around whichever process applies.

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.

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Also Serving Commack

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.

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