Restoration crew at a storm-damaged Long Island house

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

Sayville fronts the Great South Bay with Brown's River and the ferry basins on its west side, and in a surge the water comes up Brown's River, over the low ground around the ferry terminals, and across the streets south of Montauk Highway toward Foster Avenue. It is a hamlet of the Town of Islip with a village-style main street of older two-storey frame houses, and those houses have the failure points a hurricane looks for: original wood double-hungs on the windward side, wide eaves, and porches with roofs that lift as a unit. The capes on the south end have crawl spaces at grade that fill in a surge. After a bay storm the Sayville job is wet crawl spaces and wet first-floor walls, and the interior drying is the part people underestimate.

Surge From the Bay

On this part of the South Shore the water is the storm. A south or southeast wind pushes the Great South Bay up every creek and over every bulkhead at once, and the streets south of Montauk Highway take it into crawl spaces, slab additions and first floors built at grade. It is salt water, and salt water is a different cleanup from rain: everything electrical it touched is replaced rather than dried, the sheetrock and insulation below the water line come out, and the framing is dried with equipment and metered before it is closed. It is also a separate claim — a flood policy, not the homeowners policy — and we scope it separately from the wind damage on the same house.

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 Sayville

Sayville files with the Town of Islip. 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 Sayville. Call or text (631) 312-7441.

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

Frequently Asked Questions

My Sayville crawl space filled with bay water. What comes out and what stays?

Everything that was wet and cannot dry comes out — the insulation under the floor, any stored material, the wet vapour barrier — and the framing that stays gets dried and checked. Salt water is the complication in a bay flood: it leaves salt in the wood and on the electrical, and wiring and connections that sat in bay water are replaced rather than dried. We open it, photograph it as found for the flood claim, and dry it with real equipment rather than a fan in the hatch.

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.

Related Guides

Also Serving Sayville

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.

Get a Free Estimate from Alec's Construction

Working across Suffolk County since 2018, one crew from start to finish. We come out, look at the actual job, and put a written number in your hand — no pressure, no obligation.

Or call (631) 312-7441

No cost, no obligation. We reply the same day.