Long Island waterfront street after a coastal storm

Alec's Construction handles hurricane and storm damage in Mount Sinai, 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 Mount Sinai

Mount Sinai has the harbour at the bottom and the bluffs above it, and a nor'easter works on both. The harbour opens north onto the Sound through a narrow inlet and stacks water on a northeast wind, and the low streets around the marina and along Shore Road take it at high tide. Above the harbour the hamlet is 1970s to 90s colonials and contemporaries on wooded lots — the newest housing on this part of the North Shore — under oak and tulip trees that stand over the roofs, and the north-facing slopes take the full wind off the Sound. The bluff-top houses along the Sound get the wind first and the erosion after, and Cedar Beach takes the surf.

Harbour Water Below, Sound Wind Above

The North Shore harbour villages take the storm in two places. At the foot of the hill the harbour comes up Main Street on a northeast wind and a high tide and into the buildings around the waterfront. Up the hill the wind off the Sound hits the north-facing roof planes and gable ends of the older frame houses directly, and the big street trees — oaks, maples, locusts — drop limbs onto porch roofs and slate. The recurring roof damage is at the eave: the first courses lifted, the drip edge gone, and rain driven back into the soffit and the top of the wall. Village building departments handle the permanent repair in the village core; the Town handles the hamlets around it.

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 Mount Sinai

Mount Sinai files with the Town of Brookhaven at Independence Hill in Farmingville; the streets around Mount Sinai Harbor and Cedar Beach are in the mapped flood zone. 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 Mount Sinai. Call or text (631) 312-7441.

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

Frequently Asked Questions

My Mount Sinai house is on the bluff. What does a nor'easter do to it?

The wind first — the north-facing roof edges, the ridge, the siding on the Sound side, anything glass. Then the erosion: a northeast storm with a high tide eats the toe of the bluff and the top follows over the following weeks, so photograph the bluff edge from the same spot after every storm. Water in a bluff house is wind-driven rain through what the wind opened, a homeowners claim.

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.

How do I avoid storm chasers?

Ask for a local address and a local phone number, ask how long they have worked on Long Island, and do not sign anything at the door — not an assignment of benefits, not a deposit. Out-of-state crews arrive after every hurricane and leave before the roof leaks again. We are on Barton Avenue in East Patchogue and have worked Suffolk County since 2018.

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.

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Also Serving Mount Sinai

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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