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

Alec's Construction handles storm damage and insurance restoration in Commack, Suffolk County — emergency tarping, drying, the documentation, and the rebuild — working out of the yard in East Patchogue. Winter is when most of it happens here: nor'easters from November, ice dams from January, and burst pipes any night the temperature drops after a power cut.

Winter Damage in Commack

Commack is inland and high, and the winter claims here are wind and cold rather than water from below. The 1960s and 1970s colonials have big, simple roofs that a nor'easter can strip in strips, and the splits have the half-insulated attics that ice-dam. Commack also has a lot of mature trees over houses, and a branch through a roof in an ice storm is one of the most common winter claims in the hamlet.

Big Roofs, Big Trees, Ice Storms

The larger colonials on the bigger lots have long, simple roof planes that a nor'easter can strip in strips, and mature trees over the house that turn an ice storm into a branch through the roof. A tree on the house is the most urgent winter claim there is: the roof has to be covered and the interior protected before anything else, and the tree removal is often covered up to a limit alongside the damage to the structure.

The ice dam shows up here too, usually at the attic access — a walk-up attic or a pull-down stair left as a bare hole in the ceiling at the warmest point in the house.

How a Winter Claim Goes

1. Stop the water. Tarp the roof, cover the opening, shut the supply, pull the wet material that will grow mould if it stays. Same day where we can. 2. Document as found. Photographs of everything before it is disturbed — the damage, the cause, the water path. This is what the claim rests on. 3. Write the scope. Line by line, the way the adjuster reads one, with the photographs attached. Storm damage and pre-existing wear kept separate, so the claim is for what the storm did. 4. Meet the adjuster at the house if it helps, and answer the questions with the photographs. 5. Rebuild to the agreed scope, and correct the cause — the flashing, the attic, the pipe run — so the same claim does not come back next winter.

Ice dam and icicles along the eave of a Long Island house in winter

What Is Usually Covered and What Is Not

Wind damage and the water it drives in, ice-dam water damage, a tree on the house and the tree's removal up to a limit, and burst-pipe water damage in a heated house are the usual winter claims under a standard homeowners policy. Tidal flooding is a flood-policy claim on a separate policy. The age of a roof is not a claim, and the attic that caused the ice dam is not a claim — those are the fixes, and we tell you which is which before you file.

Building Department in Commack

Commack straddles the Town of Huntington and the Town of Smithtown, and the two do not file the same way. Huntington requires plans sealed by a licensed architect or professional engineer for alterations over ten thousand dollars; Smithtown does not have the same threshold. Emergency repairs to make a house safe do not wait for a permit, but the rebuild that follows is permitted work like any other — structural repairs, roofing, electrical — and we file it.

Free walkthrough in Commack, and if it is an emergency, call rather than fill in the form.

Frequently Asked Questions

A tree came down on my Commack roof. What happens first?

The roof gets covered and the house made safe before anything else — a tarp over the opening, the branch removed if it can be done safely, the interior protected from further water. Then the documentation: photographs of the damage as found, the tree, the roof, the ceiling below. Tree damage to the house is a standard homeowners claim, and the tree removal itself is often covered up to a limit. We write the scope from the photographs so the adjuster and the estimate agree.

What should I do first after storm damage?

Stop the water and document everything before anything is cleaned up. Photograph the damage as you found it — the roof, the ceiling, the wall, the floor, the yard — and then call. We tarp and dry what needs it the same day where we can, and we photograph as we go so the claim file shows the damage the way the adjuster is going to see it.

Is ice dam damage covered by homeowners insurance?

The water damage usually is — the ceiling, the wall, the wet insulation — because it is sudden and accidental water intrusion. What is not covered is the cause, which is the attic, and the carrier will expect it to be corrected so the claim does not repeat. We restore the damage as the claim and correct the attic as the fix.

Are burst pipes a claim?

The water damage from a burst pipe is generally covered under a standard policy, provided the house was heated — carriers exclude freeze damage in a house left unheated without the water shut off. The pipe repair itself is usually the plumber's small job; the damage it did to the floor, the wall and the ceiling is the restoration and the claim.

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Work With Alec's Construction

This guide is written by the crew that does the work. See Alec's Storm Damage & Insurance Restoration service — emergency tarping, documentation and the claim itself. 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 Siding.

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

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