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

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

Setauket sits on Setauket Harbor and Conscience Bay, both of which open north onto the Sound and stack water on a northeast wind, and the low streets along Shore Road and around the harbour take it at high tide. Up the hill the hamlet is old — 1700s and 1800s houses around the village green and along Main Street and Old Town Road, on stone foundations under trees planted with them — and 1960s and 70s colonials on the wooded streets south toward Route 25A, under oak and tulip trees that stand over the roofs. The wind off the Sound hits the north-facing slopes hardest, and a tree through a slate or cedar roof on one of the old houses is a different repair from a tree on a 1970s split.

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 Setauket

Setauket and East Setauket file with the Town of Brookhaven at Independence Hill in Farmingville; the Village of Poquott on the harbour and the Village of Old Field to the west run their own building departments. The harbour-front and Conscience Bay streets 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 Setauket. Call or text (631) 312-7441.

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

Frequently Asked Questions

My Setauket house is historic. Does that affect a storm repair?

It affects what is behind the wall and what goes back on. Old houses here have plank sheathing, horsehair plaster, hand-cut framing and sometimes a cedar or slate roof, and the repair has to match what is there. Photographs as found, failed plaster and lath out, the framing dried and metered, and a scope that names the actual materials so the adjuster prices the right thing rather than a modern equivalent.

Does homeowners insurance cover flooding from a hurricane?

Generally not. Water that rose from the bay, a canal, a creek or the ground is flood damage, covered by a separate flood policy — National Flood Insurance Program or private — and excluded from the homeowners policy. Rain that came in through wind damage to the roof or siding is a homeowners claim. Many bay-front houses have both after a hurricane, and we scope the two separately.

How long before mould starts?

Mould can begin on wet building material within a day or two, which is why the wet material comes out and the drying starts immediately rather than after the adjuster's visit. Emergency mitigation is expected under the policy; photographs of what was removed protect the claim. Drying is done with equipment and measured with meters, not judged by touch.

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.

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Also Serving Setauket

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.

Get a Free Estimate from Alec's Construction

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.

Or call (631) 312-7441

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