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

Alec's Construction handles hurricane and storm damage in Lake Ronkonkoma, 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 Lake Ronkonkoma

Lake Ronkonkoma is the hamlet around the lake, split between three towns, and it has two kinds of storm damage. The lake itself has no outlet and rises for days after a long rain, so the low streets around its south and east shores take water that keeps coming up after the storm has passed. Everywhere else it is wind and trees: the streets off Portion Road and Rosevale Avenue are 1950s to 70s ranches and capes under pitch pine and oak, and the pines come over whole when the ground is saturated. The hamlet has a lot of the old summer bungalows from the lake's resort era, small and close together on the lake side, that were converted to year-round houses on shallow foundations.

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 Lake Ronkonkoma

Lake Ronkonkoma is split between the Towns of Brookhaven, Islip and Smithtown around the lake, and the three do not share a building department; we confirm which governs the address before the permanent repair is filed. 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 Lake Ronkonkoma. Call or text (631) 312-7441.

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

Frequently Asked Questions

The lake is still rising two days after the storm. What do I do?

Photograph the water line every day it changes, keep what you can off the floor, and call. Water that rose from the lake into the house is flood damage — a separate flood policy, not the homeowners policy — and the lake keeps coming up for days after a big rain because it has no outlet. The drying and the wet material coming out do not wait for the claim.

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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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.

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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.

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