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

Alec's Construction handles storm damage and insurance restoration in Ronkonkoma, 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 Ronkonkoma

Ronkonkoma is inland, so the storm damage is wind and ice rather than tide. The capes around the lake and the 1970s splits both ice-dam badly — the capes because of the knee-wall attic, the splits because half the attic is never insulated — and a bad ice dam is a roof leak, a soaked ceiling, wet insulation and often a damaged wall by the time it is noticed. Frozen pipes are the other Ronkonkoma winter claim, usually in a split's garage-side wall.

Ice Dams Are the Inland Winter Claim

Away from the water the winter damage is ice rather than tide, and on split-level and hi-ranch stock it is the ice dam almost every time. Heat gets into the attic — through an uninsulated hatch, a bath fan venting into the attic, the never-insulated low-slope section over the lower wing — melts the snow from underneath, and the meltwater refreezes at the cold eave into a dam. The water behind it has nowhere to go but under the shingles and over the top plate into the wall.

The interior damage is the claim: the ceiling, the wall, the wet insulation, the floor below. The attic is the cause, and if it is not corrected the claim repeats, which carriers notice. We restore the interior and correct the attic in the same project.

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 Ronkonkoma

Ronkonkoma straddles the Islip and Brookhaven line, so the governing department is confirmed by address. 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 Ronkonkoma, and if it is an emergency, call rather than fill in the form.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is ice dam damage in Ronkonkoma covered by insurance?

The water damage from an ice dam usually is, under a standard homeowners policy, because it is sudden and accidental water intrusion — the interior damage, the wet insulation, the ceiling and the wall. What is not covered is the cause, which is the attic insulation and air sealing, and the carrier will expect that to be addressed so it does not happen again. We do both halves: the restoration as the claim, and the attic as the fix.

Do you work with the adjuster?

Yes. We write the scope the way the adjuster reads one, line by line with the photographs attached, and we meet them at the house if it helps. We do not adjust the claim — that is your carrier's job or a public adjuster's — but a scope that matches what the adjuster sees is what gets a claim settled without a second visit.

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.

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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.

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