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

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

Farmingville is inland and high. The hamlet sits on some of the highest ground in the Town of Brookhaven — Bald Hill is here — and elevation is what a hurricane finds: the wind is stronger and steadier on the ridge than it is down on the plain, and the splits and hi-ranches built across the slopes in the 1960s and 70s take it on their gable ends and along their long, low rooflines. There is no tidal water anywhere near Farmingville, but the ground is sandy and the pitch pine and oak on the slopes uproot when a day of rain has loosened the soil before the wind arrives. Brookhaven Town Hall is in Farmingville, at One Independence Hill, which makes the permit counter for the rebuild the shortest drive of any town page we have.

Inland: Wind, Rain and Pitch Pine

There is no tidal water here, so a hurricane is what the wind and the trees do. The pitch pine that covers the sandy ground has a shallow root plate and a tall thin trunk, and after a day of rain has loosened the soil it comes over whole — roots and all — onto the low roof of the garage wing, the deck, the car and the service drop. The oaks shed heavy limbs instead. The 1960s–80s splits and hi-ranches take the wind on the low-slope roof over the lower wing, where the shingles have the least overlap, and on the gable ends, where the wall is tallest. Then the rain gets in where the shingles lifted and shows up on the ceiling below.

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.
Long Island waterfront street after a coastal storm

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 Farmingville

The Brookhaven Building Division is in Farmingville itself, at One Independence Hill, (631) 451-6333 — which makes it the easiest place in the town to settle a permit question in person. 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 Farmingville. Call or text (631) 312-7441.

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

Frequently Asked Questions

Farmingville is on high ground. Why does the wind seem worse here than in Patchogue?

Because it is. Wind speed increases with elevation and with open exposure, and the ridge that Farmingville sits on is both higher and more exposed than the bay-shore towns to the south. A split-level on a slope up here presents its gable end and its low garage roof to a wind with nothing in the way, and those are the two places we find damage after every storm — siding stripped from the gable, and the first courses of the low roof lifted or gone.

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.

Do I need a permit for storm repairs?

Not for the emergency work. Tarping, boarding, shoring, pumping and drying make the house safe and do not wait for a permit. The permanent repair — structural work, re-roofing, electrical, anything that changes the building — is permitted work like any other job, and we file it once the scope is agreed with the carrier.

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.

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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. 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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