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

Alec's Construction handles hurricane and storm damage in St. James, 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 St. James

St. James is the old estate country of the Town of Smithtown — big trees, big lots, old houses — and a nor'easter here is what the oaks and tulip trees do to roofs. The hamlet centre along Lake Avenue and the streets off Moriches Road are 1900s to 1930s houses with the trees planted alongside them now a century old, and 1960s and 70s colonials on the streets south toward Route 25 under oaks that were saved when the lots were cut. The ground is high and drains, so water in a house is rain through the roof the wind or a tree opened. The harbour flooding at Stony Brook and the Nissequogue stops short of the hamlet; the villages on its north edge take that.

Mature Oaks Over Two-Storey Roofs

The damage here is the trees. The colonials, splits and ranches went in during the 1960s and 70s under oaks and tulip trees that were saplings or saved trees at the time and are now standing directly over two-storey roofs. When the ground is saturated and the wind turns after the eye passes they come down whole — a crown across the ridge, a trunk through the garage, a limb the size of a tree through the second-floor ceiling — and across the overhead service drops that run through them, which is why these hamlets stay dark for days. A whole tree on a roof is a structural event, and the order in which it comes off decides whether the roof survives the removal.

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 St. James

St. James files with the Town of Smithtown at Town Hall on Main Street in Smithtown; the Village of Head of the Harbor on its north side and the Village of Nissequogue run their own building departments. 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 St. James. Call or text (631) 312-7441.

By the job in St. James: Tree Removal · Flood Cleanup · Storm Debris · Storm Roof & Siding

Frequently Asked Questions

A hundred-year-old tree came down on my St. James house. Is it covered?

A tree that falls on a covered structure is the classic covered peril under a standard homeowners policy, whatever its age, and most policies pay something toward removing it, up to a limit that varies. What matters is that it is photographed where it lies before anyone cuts it, and that it comes off in an order that does not drop the roof. Big old trees on old houses are a shoring job before they are a cutting job.

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.

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.

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.

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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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