Restoration crew at a storm-damaged Long Island house

Alec's Construction handles hurricane and storm damage in Stony Brook, 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 Stony Brook

Stony Brook takes a nor'easter in two places. At the bottom of the hill the harbour comes up Main Street and into the village centre on a northeast wind and a high tide — the harbour is shallow and opens north onto the Sound, so a northeast surge stacks up in it. Up the hill toward the university the streets are 1950s to 70s colonials and splits on wooded lots under some of the biggest oaks and tulip trees on the North Shore, and the wind off the Sound hits the north-facing roofs and gable ends. The historic houses around the village green and the Grist Mill are 1700s and 1800s frames on stone foundations that take water and wind differently from anything built since.

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.
Emergency tarp over a damaged roof section on a 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 Stony Brook

Stony Brook hamlet files with the Town of Brookhaven at Independence Hill in Farmingville; the Village of Head of the Harbor and the Village of Old Field on either side run their own building departments. The harbour-front 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 Stony Brook. Call or text (631) 312-7441.

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

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Stony Brook's harbour flooding a flood claim or a homeowners claim?

Water that rose from the harbour into a house is flood damage — a separate flood policy — the same as bay water on the South Shore. The harbour is shallow and opens north onto the Sound, so a northeast wind stacks water in it at high tide. Rain that came through a roof the wind opened up the hill is a homeowners claim. Same storm, two kinds of water, documented separately.

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.

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.

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.

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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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