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

Alec's Construction handles hurricane and storm damage in Port Jefferson, 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 Port Jefferson

Port Jefferson floods from the harbour. The Village's downtown sits at the bottom of a bowl at the head of Port Jefferson Harbor, and a northeast wind on a high tide pushes Sound water up the harbour and into the streets around the ferry dock and Main Street — the downtown has had water in it in ordinary storms, let alone a hurricane. Above the village core the hills are steep, and the houses up on them face the other half of the problem: the wind off the Sound hits the north-facing roofs and gable ends directly, and the large oaks and locusts on the slopes come down across houses and the narrow streets. The older houses in the village are wood-framed with wide eaves and porches, and the eave is where the wind gets under the roof.

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 Port Jefferson

The Incorporated Village of Port Jefferson runs its own building department; Port Jefferson Station files with the Town of Brookhaven. They are two different processes. 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 Port Jefferson. Call or text (631) 312-7441.

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

Frequently Asked Questions

The Village of Port Jefferson — do storm repairs need Village approval?

The permanent repair does. The Village runs its own building department, and exterior work in the village core can get a closer look than a Town permit would give it. Emergency work — tarping, boarding, drying, shoring — is done to make the house safe and does not wait. We settle first whether the address is inside the Village or in the Town of Brookhaven around it, because Port Jefferson Station and the surrounding hamlets file with the Town.

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.

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.

What should I do first after storm damage?

Stay away from anything that could still fail — a tree on the roof, a sagging ceiling, a downed line, water near electrical — and call the utility for lines and gas. Photograph everything as it is before anyone moves a branch or pulls a carpet. Then call us. We tarp and board the same day where we can reach you, and the photographs are what your claim rests on.

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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.

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